242 University of California rtihlicatious in Zoologij. [Vol.8 



the angular body, or three "Endplatten" characteristic of the 

 genus Goniodoma. Jorgensen seems to have overh)oked the fact 

 that Stein assigns only a part of Ehrenberg's complex to his 

 emended BlepJiarocysta splendor maris. While Ehrenberg's 

 figures 11 and 12 are in all probability Gonyaulax polyedra, the 

 other figures are unmistakably not Goniodoma and might better 

 be crudely drawn Blepharocysta than Gonyaidax polyedra. It 

 seems best, therefore, in the absence of any valid criterion for 

 determining what Ehrenberg actually had, to accept Blepharo- 

 cysta splendor maris Ehrbg. in part (figs. 11, 12) as a synonym 

 of Gonyaida.r polyedra and to allow Stein 's -emended Blepharo- 

 cysta splendor maris to stand for the well-figured organism to 

 which he attached the name proposed by Ehrenberg, and there- 

 fore to leave the name also attached to the plainly unrecognizal)le 

 figures 7-10, 15-18, of Ehrenberg's original delineation of the 

 species. 



Distribution : Very abundant in the San Diego region in 

 the summer plankton, July-September, when, it causes local out- 

 breaks of ''red water" which extend along the coast of Southern 

 and Lower California. The northern limit of the region of 

 excessive abundance is approximately Santa Barbara and the 

 southern one is at present unknown, though inadequate data 

 (Darwin, 1871, Streets, 1878), suggest at least local outbreaks 

 along South American coasts and in the Gulf of California. 

 Torrey (1902) records reports of an outbreak off Tomales Bay, 

 north of San Francisco, about forty years ago. 



The seaward extension of the discolored areas is quite irregu- 

 lar, ranging from one-half to three miles. The local distribution 

 within the "red water" itself, as seen from the mast head or 

 from i\It. Soledad (elevation 822 feet), near La Jolla, is exceed- 

 ingly irregular, areas of deeply discolored water of varying size 

 and intensity being interspersed with areas of clearer water. In 

 the early part of August, 1907, with the University of California 

 dredging party in the launch "Elsie," I ran by night from San 

 Diego to San Pedro, a distance of about one hundred miles, 

 through the discolored coastal zone. The depth of discoloration, 

 the brightness of the phosphorescence by night, varied greatly 



