NO. 2 SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I918 4I 



MARINE BIOLOGICAL STUDIES IN CALIFORNIA 



Under the auspices of the United States Bureau of Fisheries. 

 Waldo L. Schniitt, of the Division of Marine Invertebrates, L'. S. 

 National Museum, spent the months of August, September, and 

 October in California engaged in a study of the life history of the 

 West Coast spiny lobster, PanuUrns intcrruptiis (Randall). 



The greater part of the time, by courtesy of the Scripps Institu- 

 tion for Biological Research, was spent at their laboratories at La 

 Jolla, examining their extensive plankton collections for the larval 

 stages of the " lobster." Considerable material, chiefly of the younger 

 stages, was obtained here, including many specimens of the post- 

 embryonic stage, hatched by Mr. P. S. Barnhart, curator of the 

 institution's museum, in one of their large aquarium tanks. And 

 further, the assistance extended by the director. Dr. Ritter, enabled 

 Mr. Schmitt to conduct a two-day dredging and tow-netting trip 

 both outside and inside of the extensive kelp-beds lying between 

 La Jolla and Point Loma. 



An examination was also made of the collections of the Univer- 

 sity of California at Berkeley. Stanford L^niversity at Palo Alto, the 

 University of Southern California at Los Angeles, Pomona College 

 at Claremont, the Venice Marine Biological Station (of the LTniver- 

 sity of Southern California) at Venice, the Laguna Marine Labora- 

 tory (of Pomona College) at Laguna Beach, and the ]\Iuseum of the 

 San Diego Natural History Society at San Diego, and some pertinent 

 material obtained. 



But by far the richest samples of spiny lobster larv?e were returned 

 through the activities and generous co-operation of the California 

 State Fish and Game Commission. These collections were secured 

 by means of a small otter trawl with a spread of about 20 feet, 

 oi)erated from their patrol-boat, the " Albacore," and contained 

 many phyllosomes of large size as well as a number of pueruli. The 

 latter represent the stage intermediate between the phyllosome, the 

 form in which the " lobster '' is hatched from the egg. and the defini- 

 tive form of the adult. 



An interesting feature brought out by the collections made by the 

 State Fish and Game Commission was the great ofl:-shore range of 

 the phyllosomes and the depth at which some of them were obtained — • 

 as much as 150 miles ofif shore, and to a maximum depth of 75 

 fathoms. A phyllosome taken at that depth, some 16 miles off Los 

 Coronados Islands, is shown in figure 44. 



Certain incidental shore and tidepool collections were made while 

 at la Jolla. 



