560 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. XXI, October 1967 
0 L 
0 
_j | L_ | | i 
10 ° 20 ° 30 ° 40 ° 50 ° 60 ° 70 ° 
Latitudinal Position °N Lot. 
Fig. 2. Relationship between bottom temperatures 
(°C) and the latitudinal position of species of 
Galathealinum. 
(1930), Parker (1963), Sverdrup et al. 
(1942), and from the Oceanographic Atlas 
of the Polar Seas, Part II (U. S. Navy Hydro- 
graphic Office, 1957). The distribution of bot- 
tom temperatures in relation to the latitudinal 
position of the pogonophoran species is shown 
in Figure 2. The graph shows that the species 
closest to the Equator live in comparatively 
warmer water than those from more northern 
latitudes. The total temperature range for all 
the four species, however, is less than 4°C. 
This narrow range in temperatures, and the 
fact that these temperatures are from 0°— 4°C, 
seem to explain why these species occupy con- 
tinuously deeper waters from high to low lati- 
tudes. At high latitudes, the temperatures of 
the water from near the surface to great depths 
are similar and are within the range of value 
known at present for species in this genus. 
Hence, one could expect that species at high 
latitudes may occupy the total depth range of 
the genus provided that other ecological condi- 
tions, such as adequate food supplies (as indi- 
cated by Kirkegaard, 1956; 1956^), are satis- 
fied. 
The occurrence of the undetermined species 
from southern California at relatively shallower 
depths than expected (Fig. 1) and in relatively 
warmer water (Fig. 2) than expected is no- 
table. These basinal occurrences are rather 
anomalous. More data are needed to explain 
satisfactorily this particular case. 
The diameter of the tubes and the thickness 
of coarse (external) fibers of the tube walls 
for the species of Galathealinum were exam- 
ined and found to differ widely. The data are 
shown in Table 2. The tube diameter and 
coarse fiber thickness do not show a direct 
relationship to latitude. Their values increase 
from the Equator northward, reaching maxi- 
mum dimensions between 31°55 / N and 32° 21' 
N, and decreasing from there toward high 
latitudes. It is interesting to note that the 
largest species and the one with the coarsest 
fibers occur at mid-latitudes (about 3 1 °- 32 °N) 
and not at high or low latitudes. But whether 
this is related to any ecological factors cannot 
be determined with the data at hand. 
Additional data are needed on species dis- 
tribution, temperature, and nature of bottom 
conditions to determine whether the indicated 
relationships are real or merely fortuitous. 
TABLE 2 
Relationship of Tube Diameter and Coarse Fiber Thickness to Latitudinal Position of 
Species of Galathealinum Kirkegaard, 1956 
Species 
Latitude 
Diameter of 
Tube 
(mm) 
Thickness, of 
Coarse Fibers 
M 
Galathealinum 
arcticum 
69°32'N 
1.33-1.95 
1-2 
Galathealinum 
brachiosum 
54°23'N to 
42°40'N 
2. 0-2. 6 
7-12 
Galathealinum 
sp. indet. 
32°2EN to 
31°55'09"N 
3. 0-4.0 
— 
Galathealinum 
mexicanum 
14°28'N to 
12°20TST 
1.96-2.5 
15-22 
Galathealinum 
bruuni 
1°50'N 
0. 8-2.0 
2-4 
