BIOLOGICAL SURVEY OF WOODS HOLE AND VICINITY. 8 1 



deals with one or more species of animals or plants, which constitute, or at least fur- 

 nish him with, the raw materials for his research. Thus, it is of advantage to all that 

 a carefully prepared list of these organisms should be published, if regarded merely as a 

 catalogue of available material. And it will, we trust, be of additional advantage to 

 have at hand a single reference work which shall embody the nomenclature most recently 

 adopted for these species by some of our most competent systematic experts. Confu- 

 sion will, we think, be minimized by the existence of some standard, even though this 

 standard may be a fallible one. 



In the present catalogue we are offering, however, far more than a mere list of 

 species. We have gathered together all available data regarding distribution within 

 local waters, seasonal occurrence, reproduction, etc., and have added various ecological 

 notes, where these have seemed appropriate. It is our hope that these data may be of 

 service to those who are in search of material for embryological or other studies. And 

 we further hope that the decidedly meager notes which we offer may constitute a nucleus 

 for future growth in this direction. 



It must be emphasized that we do not in any sense guarantee the trustworthiness 

 of all the records herein contained. A large proportion of them have been included 

 wholly upon the authority of others, whose names are mentioned in the text. Many 

 species are included, indeed, which have never been seen either by the present writers 

 or by the specialists who have collaborated with us. While such citations are, in most 

 cases, based upon the statements of recognized authorities, it is more than possible 

 that in some cases they rest upon errors of observation or of identification. But it 

 would have been a very difficult task to cull out such mistakes, and we have therefore 

 included all records based upon the statements of persons believed to be trustworthy, 

 unless we happen to have definite evidence that these statements were erroneous. The 

 mere failure of subsequent observers to find a species which had been included in one 

 of the earlier lists is not to be regarded as decisive evidence of an error, in view of the 

 known instances of change in the population of our local waters. 



Due credit has been given in a large proportion of cases to the authority for each 

 statement made, the name of this person being inserted at the close of the citation. 

 The person cited is responsible only for so much of the statement as immediately 

 precedes his name. Independent citations are in nearly all cases separated by 

 periods. In many instances the statement cited has never been published by the 

 individual referred to, but has been communicated to one of the present authors orally 

 or recorded in manuscript. Where no authority has been indicated for a given state- 

 ment we mean either (i) that the present authors are themselves responsible for the 

 observation, or (2) that the fact stated is a matter of common knowledge to a large 

 number of observers, or (3), in certain self-evident cases, that the bibliographic reference 

 indicates the authority for the statement. 



With most groups of animals, as already stated, a certain proportion of the specimens 

 collected were referred to specialists for identification. Since the value of a record 

 depends, in great measure, upon the trustworthiness of the identification, we have 

 indicated in a large number of cases, the authority for the latter. The symbols (* and 

 the like) denote that specimens from the localities so designated have been identified 

 by persons mentioned in a foot note at the commencement of the list. In the case 

 of those organisms specimens of which were invariably referred to specialists, symbols 

 16269 — Bull. 31, pt 1 — 13 6 



