XO. 2 SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I918 4I 



^lARIXE BIOLOGICAL STUDIES IX CALIFORNIA 



Under the auspices of the United States Iktreau of Fisheries, 

 Waldo L. Schmitt, of the Division of Marine Invertebrates. U. S. 

 National ^Museum, spent the months of Aui^ust. September, and 

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

 West Coast spiny lobster, Paiiiilinis 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, enal^led 

 '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 L'niver- 

 sity of California at Berkeley, Stanford University at Palo Alto, the 

 University of Southern California at Los Angeles. Pomona College 

 at Claremont. the \'enice ^larine Biological Station (of the Univer- 

 sity of Southern California) at A'enice. the Laguna Alarine Labora- 

 tory (of Pomona College) at Laguna Beach, and the ^luseum of the 

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

 material obtained. 



But by far the richest samj)les of s])iny loljster larvae 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, 

 operated from tlieir ])ritrol-boat, the " All)acore,'* and contained 

 many j^hyllosomes of large size as well as a ninnlier of pueruli. The 

 latter re])resent the stage intermediate l)etween the j^hyllosome, the 

 form in which tlie " loljsler " is hatched from the egg, and the defini- 

 tive form of the adult. 



.\n interesting feature brduglil -nu li\- the colleclions niadi' 1)\- tlie 

 State I'ish and ( iame COmmissiiin was the great ofl-shore range ot 

 the phyllosonies and the de])th at whicli some of them were obtained — 

 as much as 150 miles off shore, and to a maxinunn dei)lh of j^ 

 fathoms. .\ ])hyllosome taken at that depth, sonic U) niiks olT Los 

 Coronados Islands, is shown in (igiu'e 44. 



( ertain incidrnt;il shore anil tidcixiol collcri ioii> were made while 

 at La loUa. 



