SEA-FISHERIES LABORATORY. 301 



TOMOPTERIS. 



The species of Tomopteris which occurs in our 

 district is the species which Daniele Rosa* names 

 Tomopteris (Johnstonella) catharina (Grosse), and which 

 has commonly been called T. onisciformis by Carpenter 

 and others in this country, and T. helgolandica by Green 3 , 

 Apstein and others on the Continent. 



Tomopteris is rather irregularly distributed over the 

 months, is rarely very abundant, and has rather a 

 different record in the three years. In all, we have 

 captured 1,683 specimens in 255 hauls of the nets, and in 

 1,680 hauls no specimens were obtained. The distribu- 

 tion is sporadic, and no localities or zones seem to be 

 more frequented than others. Bay and sea outside, deep 

 and surface nets, seem to be about equally represented in 

 the record. In most of the hauls a few specimens only 

 were obtained ; many show one T omopteris only, and in 

 a large number of hauls in each of the years none were 

 captured. 



In '07 no specimens were obtained in January, 

 February, March, May, June and July; in '08 none in 

 January, March, May and July; in '09, which has the 

 most complete record, May is the only month not 

 represented. There are, then, no May specimens in any 

 of the three years. In most of the remaining months 

 throughout the three years the average numbers obtained 

 in a haul are low units, such as 1, 2, 3 and 4; but in* 

 March '09, the number was 12'5, in August '08 it was 9, 

 in September '07, 11*7, and in September '08, 14. The 

 greatest numbers obtained in single hauls were : — 

 March 31, '09 = 68; April 15, '09 = 28; April 17, '09 = 

 34; August 4, '08 = 23 and 20; August 7, '08 = 200; 



* ftaccolle Plqnctonirfio, #c„ V. Ancllidi, p. 247, Firenzo, 1008, 



