Southcrrii CjlifarniG Af^^acidtion nf

Marine Invertebrale Ta^unomi^ts

:i720 Stephen White Drive

San Pedro, Ca3ifornia 90731

May, 1998 SCAMIT Newsletter Vol. 17, No.l

NEXT MEETING — The amphipod genus Photis: a workshop on ID

GUEST SPEAKER — Dean Pasko/Doug Diener/Don Cadien co-leaders

DATE - June 26,1998

TIME — 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p. m.

LOCATION — The City of San Diego Marine Biology
4918 N. Harbor Dr. suite 201
(619) 692-4901

26 JUNE MEETING

Pt-

f I

Photis macinerneyi Conlan, 1983
female (above), male (below)
Collected off the Tijuana River
Image by Dean Pasko (CSDMWWD)

Our June meeting will be another in
preparation for the Bight ‘98 sampling, but will
be directed to benthos rather than trawl caught
animals.

We will hold a workshop to attempt to
standardize our handling of members of the
amphipod genus Photis prior to the regional
effort. This is a large, diverse, and important
group, and will be even more important in
harbor derived samples. It proved one of the
groups which yielded less than fully
satisfactory treatment in the SCBPP of 1994.
All are welcome, bring specimens, bring
questions, bring experience, bring literature,...
just be there. The broader the participation, the
greater the benefit of intercalibration. Contact
the secretary if you need a map.

FUNDS FOR THIS PUBLICATION PROVIDED, IN PART BY
THE ARCO FOUNDATION, CHEVRON, USA, AND TEXACO INC.

SCAMIT Newsletter in not deemed to be valid publication for formal taxonomic purposes.

May, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.l

NEW LITERATURE

President Ron Velarde (CSDMWWD)
circulated a new book on sea cucumbers
(Lambert 1997) at the April meeting. It covers
northern species thoroughly, although nearly
all of the species also occur in the Southern
California Bight. It even has an excellent
photo and description of Paracaudina
chilensis, the only species not included in Mary
Bergen’s MMS Atlas treatment of the group.
Unfortunately the book seems hard to come by.
Ron got his at the Birch Aquarium Bookstore,
but when I tried to repeat his purchase they had
no copies available and seemed unfamiliar with
the title. I will be checking to see if this will be
available through Sea Challengers (it was not
in their recent catalogue).

LYONSIA VS. ENTODESMA JUVENILES

Don Cadien (CSDLAC) recently ran into a
problem differentiating juveniles of the clams
Lyonsia californica and Entodesma pictum.
Along with Bill Power (also CSDLAC) a
search was made through accumulated juvenile
specimens identified as both these species to
check the identifications. No clear method of
separating the specimens into two species was
found, and checks of the literature concerning
the generic characters uncovered some
confusion there as well.

Characters considered were placement of the
umbos, configuration of the dorsal margin,
degree of truncation of the posterior margin,
presence/absence of radial periostracal lines,
inflation of the shell (where and how much),
presence and degree or absence of concentric
undulation in the shell, flatness vs. inflation at
the posterior end of the shell, relative thickness
and flexibility of the periostracum, and size and
evenness of adherent grains. Twenty-five
specimens between 2 - 5mm in length were
examined, and all of the above characters were
found to vary among the specimens, a situation
one expects in nestlers such as these. No suite
of characters presented itself as a means of

separating the specimens into two groups. We
also examined the nature and number of
tentacles around the siphons, but observed
differences were very likely related to growth.
As of now we have no good means of
separating the two, and they may be, as Paul
Scott suggests is an unpleasant probability,
inseparable. Any other experience out there to
help us, or any slick methods of separating
these juveniles?

By the way adults of both these species have
been taken from the area which provided the
juveniles. Some of the Entodesma adults were
actually used in Brian Morton’s study of the
morphology of the species.

11 MAY MEETING MINUTES

The meeting took place in a spacious lab which
had been prepared with dissecting microscopes
for us all, and with a selection of specimens
kept alive from the recently completed survey
of southern California boat harbors undertaken
by our hosts.

Gretchen and Charles also distributed their
most recent publication (Lambert & Lambert
1998). To further set the stage Gretchen
showed us the literature she found most useful
and reliable in working with our local (and
introduced) ascidian fauna. It included a major
source of information on ascidian biology
(Monniot et al 1991) which deals with coral
reef ascidians. It forms one of the volumes of
the Campaignes MUSORSTOM conducted in
New Caledonia and vicinity during recent
years. It is available locally through Sea
Challengers, and was listed in their most recent
catalogue.

A second valuable reference covering the Indo-
Pacific fauna is that of Kott (1985), covering
the phlebobranch and stolidobranch ascidians
of Australia. Gretchen pointed out that Kott
and the Monniots are not always in agreement
on all matters (and sometimes violently

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May, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.l

disagree). Having both available helps to
understand the battles between them. More of
Kott’s multi-volume treatment of the Australian
fauna is due out, and should be added to this
list when it is released.

More locally derived information, including
original descriptions of many species are found
in Ritter (1907) and Ritter & Forsyth (1917).
These are unfortunately long out of print, but
should be available at any university library.
They cover the California fauna before many
recent introductions, which are consequently
not included here.

The single most important source for
information on our fauna is Van Name (1945),
who treats the ascidian faunas of both coasts of
both North and South America in some detail.
Although more recent than Ritter, it still lacks
many of the more recent additions to our fauna
which have come from the western Pacific.

An additional piece of literature which Don
Cadien recommended is the MMS Atlas
volume 14, Section 11: Phylum Chordata:
Subphylum Urochordata, Class Ascidiacea by
Gretchen Lambert (1996) (who modestly didn’t
include it among the references she finds most
useful).

After perusing Gretchen’s literature we were
introduced to and viewed the live ascidians on
display. The species present for examination
were:

Ciona intestinalis
Ciona savignyi
Molgula verrucifera
Molgula manhattensis
Styela clava
Styela plicata
Botrylloides diegensis
Botryllus schlosseri
Botryllus firmus
Microcosmus squamiger

Gretchen recommended using menthol
dissolved in 95% ethanol as a relaxant for
ascidians. Only one or two drops are needed.

It is quick acting and reversible. If it is used to
relax the animals prior to preservation there is
only a window of about 10 minutes in which
the animals are fully narcotized. Once that has
passed they will recover to normal reactivity in
a short time. She reminded us to put a cover
over the dish after adding the relaxant to
prevent evaporation. The menthol, which is not
very soluble in seawater, is assisted in solution
by the alcohol. Menthol can be dissolved in
large amount to form a supersaturated solution
in ethanol. As the menthol saturated ethanol is
introduced to the water containing the
specimens the menthol initially is in solution,
and quickly acts on the nervous system of the
animals. If left alone it will eventually plate
out onto the water surface and the sides of the
container.

After examining the live ascidians briefly,
Gretchen discussed her thoughts on the
existence of a new species of Botrylloides
which is only one-toned in comparison to the
common two-toned species, thought to be 5.
diegensis by Lambert.

The one to two difference is that the one-toned
species is all of the same color, while the two-
toned has two, the one around the zooid
systems contrasting with a background color.
Some of the differences are listed below:

One-toned {Botrylloides n spl)
tadpoles = 30 ampullae
8 oral tentacles

2"^ row of stigmata not complete

Two-toned (B. diegensis"?)
tadpoles = 8 ampullae
16 oral tentacles
2"^ row of stigmata complete

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May, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.l

One of the colonies under observation released
tadpole larvae during the day, and Gretchen
was able to confirm the ampulla count of the
two-toned form. Although she has good
evidence here that there are indeed two species,
it is quite possible that the type lot was mixed,
as the two forms were not initially considered
to be specifically different.

Reexamination of the type will be necessary to
decide if the name Botrylloides diegensis goes
with the one or two toned species. Gretchen
currently uses it for the two-toned.

After reviewing the botryllids, Gretchen
proceeded with a slide show covering the
species which she and Charles have
encountered locally over their many years of
surveys, and which are listed in their recent
summary of introduced species. The species
discussed are listed below (for more details see
Lambert & Lambert 1998):

-Ascidia zara - from Japan. Found commonly
on Mytilus. Very similar to the following native
species, with which it has been confused. Both
have the unusual character of having the eggs
red. It can be distinguished from A. ceratodes
by differences in the nature of the tunic (that of
A. zara can be torn with forceps, and is
papillated in some areas), and by the nature of
the blood, which doesn’t congeal into a gooey
mess of green ichor like that of A. ceratodes.

-Ascidia ceratodes - Native. Can be
distinguished from A. zara (introduced from
Japan) by it’s more durable (can’t be torn with
forceps) and smooth tunic, and by the blood,
which on dissection forms a green goo. Both
species have red eggs, but egg diameters differ
between them.

-Ascidia sp - Gretchen believes it is
undescribed. This species (of unknown
provenance) differs from the two species above
in having colorless or light yellowish eggs. Its
tunic is unpapillate, but thin. The oral siphon

is elongate in this species. It appears to be
similar to Ascidia malaca of the
Mediterranean, but is not that species
according to Claude Monniot.

(Both Gretchen and Charles believe that most
sizeable species of tunicate which are not
introduced, will be found in the literature due
to the extensive sampling of Van Name and
Ritter.)

-Styela plicata. Although a common species in
our area, this is probably not native. It was first
described from an eastern boat harbor on the
basis of a single specimen, and when reported
locally in the early part of the century was rare.
During the mid part of the century it was
absent from our fauna. By I960 it had become
well established again locally. It is now
abundant in boat harbors, and has spread to
adjacent hard bottoms as well. The actual home
of the species is still in question

-Styela clava. Originally from the Sea of
Okhotsk and the waters around Korea this
species has been widely introduced elsewhere.
It was first recorded in our fauna in 1933 from
Newport Harbor. It is assumed to have arrived
in the late I920’s. Its’ local history, its’
convoluted nomenclatural history and the
synonymy of locally described species with it,
and good descriptions of the animal are found
in Abbott & Johnson (1972).

-Styela partita - (now known as S. canopus)
Native to the east coast of the U.S. Easily
identified by the inner lining of the siphons
which are divided into four black lobes by thin
white lines. It has been known locally since
1972, and is still virtually restricted to San
Diego Bay, although found rarely as far north
as Oceanside.

The similar Styela truncata, a native species,
has never been located in So. Cal. despite
repeated searches by the Lamberts. It is
common in Central and Northern California,
but has not made it into the Bight.

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May, 1998

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Vol. 17,No.l

-Ciona intestinalis. Probably native to northern
Europe, and introduced early to our area. It
was present in “enormous numbers” in San
Diego Bay in 1917. The species is currently
abundant in harbors along the Pacific coast,
and worldwide, and is believed constantly
reintroduced with shipping.

-Ciona savignyi. Originally from Japan, the
species was first recognized in California in
1985 in Long Beach Harbor. It is now common
from San Diego to Santa Barbara.

Distinguished from C. intestinalis when live by
having the end of the sperm duct white rather
than red. This seemingly esoteric character was
demonstrated on the specimens at hand. The
sperm duct is located between and just below
the siphons. If the animal is squeezed to flatten
this region, the color of the duct end becomes
clearly visible.

-Molgula verrucifera - Native to our coast, can
be distinguished from the other Molgula
species here by the presence of a thick tunic
with “tentacles” - fingerlike protrusions of the
tunic which extend around and into the
openings of both the atrial and branchial
siphons. These are small, but visible.

- Molgula manhattensis. Introduced from the
eastern U.S., where it is very common from
Maine to Texas. First recorded in California in
the 1940’s, and abundant in San Francisco Bay
by the 60’s. This species has a much lighter
colored and thinner tunic than M. verrucifera
and has reduced extrasiphonal tunic tentacles.

-Microcosmus squamiger - Native to and
introduced from Australia, this species was
originally listed from our area as M.
exasperatus. This reflected the position of the
Monniots. Kott has since suggested that most
of their records of M. exasperatus from various
parts of the world are actually M. squamiger
and the Monniots are gradually swinging
around to this view as well. Only microscopic

5

differences separate it from M. exasperatus.

Our local material falls into this pattern as
earlier records of M. exasperatus have been
reevaluated as M. squamiger.

-Botryllus schlosseri. Considered native to
Europe, and widely distributed by shipping.
Absent from our local waters as late as 1945,
by the 1960’s. common in San Diego and
Mission Bays. This can be separated from the
local Botrylloides spp. by the nature of the
systems, which are small, with few zooids, and
stellate. In Botrylloides the systems are
elongate, sinuous, and composed of many
zooids.

-Botrylloides diegensis. For discussion of this
and the next species see text above.

-Botrylloides sp. As for previous species.

Note: the Monniots have synonymized
Botrylloides with Botryllus, a position much in
question, and not adopted here.

-Botryllus firmus - Recently described from
Indonesia by Monniot (1996), the species was
first taken in San Diego Bay in 1997, and has
been retaken in spring 1998 in Mission Bay.
The species has a very large atrial opening,
through which its 18 rows of stigmata can
usually be seen in a living relaxed specimen.
The colony is raised and thick, with a very
tough tunic.

-Symplegma reptans - This botrylloid was
originally known from Japan. It was first
recognized in local waters during the 1997
harbor survey by our hosts. In its young stages
it is very difficult to differentiate from S.
oceanica, another species locally introduced. In
this genus the zooids are not arranged into
systems around a common cloacal cavity, but
are randomly scattered in the colony.

-Polyandrocarpa zorritensis - Described from
Peru this species is in the process of a rapid
spread through the world. It is currently found
only at Oceanside and in San Diego Bay, but is
expected to spread along the California coast

May, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.l

from harbor to harbor. A colony of P.
zorritensis looks like a bunch of dark colored
cocktail onions packed tightly together on the
bottom or in the fouling growth. Each
individual is only from 2 - 5mm in diameter,
but has fairly prominent siphons. The siphons
are greenish tinged, and bear two white spots
between each of the lobes on their interior.

A brief overview of Ascidiacean systematics
was touched upon at the end of the slides.
Locally occurring genera are listed for each
group

Class Ascidiacea: Sessile adults, swimming
larvae. Orders:

1) Phlebobranchiata - mostly thin tunics -
Ascidia, Corella, Ciona, Phallusia,

Chelyosoma

2) Stolidobranchiata - mostly thick tunics -
Styela, Boltenia, Pyura, Microcosmus,
botryllids, Molgula, Symplegma,

3) Aplousobranchiata - colonials - Distaplia,
Aplidium, Didemnum, Polyclinum

After the talk we broke for lunch. We walked
to a Lebanese deli where food was heartily
consumed by all.

The afternoon was spent looking at the live
specimens in more detail. In addition, Don
Cadien had brought a large, strange Pyura sp,
which turned out to be Pyura lignosa upon
examination. Gretchen was quite thrilled as
she previously had not seen this species. The
animal was somewhat similar to P. haustor in
external appearance, being ridged, with a tough
tunic, and well-separated siphons. The tunic
was very tough, to the point that dissection was
complicated. This species has been reported
from Coronado Island (see Van Name 1945),
but was not known north of San Diego
previously. These two specimens came from
the rope of a lobster trap caught during
trawling off Palos Verdes in 23m of water.

Gretchen gave a very useful pointer during the
process of working on the specimens. She
suggests that the normal dissection procedure
(see Lambert 1996) be modified to
accommodate the tunic. In this and species
like it where the standard dissection procedure
might result in damage to the diagnostic
features of the animal, she recommends first
removing the tunic, then proceeding with the
normal dissection.

She accomplished this by making a ventral
incision in an area not likely to reach the
animal, then broadened this to allow the tunic
to be separated into halves. Once the animal
was clearly exposed inside the tunic she
carefully separated the siphons, and removed
other attachments so that the animal could be
completely removed from the surrounding
tunic. In this case the tunic was so tough that
scissors did not work well, and Gretchen had to
resort to a razor blade to cleanly slice it.

Gretchen was quite generous with her
taxonomic aid and helped Dean Pasko and
Megan Lilly (CSDMWWD) verify some
difficult specimens.

Our thanks to our gracious hosts. They set
things up ideally for us, and those able to
attend benefitted greatly from the opportunity
to take a guided tour of the live animals
provided. We wish them well in their move to
Puget Sound, and into “retirement”. At least it
will be a change of pace for Charles not to have
to undertake another year of fresh young
students. Both will probably remain quite
active, and may take new jobs up north (some
retirement!). Gretchen will be available to
consult on identifications of ascidians.

Gretchen provided the following information;
“Charley is retiring at the end of this semester,
after 28 years at Calif. State Univ. Lullerton.

On June 4 we are moving to Seattle,
Washington. Our new address will be 12001
11th Ave. NW, Seattle, Wa 98177, telephone
number 206-365-3734.

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May, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.l

We will continue our same e-mail addresses, at
least temporarily [glambert@fullerton.edu]. We
will both be doing research in association with
the Univ. of Washington. We will continue our
studies on the introduction of non-indigenous
ascidians to the U.S. Pacific Coast, but move
our sampling from southern California to the
Pacific Northwest. We also plan to do some
traveling; we will be spending the month of
October in Honolulu, with Charley doing
research on ovulation in Herdmania momus
and Gretchen working at the Bishop Museum
identifying some of their ascidians. Gretchen
will continue to produce Ascidian News twice
a year on our web site at http://
nsm .fullerton .edu/~lamberts/ascidian/.

Be sure to visit us when you are in Seattle!

My Life as a Biologist
by Donald J. Reish

Chapter 7: Oregon Institute of Marine Biology
and High School Teacher

As I entered the spring of my senior year, I
knew what I wanted to do but I did not know
where. As I mentioned before, my botany
prof., Mr. Sipe, was a person who I would talk
with. He made two suggestions which turned
out to be extremely important. He knew that I
was interested in Invert Zool (the invert prof
had a heart attack and was on leave). He had
heard that Oregon State was going to reopen
Oregon Institute of Biology (OIMB)(the land
was owned by U. of O., but nobody there was
interested). He suggested that I go to Corvallis
and talk with Dr. Ivan Pratt who was going to
be the director. My meeting with him was very
friendly, and I decided to go there right after
graduation. The other suggestion from Mr.

Sipe is that there was a shortage of high school
teachers and that I could get an emergency
credential. I applied and accepted a position at
Baker High School (OR) to begin in the fall of
1946.

The six weeks session at OIMB was an
exciting time for me. I took invert zool from
Pratt and marine algae from a paleobotantist. I
had always been interested in the ocean, and
the opportunity at OIMB put things into focus
for me. The course emphasized identification
of marine inverts, more or less like my course
in invert systematics at CSULB. The weather
was horrible that summer. The dorms were
barracks which were built by the Army Corps
of Engineers in the 1920’s. when they built the
breakwaters at the entrance of Coos Bay. The
barracks were then used by the CCC [Civilian
Conservation Corps - ed.] during the 1930’s.

At high tide the water was below my bunk!
They moved the building during the winter of
1946-7. The area was filled in by natural
deposition during the 1950’s. Chuck Cutress
was my best friend. The first animal I keyed
was an isopod; the first polychaete was
Halosydna brevisetosa. On the mud flat trip
we saw a Neanthes brandti that measured over
1 meter in length crawling over the surface.

Dr. Pratt took movies of it. My term project
was making a quantitative comparison of the
mid-tide animals of a protected rocky beach
with an unprotected one. Dr. Pratt wanted me
to break my contract and start working on my
masters at Oregon State. I said I did not want
to break my contract, but that I would come
back to OIMB the summer of 1947 and start
my masters with him that fall.

I took three education courses in August 1946
at Oregon State. I didn’t study very hard. My
childhood friend John was back from the war
and we did things together. I took my finals
on a Friday and the following Monday (Labor
Day) I attended my first teacher’s meeting in
Baker (400 miles away); the next day I began
teaching 6 periods of high school biology!

I really enjoyed teaching biology. Conditions
were primitive compared to what I had at
Corvallis High. The lab consisted of moveable
tables and chairs and nine old compound
microscopes. Sometimes I was able to get 2 or
3 days ahead of the students. Baker was a town
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May, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

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of 9000. I ran into a least one of my students
whenever I left the house where I had a room.
Another teacher lived there also and we took
our meals with the Episcopalian minister. He
became a good friend. We played cribbage and
golf. He and his wife visited us about 25 years
ago. The low point was that I caught mumps
from my students and I missed 3 weeks of
school. I wasn’t really sick; I prepared lesson
plans for the sub who had never taken biology.

I also lost $100 salary out of my contract of
$2100. The minister offered me a 4 year
scholarship to become an Episcopal minister.

It was flattering, but I was not in the least bit
interested. The year at Baker was fun. During
Thanksgiving break, I went skiing at Mt Hood.
I later got John, Bob, and Miles skiing. Miles
still skis. I am hoping to go to Baker (now
Baker City) next year to attend the 50th
anniversary of my students. I was offered
another contract, but I thought it best if I start
working on my masters. I left Baker the day
after school was out. I hitch hiked to Chicago
to see my brother who was now an airline pilot
and my grandmother Shatto (her husband died
when my Dad was 4 years old). I had always
wanted to take a long hitch hiking trip—this
was it. I had hitch hiked in Oregon during
WWII. I then headed back to Oregon and to
attend my second summer at OIMB.

Next: I become a polychaetologist!

SCAMIT WEBSITE

Well, it’s finally happened. SCAMIT now has
it’s own domain, and a new website. Those of
you who receive the newsletter as a PDF
document off the site have already been
notified by e-mail. For the rest of you, our
URL is http/www.scamit.org. Webmaster Jay
Shrake has modified our look considerably.

Let him know how you feel about the new site.
Our thanks to SCCWRP and to Larry Cooper
for all their help in the initial stages of our
webification. We would not be on the web
were it not for their support, encouragement.

and assistance. We will be phasing out the
existing site under SCCWRP’s aegis, and will
be moved entirely to our own domain by the
time you have access to this newsletter.

EL NINO BIOLOGICAL EEEECTS

An e-mail message was received from Jack
Engle about recent observations he made on
San Clemente Island. It, and responses from
some of the people he sent it to are reported
below.

“Just returned from 5 days of Channel Islands
Research Program scuba surveys at San
Clemente Island. We were surprised to find
tropical arrow crabs (Stenorhynchus debilis) at
3 locations, often in association with coronado
urchins {Centrostephanus coronatus). They
were fairly common at I0-60ft at I site at the
southern end of the island (10-20 observed on
typical recon dives). We collected 15
representative specimens (14 preserved, I live)
and took u/w photos. There has also been a
recent report of some at Catalina Island. The
typical northern limit info for this species is
Gulf of California. Any previous records from
California?

We also collected a juvenile urchin,
apparently the slate pencil urchin, Eucidaris
thouarsii, and observed several tropical fishes,
including Guadalupe cardinalfish {Apogon
guadalupensis), rainbow scorpionfish
(Scorpaenodes xyris), and swallowtail
damselfish (Azurina hirundo). The cardinalfish
and scorpionfish turned up in fair numbers at
various sites, and were documented with u/w
photos. The damselfish was a single siting at I
location.

Any other observations/information on the
above species would be appreciated.”

Jack received the following response from
member Constance Gramlich (SDSU) [slightly
edited to remove parts of Jack’s original
message]

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May, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.l

“Sounds like a great trip! Stenorhynchus was
also seen for the first time, and in great
numbers, on our Puertocitos class trip, rocky
intertidal. What a wonderful crab it is.

There was a MAJOR settlement of C.
coronatus in Mission Bay last fall. I sent some
to Gordon [Hendler -LACMNH]. Yes, I have
seen them [slate-pencil urchins] at Pyramid
Cove in the past. Not only that, we had
cardinalfish (I’d have to check my notes for the
species) for the first time and in high numbers
in the INTERTIDAL at Puertocitos (tooo...
bad we got blown out by Baja winds the first
day and had to return).

I went on a sampling trip in Batequitos Lagoon
with Danny Heilprin and found bonefish
larvae, Callinectes-i-i-and Panaeus-i-i-i-. In
previous seinings they found a BLUE BOBO!!
And probably a sharpnose puffer. I was sent
photos taken at La Jolla to ID which proved to
be banded butterfly fish (NOT scythe marked)
juvenile, and sharpnose puffer. Also,
Lookdowns have a breeding population in
south San Diego Bay (Danny’s group found
them first). Sicyonia penicillata target shrimp
(VERY pretty) in San Diego Bay.

Pleuroncodes are here too. This was/is a
splendid El Nino. Coronados should be VERY
interesting!!!

Collected Stenorhynchus 5-i- in Mission Bay
(!!) Also saw many small Dromidia molting.
The Argopecten have died off (although there
may still be a population in the warmer east
end of the bay). Still incredible numbers of
Centrostephanus. ”

Member Mary Wicksten (TAMU) also
responded with the following “ Jack: In the
report of the Alijos expeditions, I recorded
Stenorhynchus from Guadalupe Island,
Mexico, which is the previous northern record.
This is surely an “El Nino” phenomenon. If
you have an aquarium, keep some of these cute
crabs. They will store extra food on the
rostrum for a “late night snack”.”

Both Greg Jensen and I responded back to Jack
that we hadn’t seen the species previously in
Californian waters.

CSDMWWD personnel are also seeing their
share of ENSO effects. Dean Pasko reported a
mass stranding of Pleuroncodes planipes at Del
Mar on May 23 and 24. Within a few days of
this Megan Lilly saw hundreds of dead P.
planipes stranded at Ocean Beach. On
Tuesday May 26, Ross Duggan and Eric
Nestler, while sampling approximately 6 miles
offshore, observed baleen whales believed to
be either blues or finbacks. Several local
fisherman also made similar observations near
that time. Ross reported that the whales
seemed to be making numerous shallow dives.
The fathometer showed a “large mass” at
approximately 50 feet, suspected to consist of
P. planipes . The whales’ behavior suggests
they were feeding on these red crabs, which
may explain their occurrence inshore in our
waters.

In the recently completed trawl series off Palos
Verdes we saw additional evidence of ENSO
effect in recurrence of species noted earlier. As
in February trawls we took Pantomus ajfinis
and Plesionika trispinus again, as well as
several more Solenocera. In the previous set
we had a single small individual not
reproductively mature. In this series we got
mature specimens of both sexes, and were
better able to identify them. Based on a
character which we now know not to be useful,
we identified the single immature specimen
from February as Solenocera florea. This was
incorrect. The character of the shape and
ventral indentation of the first abdominal
epimeron is common to both species. At any
rate, our mature male Solenocera mutator had
the same ventral indentation and epimeral
widening seen in the small juvenile reported
previously. Our record of S. florea was
incorrect, and a corrected couplet to separate
the two species will be provided.

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May, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.l

By the way, we perceived our Pantomus to be
hippolytids in the field, and returned them for
further identification on that basis. If you have
long rostrumed “hippolytids” with very long
sixth abdominal segments, and very delicate
legs, you may also have Pantomus. The
species has a potentially useful color marking
in the field: the anterior lateral region of the
carapace bears a diffuse red spot which is
slashed through by an irregular white bar,
otherwise the animal is nearly all white, off-
white, or tan. Once in the lab the articulated
rostrum of the species is a definitive character
for the identification as Pantomus.

Our Plesionika trispinus specimens were
adults, and included two berried females! The
animal is reproducing locally, or at least
attempting to. Eggs of the species are a light
forest green.

We also had a somewhat larger catch of
Pleuroncodes in May than in February, but it
was still much smaller than other previous
catches. Sicyonia penicillata was again taken
at our transect in south Santa Monica Bay. Just
a single adult specimen this time.

VELERO COLLECTIONS CONTINUED

The following is the text of an e-mail response
to Mary Wicksten’s comments on the Velero
midwater trawl collections from a previous
newsletter. It was sent to her by Leslie Harris
(LACMNH), who kindly allowed me to
reproduce it here for our edification.

“I just read your note about the Velero
midwater collections in the SCAMIT
Newsletter. I can supply you with the “full
story”, which is short but sad: they were
thrown out.

Sometime in 1988, while I was still at AHF,
Mike Crowe came to me & said that the old
greenhouse was going to be cleared out &
demolished. There was a ton of old collections
in there, he said, and if I wanted to save any I

better hurry. The school was going to hire a
hazardous-waste disposal company to deal with
the jars. Well, the situation turned into a
typical hurry-up-and wait situation.

It was several more years before anything
actually happened, by which time I had moved
with the polychaete collection to LACM.
Alerted once again by Mike, I took several
people from LACM (including Jody Martin) to
look at the collection. The specimens were
indeed in the sorry state you described. Jody
lamented the impossibility of saving the
collection: there were thousands of jars, in poor
shape, and LACM did not have the resources
(money, manpower, space, and time) to deal
with it.

In the end, Jody took only a small number of
jars that appeared to have identified specimens
(probably less than 100). That same day the
disposal crews in their white overalls & masks
moved in & started work. None of the material
in the greenhouse went to the Santa Barbara
Museum. SBMNH had previously been given
part of the Hancock Collections housed in the
first floor collection area (cephalopods,
cnidarians, some of the miscellaneous phyla):
perhaps this is what your informants
remembered.

It is a great shame that these midwater samples
were never properly curated and processed. Tm
sure a comparable effort will never be made
again due to the high cost of ship-time. This
story of neglect and disposal should serve as a
warning to today’s agencies that irreplaceable
collections cannot be allowed to just sit on
shelves somewhere. Invariably some
administrator will get alarmed at the thought of
all that “hazardous waste” or the space taken
up by “useless material” & order it trashed.
Proposals should include a budget for the
proper care & maintenance of the resulting
specimens. Ideally the material should be

10

May, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.l

donated, with appropriate funding, to an
institution dedicated to the preservation of
natural history specimens for research
purposes.

Oops, I began preaching to an already
converted audience! I just feel so strongly
about the waste of good collections that I spend
a good chunk of my time scouring the internet
for people who might make collections in the
course of their studies and then badger them
until they promise me/LACM their critters.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but then,
you already suspected the worse, didn’t you?”

FUTURE MEETINGS

July Meeting - Monday 13 July at Worm Lab,
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
County. Topic: “Problem polychaete taxa”.
This meeting will be to evaluate the status of,
and how we variously identify, the following
groups (which proved to be inconsistently
identified in the SCBPP): Levinsenia spp..

Protocirrineris spp., Cossum spp.,
Mediomastus spp., Ophelina spp., Sthenelais
spp., Driloneris spp., Fauveliopsis spp.,

TerebeHides spp., and Demonax spp.

By the end of the meeting we hope to have the
nature and magnitude of the problems within
each of these taxa better defined. We can then
proceed to address them in turn.

There will be no August meeting since we will
be in the middle of Bight ‘98 sampling, and
scheduling would be impossible.

The September Meeting will be again held at
the Worm Lab of the Natural History Museum
of Los Angeles County. It will be the follow¬
up to the July meeting. Hopefully during the
intervening period we can find or devise
methods of standardizing identification
practices in the considered taxa groups prior to
beginning work on the Bight ‘98 infaunal
samples. The date of the September meeting
will be decided at the July meeting, and
announced in the July Newsletter.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ABBOTT, DONALD P. & J. V. Johnson. 1972. The ascidians Styela barnharti, S. plicata, S.
clava, and S. montereyensis in Californian waters. Bulletin of the Southern California
Academy of Sciences 71:95-105.

KOTT, PATRICIA. 1985. The Australian Ascidiacea, Part I: Phlebobranchia & Stolidobranchia.
Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 23: 1-440.

LAMBERT, CHARLES C. & Gretchen Lambert. 1998. Non-indigenous ascidians in southern
California harbors and marinas. Marine Biology 130:675-688.

LAMBERT, GRETCHEN. 1996. 11. Phylum Chordata: Subphylum Urochordata, Class

Ascidiacea. pp. 261-293. IN: Blake, James A., Paul H. Scott, & Andrew Lissner (eds.).
Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa Maria Basin and the Western santa
Barbara Channel, Vol. 14. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara,
California. 305 pp.

11

May, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.l

LAMBERT, PHILIR 1997. Sea Cucumbers of British Columbia, Southeast Alaska, and Puget
Sound. Royal British Columbia Museum Handbook. Royal British Columbia Museum/
U.B.C. Press, Victoria, British Columbia. 166 pp.

MONNIOT, CLAUDE, Fran 9 oise Monniot, & Pierre Laboute. 1991. Coral reef ascidians of New
Caledonia. ORSTOM, Paris.

RITTER, WILLIAM E. 1907. The ascidians collected by the United States Fisheries Bureau

Steamer “Albatross” on the coast of California during the summer of 1904. University of
California Publications in Zoology 4(1): 1-52.

—, & Ruth A. Forsyth. 1917. Ascidians of the littoral zone of southern California. University of
California Publications in Zoology 16(24):439-512.

VAN NAME, WILLARD B. 1945. The North and South American Ascidians. Bulletin of the
American Museum of Natural History 84:1-476.

Please visit the SCAMIT Website at:

http://www.scamit.org

12

May, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.l

SCAMIT TREASURY SUMMARY, 1997-98

During the past fiscal year, April 1997 though March 1998, costs for producing the newsletter,
$1854.37, (including printing, postage, and supplies) decreased substantially from the previous
fiscal year ($3532.09). Costs were lower in 1997-98 because no paper purchases were needed (a
large order was processed in the previous year) and also to the addition of an e-mail membership
category. Costs for preparing for and publishing online amounted to $270.60. Two workshops
were hosted at a cost of $100.00. Although at least one publication is presently underway, no
publication grants were issued during the year. SCAMIT’s primary source of income, $1375.00,
came from membership dues which covered most of the costs for producing the newsletter.
Grants and workshops will continue to be funded from the money collected for creating the
Taxonomic Listing for SCCWRP during the 1994-95 fiscal year. The following is a summary of
the expenses and income:

Expenses

Newletter

1,854.37

Online publishing

270.60

Publicationa (Voucher Reprints)

0.00

Grants

0.00

Miscellaneous

221.88

Total

$2,446.85

Income

Dues

1375.00

Interest

293.10

T-Shirts

0.00

Donations

20.00

Miscellaneous

0.00

Total

$1,688.10

Account balnaces(March 31, 1998)

Checking

981.49

Savings

14,183.27

Total

$15,167.76

13

May, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.l

SCAMIT OFFICERS:

If you need any other information concerning SCAMIT please feel free to contact any of the
officers e-mail address

President Ron Velarde (619)692-4903 rgv@mwharbor.sannet.gov

Vice-President Don Cadien (310)830-2400 ext. 403 dcadien@lacsd,org

Secretary Megan Lilly (619)692-4901 msl@mwharbor.sannet.gov

Treasurer Ann Dal key (310)648-5544 cam@san.ci.la.ca.us

Back issues of the newsletter are available. Prices are as follows:

Volumes 1-4 (compilation).$ 30.00

Volumes 5-7 (compilation).$ 15.00

Volumes 8- 15. $ 20.00/vol.

Single back issues are also available at cost.

Southern California Association of
Marine Invertebrate Taxonomists

3720 Stephen White Drive
San Pedro, California 90731

June, 1998 SCAMIT Newsletter Vol. 17,No.2

SUBJECT:

Definition of Polychaete problems for Bight ‘98
sampling

GUEST SPEAKER:

None - Ron Velarde (CSDMWWD) Discussion Leader

DATE:

Monday, 20 July 1998

TIME:

9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p. m.

LOCATION:

Library, MEC Analytical Services

2433 Impala Drive

Carlsbad, California

20 JULY MEETING

Our July meeting will be the first of a pair of
meetings devoted to identifying and resolving
differences in identification procedure in a
series of polychaete worm genera. The genera
listed below proved to be unequally treated by
participants in the 1994 SCBPP. If we can
agree on a standardized approach prior to
Bight’98 sample analysis, our data will be
improved. This first meeting will concentrate
on determining where the problems lie, and
how bad they are. The September meeting will
attempt to provide solutions.

Genera to be considered are Levinsenia spp.,
Protocirrineris spp., Cossura spp.,
Mediomastus spp., Ophelina spp., Sthenelais
Protocirrineris sp B SCAMIT, 1995, Anterior s^^.,Driloneris spp., Fauveliopsis spp..

Dorsal View. From Santa Monica Bay, 60 m. Terebellides spp., and Demonax spp.

Identified by C .A. Phillips. (Image by Rick
Rowe CSDMWWD 7Jul98)

FUNDS FOR THIS PUBLICATION PROVIDED, IN PART BY
THE ARCO FOUNDATION, CHEVRON, USA, AND TEXACO INC.

SCAMIT Newsletter in not deemed to be valid publication for formal taxonomic purposes.

June, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.2

SCAMIT ED. 3

The third edition of the SCAMIT Taxonomic
Listing of Soft Bottom Macro- and
Megainvertebrates is now available. It was a
struggle to get the final problems ironed out,
but we now have it ready to distribute. The 3*^^
Edition expands on the 2"^^ by the addition of
newly reported taxa, emendations resulting
from recent nomenclatural changes, and the
inclusion of an abbreviated synonymy. The
index has also been expanded to allow location
of taxa by subgeneric names and specific
names (including synonyms). At 167 pages,
the Edition is approximately twice the size
of its predecessor.

The document is in Portable Document Format
(PDF) and is downloadable as a self-extracting
zip file. The downloadable file is
approximately 2.4Meg. Once extracted, the
pfd document may be viewed, searched and/or
printed using the Adobe® Acrobat® Reader.
The reader is distributed by Adobe free of
charge and may be downloaded from their web
site (www.adobe.com). It is approximately
3.2Meg.

SCAMIT members will each receive a comb-
bound, two-sided copy of the 3*^^ Edition.

If you are a non-member, but are interested in
obtaining a printed copy you must first join us.
This is one of the benefits of membership. We
are happy to have anyone, member or non¬
member, avail themselves of the on-line PDF
version. Edition 4 is expected to arrive about
two years from now, in mid-2000.

TRAWL INTERCALIBRATION

purpose of the exercise was to allow
interchange of information and standardization
of ID approach prior to the beginning of trawl
sampling at the end of July. We opted for
intercalibration under actual field conditions,
where the animals had more natural appearance
(and color and shape clues) lost after
preservation.

The effort was coordinated and led by Dr. Jim
Allen (SCCWRP) who took charge of the fish
group. He was assisted by April Ford
(CSDLAC) in demonstration of the collected
fishes. A series of nine trawls were taken;
seven offshore on the San Pedro Sea Shelf
(200,140, 80, 60,40,30, 20m) and two in
outer Los Angeles Harbor. As each trawl came
on board the fish were removed and given to
the fish folk for their examination while the
invertebrate group handled the remainder of the
catch. We were trawling over fairly level sandy
bottom with occasional hard outcrops outside
the harbor, and in very muddy conditions
inside the harbor. The fish catch was rather
boring, with no really unusual species being
encountered. One of the few noteworthy
elements was Pacific Sand Dabs, which were
HUGE in the trawl at 140m.

Invertebrates were separately handled by a
group led by Dave Montague and his assistant
Don Cadien (CSDLAC). Most of the catch
was rather routine; exactly what we were
looking for. A few items of interest were
taken, but most of the invertebrates were
commonly taken members of the megafauna.
This gave us all a chance to compare notes on
the common animals we expect to encounter
most during the actual field effort.

On the 16^** of June an intercalibration exercise
was held in preparation for the upcoming
Bight’98 sampling. Representatives of nearly
all the agencies who will participate in the field
sampling met onboard the CSDLAC
monitoring vessel ‘Ocean Sentinel’ and spent
the day pooling their information on field
identification of fishes and invertebrates. The

One surprise was the relative abundance of
Astropecten ornatissimus on the shelf. This (in
our experience) rare starfish occurred in every
trawl between 200 and 80m, often with several
specimens in each trawl. All were similar sized
and rather pale golden orange, the color seen in
this area on the few specimens taken in the
SCBPP in 1994. A color photograph provided

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June, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.2

by Dean Pasko (CSDMWWD) showed a larger
individual from their area sporting a much
more intense, almost scarlet, coloration. Our
catch about tripled the number of specimens
known from this portion of the Bight. We also
got representatives of another more common
starfish (Mediaster aequalis) in all trawls
between 200 and 40m. At 200m a single
individual of the uncommon Hippasteria
spinosa was taken. There are actually two
species in this genus locally, although our field
literature only mentions one. The identity was
verified in the laboratory. Comparative field
material was available for all three local
species of Astropecten, and side by side
comparisons proved useful. Only two of the
three Luidia species were taken, no specimens
of L. armatus being seen. We were thus not
able to directly consider the methods of
separating these close species with live
material. Representatives of Sylasterias forreri
and Sclerasterias heteropaes were also lacking.
These two species are occasionally confused by
some workers.

Non-asteroid echinoderms were also routine.
The only holothuroid taken on soft-bottom was
Parastichopus californicus, but Cucumaria
salma were removed from rocks at 30m. We
took the one local crinoid species Florometra
serratissima at 200m. The irregular echinoids
Brisaster latifrons and Spatangus californicus
were represented, but Brissopsis pacifica was
not. In shallow water Lovenia cordiformis was
taken. Regular echinoids found were
Allocentrotus fragilis, Strongylocentrotus
purpuratus, and Lytechinus pictus. Specimens
of three ophiuroids were taken; Ophiura
luetkenii, Ophiopterus papillosa, and
Ophiothrix spiculata. The appearance of the
Ophiopterus was noteworthy. Although the
animals displayed the typical pattern of
alternating bands of tan and pale chocolate
brown on the arms, the lengths of the arm
spines were atypical. This animal is usually
characterized by having the arm spines longest
at mid arm, and shorter both proximally and
distally. This imparts a characteristic

appearance to the arms which was lacking in
all the individuals taken and examined in these
trawls. Structure of each arm spine,
ornamentation of the aboral disc, and oral
papillae were all normal for the species.

The shrimp catch was small and little varied.
Numerous Sicyonia ingentis were taken (even
in the harbor trawls), but no Sicyonia
penicillata. Hippolytids were absent, as were
pandalids, and other penaeoids. Two species of
crangonids were taken; Neocrangon zacae (as
separated by CSDLAC) offshore, and Crangon
nigromaculata inshore. Crangon alaskensis,
Neocrangon communis, N. resima,
Metacrangon spinosissima, and Mesocrangon
spp. were all lacking.

Crabs were sparse, but varied. A few
Platymera gaudichaudii were seen, pelagic red
crabs Pleuroncodes planipes were taken
intermittently in low numbers, Pyromaia
tuberculata and Portunus xantusii were taken
in low numbers in harbor trawls, and single
specimens of Podochela lobifrons,
Loxorhynchus grandis, and L. crispatus were
caught. Both Loxorhynchus specimens were
juveniles, providing a good opportunity to
demonstrate the field method of separating
these two species. If the crab is grabbed by the
sides of the carapace just behind the rostral
area, the sharp hepatic spines can be plainly
felt. Loxorhynchus crispatus has but one
hepatic spine, while L. grandis has two; one
above and slightly in front of the other. The
difference is easily felt, and using this
technique eliminates the need for extensive
cleaning of the animal to reveal the spines
among a mass of hairs and attached
decorations. Other methods are available, but
less definitive and more time consuming.

Hermit crabs taken in this series of trawls were
Paguristes ulreyi, Pagurus spilocarpus, and
Phimochirus californiensis. Although field
identifications were attempted, all hermit crabs
were returned to the laboratory for
confirmatory examination. Several young

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June, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.2

specimens of Munida quadrispina were pulled
from cavities in a rock taken at 30m. These
ranged from 9-11 mm in carapace length, and
each bore two blue spots on the carapace; one
at the posterio-medial corner of the cardiac
region on each side. This is the shallowest
record of the species , previously known from
depths of 145-500m. If the cavity occupying
behavior of these juveniles is typical, the young
of this species may be common in relatively
shallow water, just very difficult to sample
remotely.

Few cnidarians were taken, but Acanthoptilum
sp., and Virgularia galapagensis, and Stylatula
elongata were sparsely represented. The only
unusual cnidarian was an Urticina Columbiana
taken at 200m. Several large Metridium also
came up in one trawl. At 80m we crossed over
a patch of Ptilosarcus gurneyi, and brought up
one intact individual, and the plumes of four
more. The prostrate gorgonian Thesea sp B was
taken in small numbers.

Mollusks were poorly represented, with no
opisthobranchs taken at all except for a single
Navanax in one of the harbor trawls and the
near ubiquitous Philine auriformis. Even this
robust invader was not much in evidence, with
only a few taken offshore. In one of the harbor
trawls they were quite common, but small. One
small Kelletia kelletii was taken, and one
Neverita recluziana. Only one Octopus
rubescens was encountered, and it was oddly
marked (presumably as a result of net damage
and stress) with a number of large white
blotches on the body and web. Only a single
Rossia pacifica was caught, and no Loligo
opalescens.

The most interesting catch of the day were two
large rocks taken in the 30m trawl. They were
very heavy, and resulted in a torn net and
largely unproductive station. The rocks
themselves were heavily bored by lithophagid
clams, and supported a number of interesting
small animals in the bore holes. A small
Aphrodita japonica was found in one, several

juvenile galatheids in others, and a variety of
sponges, ectoprocts and tunicates on the rock
surfaces. One flabelligerid polychaete was
much in evidence, with it’s cephalic setal cage
extending out of small holes in the rock.

Several of these were collected, and are being
identified. Nearly all these rock-associated
species were too small for recording, and, as
part of the epifauna, would not be reportable
organisms under Bight’98 protocols (but they
were fun).

Although the encountered fauna was not
spectacularly interesting, those on-board
generally felt that the effort was worthwhile,
and should be repeated in future (dissenting
opinions welcome and solicited - contact the
editor or Jim Allen).

NEW LITERATURE

Apropos of our trawling activity, the impact of
trawling on a benthic community was
investigated by Tuck et al (1998). They
experimentally trawled in an area closed to
fishing for over 25 years, and so essentially
undisturbed (although truly long-term residual
impacts of pre-closure activity may have
remained). They found that the disturbance
increased the numbers of both species and
individuals, but diversity measures dropped.
They identify groups which were sensitive to
the disturbance, and others which were
resistant to it. The interaction of these relative
effects shifted the structure of the benthos over
time as a result of the trawling disturbance.
They tracked these changes over an 18 month
study, with some effects still visible at the end
of their observations.

A rather interesting paper on fresh-water
species bears consideration by marine workers
as well. Sickel (1998) reports observations that
tissues of the larvae of Corbicula fluminea
provoke uncontrolled gorging (to worm death)
by predatory rhabdocoel worms. He proposes
that this is a defense mechanism, with the
altruistic loss of the consumed larvae leading to
net population benefit through elimination of
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June, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.2

predators. Well, nobody said flatworms were
smart, but I never suspected that such a
mechanism could be subject to evolutionary
control. Comments?

Several other papers on the results of recent
investigations in Costa Rica have been
mentioned in previous Newsletters. Now
Cortes (1997) reports on the cnidarian fauna of
both coasts. In these days of translocation of
southern species by ENSO current movement,
knowledge of Central and even South
American species becomes relevant. Nearly
130 species of cnidarians are reported from the
Pacific coast of Costa Rica, including both
benthic and pelagic forms. The list offers brief
comments on distribution.

The pelagic red crab, Pleuroncodes planipes,
has been extensively investigated, recently by a
series of Mexican scientists. The latest
contribution to this effort (Gomez-Gutierrez &
Sanchez-Ortiz 1997) synthesizes the available
data on the population off Baja California, and
proposes a conceptual model of the species’
complex life history. Most of the reports to date
have dealt with the adults of the species, either
in their benthic or pelagic phases. Information
on the larval distributions, developments, and
ecology is largely taken from Gomez-Gutierrez
& Sanchez-Ortiz (1995). All of us should try
to keep up with the continuing advances in the
understanding of the population biology of this
species, which makes such a major
contribution to the secondary production of
Eastern Pacific nearshore waters. During El
Nino periods the subject becomes more timely,
but it never loses its relevance.

Three oedicerotid amphipods; Perioculodes
longimanus, Pontocrates arcticus, and
Synchelidium maculatum have their life
histories examined by Beare & Moore (1998).
Although none of these species occur locally,
they do contribute to the slender existing base
of information on oedicerotid biology (mainly
behavioral observations by Enequist 1950).

What to do with the scaphopods!! Steiner
(1992, 1996) analyzed the group
phylogeneticly and proposed that both the
Dentaliida and Gadilida were monophyletic
groups using a number of anatomical
characters of the animals as well as the few
shell characters available. Now Reynolds
(1997) suggests that the data need
reinterpretation, and more rigorous application
of parsimony. He also suggests that data is
incomplete in a number of areas which affect
the analysis. His reanalysis and
reconsideration of scaphopod phytogeny
suggests that monophyly of the Dentaliida is
not supported. Steiner has responded (Steiner
1998) to Reynolds comments in another article
and another hard fought campaign like those
that have previously graced the pages of
Zoologica Scripta seems to have been
launched. This controversy promises to get to
the meat of methodological differences, much
as the ongoing discussions of the Rouse &
Fauchald polychaete phytogeny papers in the
same journal do. The journal seems to have
made an editorial decision to foster and offer a
forum for such battles, as waged by informed
and committed partisans of the various
factional groups. This not only provides a
service to the systematic community
but...controversy always generates heat, and
interest.

Hopefully another recent article from the pages
of Zoologica Scripta (Pleijel 1998) will prove
less controversial. Fred Pleijel has added to his
pile of comprehensive reexaminations of
polychaete groups, this time taking on the
hesionids. He provides a full literature review
(including a listing of all reported hesionid taxa
and pertinent references for them), and
cladistic analysis of the family reexamining all
known genera. Another paper is in press
discussing out-group relationships of the
hesionids, and lower level papers discussing
the species in individual genera are in progress.

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Two of our local species Hesionella
mccullochae and Microphthalmus hystrix are
removed from the family, but are considered of
uncertain affinity. No familial placement is
suggested for these animals. One other change
of note; Podarke is dropped down to a junior
objective synonym of Ophiodromus.

Hartman’s designation of type for Podarke has
no force, since one had already been
designated previously. That type proves to be a
synonym of the type species of Ophiodromus
(Q.E.D.).

The information supporting the limits of the
Hesionidae as defined by outgroups is not in
the present paper, but is in press. It will be
interesting to see what happens to Hesionella
and Microphthalmus down the line, as of now
they are Incertae Sedis. As has been standard in
past Pleijel papers, the present one is chock full
of spectacularly defined SEM photos of these
small animals. Too bad they don’t look like
that under our dissecting microscopes! By the
way, some of the illustrated animals were the
fruits of labor in our local waters when Dr.
Pleijel was through here (and spoke with us) in
1996.

MINUTES OF 26 JUNE MEETING

The agenda of the June 26 SCAMIT meeting
was to standardize the taxonomic information
used in the identification of Photis spp. A key
was created by Dean Pasko (CSDMWWD),
and once finalized it will be the only key used
for Photis during the Bight ‘98 project. In this
fashion, it is hoped identifications will be
standardized.

President Ron Velarde (CSDMWWD) led us
through a short business meeting. It began
with a brief discussion of Jimmy Laughlin’s
recent inquiries concerning hierarchical
groupings within taxonomic databases. He was
inquiring as to our ability to sort and organize
data at higher taxonomic levels (i.e., order,
family) as an aid to analysis. Ron Velarde
explained to those present the City of San
Diego’s method of assigning fixed numerical

species codes and alphabetical taxa codes,
which do not vary with name changes (at the
species level). The name of the species forms
an alpha code for the organism in CSDLAC
data, and so is not insulated from the effects of
name changes. This is handled through a
mechanism which allows global modifications
throughout the existing database if a name
change becomes necessary. This, use of the
name-as-code seems to form one end of the
axis of practice, while a fully hierarchical
numeric code such as NODC forms the other
end. The CSDMWWD method falls
somewhere in-between these two extremes.

Next, it was mentioned that Philip Lambert
heard through the “grape vine”[actually
member Charlie Low] of our difficulty in
acquiring copies of his new sea cucumber book
( Lambert, P. 1997. Sea Cucumbers of British
Columbia. Puget Sound and Southeast Alaska .

Vancouver: Royal BC Museum and University
of BC Press). He personally sent a fax with
information on how to obtain copies of the
aforementioned publication. If there is
sufficient interest among SCAMIT members in
obtaining this publication, we can attempt to do
a group order. If you are interested in this
option, contact Don Cadien, who will
coordinate. For those not interested in a group
order, the author can be reached at
PLAMBERT@RBMLOI .RBCM.GOV.BC.CA.
via the web at http://rbcmI.rbcm.gov.bc.ca; by
phone at (250) 387-6513; or fax at (250) 387-
5360.

Ron then passed around a brief but interesting
discussion from the Conchologists of America
web page entitled “Mollusk vs Mollusc”, by
Gary Rosenberg. It discussed the historical
usage of the two spellings and hypothesized
which of the two was the “more correct”, with
Rosenberg favoring “Mollusk”. You can
examine this on-line at http://coa.acnatsci.org/
conchnet/mollusck.html. Note that Gary has
hedged his bets in the construction of the URL
name, accommodating all points of view
simultaneously.

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Don Cadien passed around a draft copy of the
just released third edition of the SCAMIT
species list. Members present were much
impressed with the synonymy listings and
voiced their appreciation for this impressive
and useful publication. Don stated that as
many copies as possible will be hand-delivered
at future meetings to save on the cost of
mailings. This will unofficially be known as
“the hard-boiled egg edition” due to the choice
of paper colors adopted.

The upcoming Bight ‘98 project was touched
upon, mostly to state that things seem to be
falling into place. It has been decided by the
Steering Committee that biomass will be
measured for benthic and trawl samples
following existing protocols. Perhaps a further
demonstration of the inappropriateness for
benthos of the blotted wet weight biomass
method will come from Bight ‘98 data which
will prove more persuasive than that produced
from SCBPP data. We can at least hope that
this will be the last time data of this nature is
gathered, and that in future this effort can be
reallocated more productively. The field index
period remains much the same, but was
extended one week further into September.

The potential for an upcoming La Nina effect
was discussed. It was felt that we will see a
return of the normal fish/benthic community
structure, and possibly fall back into another
seven year drought. The El Nino/La Nina
system is of concern to us all, and not only in
the way it affects our nearshore waters. It is
but one manifestation of global atmosphere/
ocean system oscillations which have profound
effects on the ecosphere. Some have
speculated that the most severe human disasters
of recent centuries (ie. influenza outbreaks
killing millions, the Irish potato famine, the
black death in Europe) are all at least partially
a result of weather anomalies related to this
system! Even more subtle links have been

suggested between social phenomena such as
the French Revolution and ENSO related crop
failures. Maybe it’s not just media hype after
all (see websites listed later in this NL).

Reports have been coming in from up north
(Megan Lilly, CSDMWWD, persn. comm .with
Dr. Van Bonn, Upstream Associates) of marine
mammal deaths due to ingestion of the diatom
toxin domoic acid, a toxicant closely monitored
by the California Dept. Of Health Services (for
details see http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/)
They test concentrations of the diatoms which
secrete the toxin (formerly Nitzschia pungens,
now considered several species and referred to
as Pseudo-nitzschia spp) in nearshore waters,
and test directly for domic acid in the tissues of
sentinel organisms. Normally concentrations
in our area are not high enough to be of
concern. In central and northern California
waters, however, there have been several alerts
and consumption bans as a result of this toxic
agent (see Drum et al 1993, and Langlois et al
1993). One recent newsletter from the CDOHS
indicated that an offshore bivalve sample from
the Santa Barbara area tested positive for
elevated domoic acid. This toxicant has been
linked with deaths and neural damage to
mussel consumers in western Atlantic waters
(see Subba Rao et al 1988, Bates et al 1991,
Wohlgeschaffen et al 1992). Interested parties
can consult a domoic acid website with a much
larger bibliography at:

http: //www.mar.dfo-mpo .gc .ca/science/mesd/
he/toxins/index .html

Finally, member Carol Paquette (MBC) has
been observing Black Crowned Night Herons
and mentioned that the colony numbers seem
low. She has been examining scat and
regurgitate and finding little evidence of the
normal fish diet. She suspects northern
anchovy and other fish normally utilized by the
birds are diminished due to El Nino, and is
seeking data to confirm or reject this

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hypothesis. Interestingly she has been finding
crayfish remains in heron regurgitate, evidence
they are going inland to feed in fresh waters
distant from seaside nesting areas.

subtle. The draft keys needed a bit of
refinement in how the nature of the dactyls was
expressed. It was clear to Dean, but less so to
others attempting to use the keys.

The meeting was turned over to Dean Pasko
(CSDMWWD) who distributed his most recent
draft of keys to both male and female Photis
species from the Southern California Bight.
These were accompanied by a figure page
meant to be distributed with the keys which
illustrated a series of key character states.

Dean also passed out to those in attendance a
series of pages produced by the labs image
system providing photomicrographs of a series
of species. Several previously unillustrated
provisional species were among those covered,
facilitating the resulting discussion. Dean is
also preparing a series of SCAMIT voucher
sheets for local Photis provisionals which have
not previously had sheets available.

Those present worked through the keys,
looking for problems. We attempted to run
specimens of several species less familiar to
Dean through the keys, among them lots
labeled Photis conchicola and P. viuda. About
4 lots identified as P. conchicola were
examined. Several of them proved to be
mixed. One, collected intertidally in 1979 at
Point Loma, contained representatives of P.
parvidons, but did not seem to have any P.
conchicola. Authentic male and female P.
conchicola were finally located in a lot from
shallow water off Oxnard. These were still
associated with their nests (see Carter 1982 for
a discussion of shell use in this species), and
the shells containing the nests were also
retained in the sample. The key did seem to
correctly place these specimens, but it became
clear that the specific wording of the couplets
was very important. The key characters of the
palmar margin and inner margin of the
gnathopod dactyls must be described with
extreme caution as the differences can be quite

Description of the bulges, sinuosities, teeth,
knobs, etc. which line the inner dactylar margin
are particularly troublesome since they undergo
ontogenic change. One of the major benefits of
Dean’s keys are that they incorporate specific
size information for species where such
ontogenic changes occur. Juveniles and adults
will often key separately as a result. Similar
types of change also affect the palmar margins
of the gnathopods, with size and shape of teeth
and sinuses changing with growth. Given the
exaggeration of the mature male gnathopods,
such change is an unavoidable function of the
species’ sexual dimorphism. Since juvenile
males usually resemble females more closely
than they do adult males, major changes in
gnathopod morphology must occur.

Fortunately the developmental trends are all
parallel. In all cases existing structures of the
juvenile become larger and more accentuated
in the adult. Sinuses become larger (generally
both deeper and broader), and teeth become
larger in later molts.

We also tested the keys with several adult male
P. viuda taken during the SCBPP program.

They also keyed appropriately. Dean will
dissect and mount individuals of both P.
conchicola and P. viuda, and collect images of
them for the CSDMWWD image database. We
also discussed the value of complete
parallelism in the character descriptions in each
half of a single couplet. Although Dean was
aware of this, a few non-parallel areas were
identified and will be modified in the final key.

This was scheduled as a workshop, but several
important participants were unable to attend at
the last minute. In their absence the meeting
became Dean’s one-man-show, with Ron
Velarde, Carol Paquette and Don Cadien
serving as beta testers for Dean’s extensive
efforts. Any success of the resulting keys will

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be entirely his doing. We all owe him a debt of
thanks for the work he did in preparation for
the meeting, and in the ongoing modifications
of the keys leading to a final version. Once
completed in final form the keys will be
distributed both through Bight ‘98 meetings,
and through posting to the SCAMIT website in
the Tools area. Identifications intended for the
Bight’98 database will need to be generated
from these keys. All other taxonomic aids and
keys can be used as usual, but the final name
usage must be in conformance with the new
keys to achieve the standardization necessary.

MY LIFE AS A BIOLOGIST
by Donald J. Reish

Chapter 8: I become a polychaetologist!

When I arrived at OIMB [Oregon Institute of
Marine Biology], one of the first things Dr.
Pratt asked me was what group of animals was
I going work on. I do not know to this day
why I said polychaetes. Maybe it was seeing
that large Neanthes brandti the year before;
maybe I liked the challenge. I really do not
know. People have asked how it happened, and
of course, my decision to follow polychaetes
has since influenced many others.

I signed up for research, seminar and
invertebrate embryology. I gave the first
seminar which was on the polychaetes of Coos
Bay. There wasn’t much of a library: a few
papers by Moore, none by Hartman. I used
Lights manual to identify the worms (key
written by Hartman). This was the first
published manual which was mimeographed
and had a green soft cover. Invert embryo was
exciting. It was strictly a lecture course; we
did have a lab, but nobody really accomplished
anything. We discovered a large burrowing
animal inhabiting the beach flats by the
barracks. We didn’t know what phylum it
belong to. I went to work on it and determined
that it was an apodous holothurian—then
called Caudina chilensis. I chose this animal
to do my lab work for invert embryo. I didn’t
really see any development—it was too late in

the season. However, I decided to do my
masters on the seasonal reproduction of this
holothurian. I started sending off for reprints; I
received my last batch during my early years at
CSULB. I made my collections and a
September collection and started making
slides. I had become frustrated with
identification of polychaetes.

Coos Bay is about 125-150 miles from
Corvallis and I didn’t have a car. At the same
time Dr. Pratt learned that S.F. Light had died,
and there was no attempt to reissue the book
(this was before Ralph Smith’s time). Dr. Pratt
had a meeting with his graduate students (6 or
7) and informed us that we were going to write
a manual for Oregon. He told me “Don, you
are going to do the polychaetes since you know
more about them than any of us”. I then made
a decision: since I did not have a car and since
I have been assigned to write a key to the
polychaetes of Coos Bay, I might as well do it
for my masters degree research. Thus, you can
see how seemingly unrelated events come
together—had I had a car or had Light not died
or had Dr Pratt not decided for us to write a
manual, I may never taken up polychaetes.

Who knows? We completed the manual and
mimeographed it. Dr. Pratt used it in his class,
but it was never published nor revised. I still
have a copy. Dr. Pratt later went back to
parasitology, his chosen field.

I started on my masters the fall of 1947 at
Oregon State. I started working up the
literature on polychaetes and I wrote my first
letter to Hartman. She wrote a very
encouraging letter back. I also wrote the
Berkeleys, and Moore; Treadwell had just died.
I also wrote Fauvel; he replied in English on a
postcard. I returned to OIMB the summer of
1948. I was a TA in invert zool for Dr. Pratt; in
fact I had my friend John as a student. The rest
of the time I was busy collecting polychaetes. I
did most of my identification that fall at
Oregon State. I had difficulty identifying one
particular worm. Finally in desperation, I
turned the worm around and used the posterior

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end as the head. No problem, it was a
maldanid! Later I was reading one of Fauvel’s
papers and he commented that many people
had problems identifying this worm because its
tail looks so much like a head. I didn’t feel so
foolish then. It was exciting to write to people
far way and find them to be very encouraging
to me in my studies on polychaetes.

The fall semester of 1948 I was a TA in invert
zool and in the spring I was a TA in
parasitology. I visited Hartman, but I will write
about that in the next chapter. I took advanced
parasitology and as my project, I studied the
parasites of sea gulls. As I went to check the
gall bladder, my partner said no parasite would
live there. I found several. They were new host
and distributional records, and formed the
subject of my first publication. I also found an
acanthocephalan which was identified by Van
Cleve, the authority on this group. That
summer I found larval stages in a sand crab. I
fed them to mice. My friend said how stupid;
trying to implant a marine parasite in a
terrestrial mammal. It developed into the
acanthocephalan. I repeated the experiment
and it also took. This was another paper for
me.

I learned from these two happenings not to
accept preconceived ideas or thoughts. Both of
these fellow students said that I was “lucky”. I
do not think so; I tried doing things rather than
accepting the conventional wisdom that “it
won’t work”. This experience lead me to
develop my own trial and error science. I
would rather attempt to try something than
think about it. If I had not pursued this idea of
trial and error science, I never would have had
much luck in culturing polychaetes. I found
that students like to get their hands wet and
dirty and do things.

Next Time in Chapter 9: I complete my
masters and head south: beginning of the
Hartman years.

MATERIEL EOR AN E-MAIL

I am offering glass ware, reprints, etc. for free
to interested parties. I have thousands of shell
vials measuring from 0.5 to 4.0 drams with 1.5
dram being the most abundant. Many are new.

I also have many, many 500 ml Erlenmeyer
flasks. Some aquarium supplies such as gang
lines and substage filters. Please indicate to me
(see below) what you are interested in and I
will get back to you.

I am disposing of my reprints with the
exception of polychaetes and Barnard’s papers
(this latter for sentimental reasons). If you are
interested, please indicate to me (see below)
the animal or plant group (s) you are interested
in. It will take me a month or two to sort
through my reprints.

You can contact me by phone at (562) 985-
4846 (you an leave a message on the machine
if I am not present), FAX at 562-985-8878 or
email me at DJReish@aol.com. No, I am not
quitting science; I’m just trying to get some of
clutter out of my scientific life.

— Dr. Donald Reish

YEAR OE THE OCEAN

Its now the middle of 1998, and we have yet to
mention in the Newsletter that official
recognition of that 70% of the earth’s surface
and well over 90% of the habitat volume of our
globe known as the ocean has finally taken
place. This is OFFICIALLY the Year of the
Ocean. What this means, other than as a
photo-op for our leaders in Santa Monica Bay,
remains to be seen. It has resulted, so far, in a
bit of good PR for salty liquids, more media
attention (debatably a good thing), and a few
useful articles. One of the most recent of these
(Carlson 1998) just appeared in Scientific
American, and draws attention to the
increasing involvement (and value) of amateur
observations in the marine environment. It also
mentions something that we, as invert folks, are
only peripherally involved in; fish. Although I

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generally view these animals either as potential
predators of the interesting marine species, or
as hapless victims of clever invertebrate
parasites, they do have considerable influence
over most marine environments.

This is a round-about way of bringing up the
NOAA Great American Fish Count, due to take
place the first two weeks of July. I have never
participated in this effort, although some of you
probably have. One of the areas of
concentration is in the Channel Islands, an area
where SCAMIT members may be able to help
out. Any of you who are divers, and would like
to get involved with a marine equivalent of the
Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count
should contact Christy Pattengill at 800-862-
3260 or visit their website at:

www.fishcount.org.

Hopefully the main thrust of the Year of the
Ocean will be educational. I assume that
schools throughout the country are taking
advantage of official support to increase the
information on the oceans offered their
students. Also hopefully, the accuracy of the
provided information will be improved by
official support. Increased public awareness is
only of value when supplemented by accurate
information. Heightened concern is of great
value, but when such concern is misdirected
into unproductive byways by misinformation
all positive value is lost, and harm may be
done.

I expect that, as usual, little of the information
or debate arising from the Year of the Ocean
programs will deal with invertebrates, although
locally the potential for a disastrous crash of
the Loligo population (and fishery) may garner
some attention. You would think that the recent
furor over the zebra mussel might spread to
other note-worthy invertebrates, but this seems
not to be happening in any broad sense. Well,
SCAMIT folk can rest assured that your
Newsletter will carry whatever marine
invertebrate information is brought to attention

of the NL staff. That is your job. If you have
news or notes please contact Don Cadien or
Megan Lilly so that your comments can be
included in future.

WEATHER (OR NOT)

On a related note, we have begun to hear
references in the media to signs of La Nina.
Although there has been (according to the
various sites on the web dealing with these
phenomena) a decrease in the intensity of El
Nino expression in recent months, we are still
in an ENSO event. For those interested in
hearing it directly from the knowledgeable
sources the following list (selected - there are
many more)of information sources on the web
is provided:

http: //www.elnino .noaa .gov
http: //www.ceres .ca.gov/elnino/
http://www.wmo .ch/nino/nonoi .html
http://www.pfeg .noaa.gov/products/
upwell.html

http: //pmel .noaa .gov/toga-tao/el-nino/
measurements .html
http: //oar.noaa.gov/enrelease2 .html

Unfortunately few of these sites provide any
biological information to supplement the
remote sensing of temperature and/or ocean
height anomaly which generally forms the
information base of ENSO forecasting and
tracking. We have attempted, and will continue
to attempt, to fill this gap for the Southern
California Bight area. If you have additional
comments on unusual animal occurrences in
your area you would like to contribute to the
NL please contact Don Cadien or Megan Lilly.

A preliminary indication of a water mass
dislocation off California, perhaps a
continuation of ENSO disturbance or a
beginning signal of La Nina flow, is the recent
catch of several unusually pelagic cephalopods
nearshore. The first was a specimen of the
squid Gonatopsis borealis at 305m off Palos
Verdes on 21 May 1998 during routine trawl
sampling. This small individual (ML about

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35mm) had us scratching our heads for a while
before we finally were able to match it to the
description of the young of the species in
Young (1972). Initial attempts using the key to
juveniles in Sweeney et al. 1992 were
unproductive. Although the species is known
from the area, it is normally confined to
offshore waters outside the channel islands,
and doesn’t come in near shore.

A second specimen came from the Orange
County Marine Institute, taken recently in 60m
of water. This was just a bit larger than the
Gonatopsis specimen (at 45mm ML) and was
also assumed to be a sub-adult individual. It
proved to be a fully mature specimen of
Abraliopsis felis. This animal is covered in
photophores both dorsally and ventrally, and
has large hooks on the tentacles and along the
arms. It also has enlarged photophores, large
dark ovals, at the end of the ventral pair of
arms. Anytime you see a squid with these it
will be one of the two species of Abraliopsis
which occur in our area.

Both of these species have the third pair of
arms expanded into a lateral keel to facilitate
midwater cruising by the squid. While such
midwater animals occasionally make it into our
trawl catches, they should be excluded from
our benthic trawl database. It is useful to
remember, however, that the two bottom
associated squids we do take and report -
Rossia pacifica and Loligo opalescens are not
the only squids in our area.. Young (1972) list
36 species of pelagic cephalopods reported
from waters in or near the Southern California
Bight. Their list did not include Rossia,

Loligo, or two other squids which are
sometimes seen in numbers nearshore - the
jumbo squid Dosidicus gigas, and Moroteuthis
robustus. They also did not mention two other
swimming octopods, Opisthoteuthis
californicus and Opisthoteuthis sp A. Adding to
this the six or seven species of Octopus which
occur in the area, we have a total of 48-49
species of cephalopods which might occur in
our trawl nets. A sobering statistic; and one

which dictates that if a trawl caught specimen
looks even remotely different or out of the
ordinary, it should be returned to the laboratory
for identification or for confirmation of field
identification.

CRABS: SWIMMING & PINCHING

A report was received from Carol Paquette
(MBC Applied Environmental Sciences) that
California Department of Fish and Game
personnel had been fielding complaints from
boaters and bathers in Newport Bay of attacks
by crabs. Apparently most of the attacks took
place in the vicinity of the Dunes recreation
area in mid-bay, and not in the upper or lower
bay. Bathers and barefoot kayak and small
boat launchers were aggressively approached
as they stood in shallow water just off the
beach. Investigation by John Scholl of CDF&
G soon revealed that the reports were true. He
took several specimens of an agile swimming
crab to MBC for identification. They proved to
be Callinectes arctuatus, a southern species
(south to Chile) reaching its northern range
limit in southern California (at Los Angeles
Harbor). Chuck Mitchell (MBC) visited the
site several days later and found densities of
about 2/m^. He reported that although none of
the observed females were berried, several
pairs in amplexus were seen. Ovigerous
females have been reported from March
through September in the past.

Nearly all of the swimming crabs taken in
Southern California Bight waters over the years
have been Portunus xantusii, but on occasion
other species have been observed. In addition
to Callinectes arctuatus, its congener C.
bellicosus may be taken in the San Diego area
(Garth & Stephenson 1966), and offshore
Euphylax dovii has been rarely encountered
(Word 1976).

In a follow-up to last months report on
Stenorhynchus debilis in southern California,
Carol also passed on a record from a diver who
observed and photographed them in early June
off Corona del Mar in about 30' of water. No

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specimens were returned, but the photograph
leaves no doubt as to the identity of the animal.
This is the most northward report of the species
on the mainland to date.

THE MALE IS WRONG

Member Tim Stebbins (CSDMWWD) recently
sent an e-mail noting differences between the
specimens he (and Dean Pasko) had been
observing and the published description of
Campylaspis canaliculata Zimmer 1928. No
male was available for Zimmer’s original
description, and the male remained
undescribed in the literature until the recent
report of Watling & McCann (1997).
Unfortunately, the male put forward by Watling
& McCann as C. canaliculata is not. It appears
to be a related species, but is not the male of C.
canaliculata as known here in the Bight. Our
local specimens of C. canaliculata display
characteristically narrow and deep lateral
carapace sulci in BOTH sexes. The male
attributed to the species by Watling & McCann
lacks this sulcus in the provided illustrations
(Figure 2.24a, b), and is also described in the
text as lacking a sulcus. In most other
particulars the animal is similar to the sulcate
male taken locally along with females. It also
lacks, however, the sternal tooth found on the
first three abdominal segments of C.
canaliculata males. Presumptive males of the
species should be examined for these teeth;
they occur in an area not normally examined in
the process of identification, and consequently
are not often noted. They are clearly absent in
Figure 2.24b of Watling & McCann, a lateral
view of an entire male specimen.

Tim and Dean also noted a difference in the
uropodal setation of their specimens from that
reported by Watling & McCann. In the key to
treated Campylaspis provided by those authors
( pg. 160-161) they state that the uropodal
exopod lacks lateral setation in C. canaliculata,
and use this as a key character in separation
from C. biplicata. Our specimens do not bear
this out. Both the San Diego specimens and

those from off Palos Verdes have two to three
setae distally on the exopod lateral margin.

The count is usually two, but a third
subterminal seta occurs with some frequency.
Despite the assertion in the text and in the key
that these are lacking in C. canaliculata,
Zimmer’s original description makes no such
statement. Zimmer gave little detail in his
description of the uropods, and did not mention
armature of either the lateral or mesial margins
of the exopod. His illustration does not show
the setae, but is not very large.

Both the San Diego and Palos Verdes
specimens are from much closer to the type
location of the species (off Corona del Mar)
than are the specimens examined by Watling
and McCann from off central California. Some
clinal variation might be expected, and this
may be represented in their concept of the
species. Their statement that the species was
previously known from only two specimens
reflects reliance on the literature, and lack of
local experience. Most agencies sampling in
the Bight take this species routinely, and
hundreds of specimens have been examined
from local waters.

ALIEN ALERT

Member Mary Wicksten (TAMU) recently
notified the editor via e-mail of a potential
incursion by a southern shrimp species into our
waters. The species, normally found in
Panamanian waters, may extend northward
during the present strong ENSO event, and we
should be on the watch for it. It is an
undescribed species of the hippolytid genus
Lysmata, which Mary describes as “The other
Lysmata is smaller than L. calif arnica, has a
distinct accessory branch to one flagellum of
the first antenna and is colored red with distinct
lines of silver spots.” Anyone finding this
animal should collect the specimens and notify
Mary (wicksten@bio.tamu.edu). I’m sure she
would appreciate both the record and any
available specimens.

13

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June, 1998

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

BATES, S. S., A. S. W. de Freitas, J. E. Milley, R. Pocklington, M. A. Quilliam, J. C. Smith, and
J. Worms. 1991. Controls on domoic acid production by the diatom Nitzschiapugensf.
multiseries in culture: nutrients and irradiance. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic
Sciences 48:1136-1144.

CARLSON, SHAWN. 1998. A year for the oceans. Scientific American 279(1): 108-109.

CARTER, JOHN W. 1982. Natural history observations on the gastropod shell-using amphipod
Photis /a Alderman, 1936. Journal of Crustacean Biology 2(3):328-341.

CORTES, JORGE. 1997. Costa Rican marine biodiversity: Phylum Cnidaria. Revista de Biologia
Tropical 45(lB):323-334.

DRUM, ANN S., T. L. Siebens, E. A. Crecelius, and R. A. Elston. 1993. Domoic acid in the

Pacific razor clam Siliqua patula (Dixon, 1789). Journal of Shellfish Research 12(2):443-
450.

ENEQUIST, PAUL. 1949. Studies on the soft-bottom amphipods of the Skagerak. Zoologische
Bidrag fran Uppsala 28:297-492.

GARTH, JOHN S., and W. Stephenson. 1966. Brachyura of the Pacific Coast of America.

Brachyrhyncha: Portunidae. Allan Hancock Monographs in Marine Biology (1): 1-154.

GOMEZ-GIJTIERREZ, JAIME, and Carlos A Sanchez-Ortiz. 1995. Capitulo 3. Centros de

eclosion y deriva larval y postlarval de la Langostilla, Pleuroncodes planipes (Crustacea:
Galatheidae), en la costa occidentale de Baja California Sur. Pp.35-57. Aurioles-
Gamboa, D., and E. F. Balart La Langostilla: Biologia, Ecologia y Aprovechamiento.

—. 1997. Larval drift and population structure of the pelagic phase of Pleuroncodes planipes

(Stimpson) (Crustacea: Galatheidae) off the southwest coast of Baja California, Mexico.
Bulletin of Marine Science 61(2):305-325.

LANGLOIS, GREGG W, K. W. Kizer, K. H. Hansgen, R. Howell, and S. M. Loscutoff. 1993. A
note on domoic acid in California coastal molluscs and crabs. Journal of Shellfish
Research 12(2):467-468.

PLEIJEL, FREDERIK. 1998. Phylogeny and classification of Hesionidae (Polychaeta). Zoologica
Scripta 27(2): 89-163.

REYNOLDS, PATRICK D. 1997. The phylogeny and classification of Scaphopoda (Mollusca):
an assessment of current resolution and cladistic reanalysis. Zoologica Scripta 26(1): 13-
21 .

SICKEL, JAMES B. 1998. Gluttonous feeding behavior in the Rhabdocoel, Macrostomum sp,

induced by larvae of the Asiatic clam, Corbicula fluminea. Journal of Freshwater Ecology
13(1): 135-137.

STEINER, GERHARDT. 1992. Phylogeny and classification of Scaphopoda. Journal of
Molluscan Studies 58:385-400.

—. 1996. Suprageneric phylogeny in Scaphopoda. Pp.329-335. Taylor, J. Origin and evolutionary
radiation of the Mollusca.

SUBBA RAO, D. V., M. A. Quilliam, and R. Pocklington. 1988. Domoic acid- a neurotoxic
amino acid produced by the marine diatom Nitzschia pungens in culture. Canadian
Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 45:2076-2079.

SWEENEY, MICHAEL J., Clyde F. E. Roper, Katharina M. Mangold, Malcolm R. Clarke, and
Sigurd V. Boletzky. 1992. ‘Larval’ and juvenile cephalopods: a manual for their
identification. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 513:1-218.

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June, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.2

TUCK, IAN D., Stephen J. Hall, Mike R. Robertson, Eric Armstrong, &David J. Basford.1998.
Effects of physical trawling disturbance in a previously unfished sheltered Scottish sea
loch. Marine Ecology Progress Series 162:227-242.

WATLING, EES, and Linda D. McCann. 1997. Chapter 2: Cumacea. Pp. 121-180 IN: Blake,
James A. & Paul H. Scott (eds.). Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa
Maria Basin and Western Santa Barbara Channel. Volume 11: The Crustacea Part 2 - The
Isopoda, Cumacea and Tanaidacea. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa
Barbara, California. 278pp..

WOHLGESCHAFFEN, G. D., K. H. Mann, D. V. S. Rao, and R. Pocklington. 1992. Dynamics of
the phycotoxin domoic acid - accumulation and excretion in 2 commercially important
bivalves. Journal of Applied Phycology 4(4):297-310.

WORD, JACK Q. 1976. A swimming crab, Euphylax dovii Stimpson 1860, new to the marine
fauna of California. California Fish and Game 62(2): 161-162.

YOUNG, RICHARD EDWARD. 1972. The systematics and areal distribution of pelagic

cephalopods from the seas off southern California. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology
(97): 1-159.

ZIMMER, CARL. 1936. California Crustacea of the order Cumacea. Proceedings of the United
States National Museum 83(2992):423- 439.

Please visit the SCAMIT Website at: http://www.scamit.org

SCAMIT OFFICERS:

If you need any other information concerning SCAMIT please feel free to contact any of the
officers e-mail address

(619)692-4903 rgv @ mwharbor.sannet.gov

(310)830-2400 ext. 403 dcadien@lacsd.org

(619)692-4901 msl @ mwharbor.sannet.gov

(310)648-5544 cam@san.ci.la.ca.us

President

Vice-President

Secretary

Treasurer

Ron Velarde
Don Cadien
Megan Lilly
Ann Dalkey

Back issues of the newsletter are available. Prices are as follows:

Volumes 1-4 (compilation).$ 30.00

Volumes 5-7 (compilation).$ 15.00

Volumes 8- 15. $ 20.00/vol.

Single back issues are also available at cost.

Southern California Association of
Marine Invertebrate Taxonomists

3720 Stephen White Drive
San Pedro, California 90731

July, 1998 SCAMIT Newsletter Vol. 17,No.3

SUBJECT:

Problem Polychaete solutions

GUEST SPEAKER:

None - Ron Velarde (CSDMWWD) Discussion Leader

DATE:

Monday, September 21,1998

TIME:

9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p. m.

LOCATION:

Worm Lab

Natural History Musem of Los Angeles County

900 Exposistion Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA

There is no August Meeting scheduled. Please
carefully note that the meeting announcement
applies to the September meeting. At that time,
and after two months to ponder the nature of
the problems covered in July and their possible
solutions, a second problem polychaete
discussion will be held. Since this will be the
“prove it” meeting, please bring any supporting
references, data, specimens, etc. to aid in
resolving contentious taxonomic issues. The
Meeting will be held at the Natural History
Museum with Hartman’s types just down the
hall for consultation if necessary.

Philinoglossa sp A - Station 1-37(2), 7-16-97,

63 ft. (Image by K. Barwick CSDMWWD
13Aug98)

FUNDS FOR THIS PUBLICATION PROVIDED, IN PART BY
THE ARCO FOUNDATION, CHEVRON, USA, AND TEXACO INC.

SCAMIT Newsletter in not deemed to be valid publication for formal taxonomic purposes.

July, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.3

BYLAW AMENDMENT

The membership has voted to accept the
proposed Amendment of the duties of the Vice
President (modification of Bylaw 2 of the
SCAMIT Constitution). The election period
for this amendment, which closed at the end of
May, was separate from the period for return of
officer ballots. No nay votes were tabulated
among the twenty or so members who
responded (not all members voting in the
officer elections chose to vote on the
amendment issue as well). Although a
unanimous vote was not required (a 2/3 vote
would have been sufficient to carry the
proposal) for the alteration of the Bylaw, it was
accorded by the voting membership. In
consequence the position of Vice-President will
be divorced from the duties now carried out by
the Newsletter Editor. Either prior to the 1999
Officer Election or concurrently with it the
Executive Committee must appoint a
Newsletter Editor. This may continue to be the
Vice-President if the person elected to that
office is willing to undertake the Editorship as
well. Once appointed, the Editor will continue
to serve until removed by request of the
Executive Committee or until he(she) resigns.

BIGHT‘98 SAMPLING

Sample collection has begun for Bight‘98.

Both trawl and infaunal collections were made
off Oxnard at regional stations by ABC Labs
on Monday 12 July. The effort level has now
apparently been stabilized at 404 infaunal sites
and 378 trawl sites to be visited. At each site
effort will vary, with a variety of different
chemical and physical samples at each benthic
station, and several different tissue sample
collections at some trawl stations. Involved
personnel who would like a more detailed
presentation of the sampling requirements
should review the Field Operations Manual
(available from your Bight’98 coordinator).
Non-participants should contact SCCWRP.

The SCAMIT Role

As in the SCBPP in 1994, SCAMIT will be
functioning as a QA/QC organization. We
have already begun acting in our QA guise by
holding pre-standardization meetings such as
the present one dealing with problem
polychaetes, and earlier meetings on trawl
invertebrates and the amphipod Photis. Such
meetings will continue as part of the quality
assurance effort under the Bight‘98 program.
As we proceed further into the project
SCAMIT will continue to have meetings to
address specific areas of taxonomic uncertainty
arising from Bight‘98 samples. We may need
to resume meetings on an accelerated schedule
to exchange information and experiences with
the collected samples. If this is necessary it is
likely that we will separate into polychaete and
non-polychaete groups, with each holding one
meeting a month. After sample completion and
the sample exchange and reidentification of the
QC program, SCAMIT (through a committee
of members) will comment on the produced
species list, and review identifications in the
Bight’98 samples. We will offer our opinion
on the validity of names in the database to
those responsible for data analysis.

Taxonomists working on Bight’98 samples will
also be tied together through a Taxonomic
Discussion Group reflector. This is not open to
non-participants, involving only those
taxonomists working directly on Bight‘98
samples. The reflector will be hosted by
SCCWRP, but will be monitored by Dave
Montagne at CSDLAC. Participants will be
able to send descriptions of newly encountered
animals, caveats about non-functional key
couplets, commentary on observed character
variability, or new range extensions to all other
taxonomists involved in the project. Some of
these same items will also be made available to
the wider audience afterwards via the SCAMIT
Newsletter. Significant findings and newly

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July, 1998

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Vol. 17,No.3

erected provisionals will certainly reach the
broader user base of the SCAMIT website after
first emerging in discussion on the Bight‘98
reflector.

NEW LITERATURE

A different approach to an index of habitat
degradation from that used in the BRI (Benthic
Response Index) developed for the SCBPP data
has been demonstrated by Roberts et al (1998).
They pursued the “less is more” strategy,
relying on the abundances of a small series of
positive and negative pollution indicators in an
area affected by dredge spoil disposal. They
relied on enhanced abundance of the positive
indicators, and reduced abundance or absence
of the negative indicators. Their rationale was
that it only cost roughly 1/4 as much to apply,
and yielded the information on impact
required. This bottom line approach to a
special purpose indicator has value, but it
cannot easily be extended to cover the full
range of habitats we investigate in the Bight.
The more exhaustive, but more informative
type of index, such as the BRI, is still a plus
when complex data from a broad area is to be
evaluated.

Two more volumes in the continuing series
Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the
Santa Maria Basin and Western Santa Barbara
Channel have been released - Vol. 3: The
Cnidaria, and Vol. 8: The Mollusca Part 1. One
additional volume on the polychaete worms is
still to come, with an uncertain release date.
Each of these volumes is multi-author. That
dealing with cnidarians has two sections by
Hochberg & Ljubenkov (1998a, b) and one by
Fautin (1998). The mollusk volume covers all
groups except the gastropods, which have
previously been covered in Vol. 9. After a
general introduction to the mollusks (Coan
1998), sections deal with the Aplacophora
(Scheltema 1998), the Polyplacophora
(Eernisse 1998), the Scaphopoda (Shimek
1998), the Bivalvia (Valentich Scott 1998), and
the Cephalopoda (Hochberg 1998).

SCAMIT members have been exposed to some
of this material in manuscript, but the real
article is now out and available for our use.

Five new aplacophores and two new bivalves
are introduced in Vol. 8, including several taxa
which had previous SCAMIT provisional
designations. After a sufficient period has
elapsed to allow calm examination of these two
volumes, we will discuss them in detail at a
meeting, and produce a listing of comments on
their contents. A list of changes from current
SCAMIT usage (in Ed. 3) is in preparation, and
will be provided as an attachment to a future
newsletter.

At the meeting member Larry Lovell brought a
new hesionid description to the attention of the
members (Dean 1998). The species,
Glyphohesione nicoyensis, was taken from the
Gulf of Nicoya, on the Pacific coast of Costa
Rica. It was noted by Larry that Dean uses the
spelling of Ancystrosyllis in his paper instead
of Ancistrosyllis. The significance of this
variant spelling was not resolved.

One other monographic type publication is now
available as an electronic publication
(hopefully it will migrate to printed status as
well, allowing introduction of the copious
illustration it needs and does not now provide)
linked through the SCAMIT website. The
document (Hooper 1997) is a guide to sponges
which includes information on structure,
natural history, nomenclature, taxonomy, and
classification. If printed out it forms a 144 pg.
downloadable document which deals with the
phylum worldwide. It is particularly useful for
higher level taxonomy, but also briefly
diagnoses most genera worldwide. No species
information is provided, and zoogeography is
not covered. A key to orders is offered, but no
keys are provided for family level or below.
Even with these limitations this is a wonderful
tool to have available, and I recommend it to
the attention of all members. Those not wishing
to follow the link on the SCAMIT website can

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Vol. 17,No.3

find this valuable summary of information on
sponges directly at http://
www.qmuseum .qld .gov.au/nature/
explorenature/spongeident.html.

GOOD THING/SMALL PACKAGE

The more odd habitats we encounter, the
broader our knowledge of the local biota
becomes. Case in point is the relict red sand
substrate which occurs in scattered areas
throughout the Bight. These are essentially
nearshore relict riverine deposits of iron-
enriched sands, thus the red coloration.
Existence of such substrate offshore cannot be
completely ruled out, however, and some is
available as deep as 60 m off Palos Verdes. We
might expect outcrops of this sediment type as
deep as the limit of glacial associated sea-level
drop, approximately 118m in the southern
California Bight.

This substrate is relatively coarse, and supports
a community which differs radically in
composition from those occurring nearby in
both fine sand and silty bottoms. It roughly
corresponds to what has been referred to in the
literature as “shell sand” or ""Amphioxus sand”.
One recent sample from this type of substrate
collected off San Diego yielded something
quite small, and also unreported from our area.
In this sample, from 63ft depth, nine small
snails were found which did not match any
known member of the local fauna. They were
given to Don Cadien (CSDLAC) for
examination. After an initial dissection of one
of the animals their identity became clear; they
were the first known representatives of the
cephalaspid superfamily Philinoglossacea
taken in the Eastern Pacific. This doesn’t
preclude the possibility that other specimens
have been taken in the past and left at
unidentified Cephalaspidea because of their
small size and lack of external characters.
Hopefully this is the case, and the current brief
description of these animals will elicit
additional material from readers.

The animals have few external characters of a
positive nature (presences) but they have many
negatives (absence of structures). They are
ovate-elongate “slug” shaped, lack a head
shield, lack parapodia, lack external gills, lack
a shell externally, lack rhinophores, lack oral
tentacles, lack attenuated corners to the foot,
lack posterior mantle lobes (although a similar
structure is present), and lack surface eyes
(although eyes are discernible deep in the
tissue).

They are small, the nine specimens ranging
from l-2mm in length, and 0.5-1mm in greatest
width. They appear to be partially contracted
with the dorsum conspicuously wrinkled
transversely, and are probably more elongate
and narrower bodied when fully extended.
Because of this partial contraction the sides of
the foot project laterally beyond the sides of the
dorsum. This might suggest parapodia, but is
only an artifact of preservation. The foot is
also slightly shorter than the dorsum, which
overhangs it at the rear. Ground color of the
preserved animals is a translucent tan, with
darker reddish brown visceral mass showing
through towards the middle of the animal.

Internally the animals lack a vestigial shell
posteriorly, they lack jaws anteriorly, and they
lack gizzard plates. The small radula, about 15
tooth rows in the dissected animal, has the
formula of 2.1.0.1.2. This formula is shared
with other described members of the group
(although Thompson 1976 lists this as 3.0.3,
apparently following Odhner 1952), as is the
morphology of the individual teeth. The
marginal teeth are somewhat laterally flattened
and appressed, so that they almost appear to be
one bifid tooth. They are attached to the lateral
tooth adjacent to a strong low shoulder near the
tooth base. The cusps of the marginals are
simple, curved, and acute. They lack any
denticles. The lateral tooth is more complex,
larger and more robust than the marginals, and
not flattened laterally. The tooth has a broad
base, with a strong low shoulder laterally. The
central cusp is strong, curved so that its tip is

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SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.3

slightly ahead of the base of the cusp, and
dorsoventrally flattened towards the tip. Near
the middle of the cusp it broadens into a medial
flange which bears a series of small marginal
denticles. From this flange distad the cusp is
slightly scooped out, with the edges extending
beyond the central line of the cusp. The
appearance is very much like the lateral tooth
of Pluscula cuica (Marcus & Marcus 1954,
figure 8). There is no central tooth.

The group is one of those small interstitial
groups about which little is known. There are
two families in the superfamily, the
Philinoglossidae and the Plusculidae. The later
contains but a single species of a single genus,
Pluscula cuica Marcus 1953. Two genera are
assigned to the Philinoglossidae; Philinoglossa
(with 5 or so species world-wide) and the
monotypic Sapha {S. amicorum Marcus 1959).
One other species, Abavopsis latosoleata
Salvini-Plawen 1973, is either in a valid genus
in the family Philinoglossidae, or in a subgenus
within Philinoglossa. They are primarily
distributed in the north Atlantic and
Mediterranean, but Sapha amicorum comes
from the Red Sea, and Philinoglossa marcusi
Challis 1969 is from the Solomon Islands in
the western Pacific. All these taxa seem to be
separable from the new southern California
species on the structure of the posterior end of
the body. Pluscula has a vestigial shell
retained internally near the posterior end of the
animal, and has a foot much shorter than the
dorsum. Philinoglossa is transversely truncate
posteriorly without the lateral lappets or lobes
present in our species. Sapha comes to a
median point posteriorly. Abavopsis seems to
retain a cephalic shield, and, like
Philinoglossa, to lack the posterior lateral
lappets of our species.

There may be notable differences in the
structure of the internal organs between the
local species and other described species in the
group, but sectioning has not yet been
performed. Details of described Philinoglossa
species are provided by Herding (1932),

Marcus & Marcus (1954 & 1958), and Challis
(1969); those of Pluscula by Marcus 1953,
Sapha by Marcus 1959, and those of Abavopsis
latosoleata by Salvini-Plawen (1973). In nearly
all cases these are the original descriptions.
Only Philinoglossa helgolandica has been
treated by several different authors.

Anyone who thinks they might have additional
specimens of this species please send the
specimens to Don Cadien at CSDLAC, or bring
them to a SCAMIT meeting. A voucher sheet
on the species - called Philinoglossa sp A for
now - is in preparation.

JULY 20 MEETING MINUTES

During the business meeting Larry Lovell
circulated a list of sessions, chairs of sessions,
and participants of the 6^** International
Polychaete Conference being held August 2-7,
1998 in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil. It can be
accessed (see http://biodiversity.uno.edu/
~worms/brazil.html) on the Annelida resources
home page. Member Leslie Harris was in
attendance, and should be able to give us a
report on the conference at the September
meeting.

Our meeting topic was creation of a
standardized approach for selected taxa listed
in Attachment 2, Table 1 of the SCBPP 1994
report. Our goal is increased consistency in
identification of these taxa for the Bight’98
Project. Many of the taxa listed resulted from
dropping species level identifications. With the
addition of the MMS Atlas, SCAMIT voucher
and identification sheets, and discussions such
as these, we hope to identify more species
consistently. In cases where we agree to back
off to genus for certain problematic taxa, we
need to develop a protocol to assure consistent
recording of taxa.

We stressed the importance of retaining
specimens that are unusual and accumulating
rare specimens during this project. The time
we invest now to save unusual specimens will
help to solve taxonomic problems in the future.

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Vol. 17,No.3

We agreed to use the SCAMIT website to alert
other taxonomists of encountered species not
listed in the Edition of the SCAMIT Species
List. Additionally we will send a brief e-mail
to other polychaete taxonomists notifying them
that there is new information regarding
Bight’98 polychaetes at the SCAMIT website.

The first taxon on our list to be considered was
Cossura spp. It was agreed that only
specimens with over 10 setigers would be
identified to species. Juveniles and specimens
with 10 or fewer setigers will be left at Cossura
sp. For specimens over 10 setigers, stain with
methyl green and use Rick Rowe’s sheet
entitled '"Cossura species of Pt. Loma” of
August 1995 to identify Cossura sp A and C.
Candida. C. Candida may represent a species
complex; however, until more work is done, we
will continue to use the methyl green staining
pattern and point of antennal insertion to
identify this species. Be on the lookout for C.
pygodactylata which may be found in bays. If
you get a species of Cossura that is not C. sp A
or C. Candida, use the MMS Atlas key to try to
determine an identification. If your specimen
does not match with any described species in
the Atlas, call it Cossura sp, collect material,
and make a provisional voucher sheet.

Levinsenia spp was the next taxa investigated.
Warning: Do not use the MMS key for
Levinsenia. Branchial length and number are
not useful characters to separate L. oculata
from L. gracilis. Larry offered to prepare a key
for the September meeting; he’s now
requesting specimens of L. oculata. It would
be helpful if we could get some specimens to
him in advance to aid in the preparation of his
key, but he also wants us to bring specimens to
the September meeting. There are three
species of Levinsenia that we can identify: 1)

L. gracilis - the modified setae have a fringe
along their edges, 2) L. multibranchiata - has
very long, thin branchiae, and 3) L. oculata -
modified setae without fringe. L. oculata also
is distinguished by its slightly inflated anterior
end and its methyl green staining pattern; it has

paired spots just posterior to the notopodial
lobes in the post-branchial region. A note of
caution though; Larry has occasionally seen L.
gracilis with some diffuse regional staining on
the body (possibly due to the animal’s
reproductive state), so be careful to not confuse
this with the distinct methyl green staining
spots of L. oculata.

The next taxon addressed was Protocirrineris
spp. Rick handed out identification sheets on
Protocirrineris sp A and Protocirrineris sp B
which contained beautiful digital images
displaying characters that we can use to
identify these species. These sheets are
intended to compliment the voucher sheets
prepared by Tony Phillips of May 17
{Protocirrineris sp A) and May 30
{Protocirrineris sp B). Rick warned that
methyl green staining in P. sp B can be a
problem, and his identification sheet contains
some tips on how to get the best staining
results. Rick also distributed an identification
sheet on Aphelochaeta sp A SCAMIT 1998. It
displays the methyl green staining pattern and
other distinguishing characters. These sheets
will surely help standardize our identifications
of these problematic cirratulids that we
encounter.

For identification of Mediomastus, we will use
the same protocol as the Bight Pilot Project.

We will identify M. acutus, even if we only
have the anterior end. In M. acutus, there are
long notopodial setae in the thorax, the
prostomium is long and acute, and they are
found in shallow water with coarse sediment.
We will identify other Mediomastus spp only to
the generic level, even if the specimen is
complete.

Ophelina spp was the next taxa considered.

The SCAMIT species list recognizes O.
acuminata and O. sp SD I. For Ophelina sp
SD I, use Rick Rowe’s voucher sheet dated
November II, 1995. This species is
distinguished by the ventral groove running the
length of the entire body, having 32 setigers

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SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.3

(compared to about 50 in O. acuminata), and
having a pygidium in the shape of an anal tube
(compared to an open anal scoop in O.
acuminata).

Ron Velarde has been looking at various
specimens of Sthenelais and reviewing the
literature. He has found the literature very
confused in this genus. Ron believes we are
getting two species in Southern California, S.
tertiaglabra and S. verruculosa. S. tertiaglabra
usually occurs in water deeper than 90-100
feet, while S. verruculosa is a more shallow
water species. In Hartman 1968 (page 165,
figure 6), S. tertiaglabra is figured with
pseudo-articulated setae; these setae are also
noted by Blake 1995 (page 198, MMS
Atlas,Vol. 5, Part 2) and in the original
description of this species. These setae are
apparently unique to S. tertiaglabra. Ron
thinks that S. verruculosa is a good species.

Ron does not believe that we are getting S.
fusca, and the characters that we now use to
separate these species (S. tertiaglabra, S. fusca,
and S. berkeleyi) are probably artificial. We
have recorded S. berkeleyi from Southern
California; this species has large papillae on its
ventrum. Ron questions whether we are
getting real S. berkeleyi or if our reports are S.
tertiaglabra. There are still many questions to
be answered; Ron will investigate these further
and present more information at the September
meeting.

The next genus tackled was Drilonereis spp.
Keys for Drilonereis often use the presence or
absence of mandibles as a character. Colbath
1987 reports that jaws in some Eunicoid
Annelids may be shed occasionally. We agreed
to use Leslie Harris’ key for Drilonereis that
appeared in the SCAMIT Newsletter, Vol. 14,
No. 11, March 1996. When using this key,
substitute Drilonereis sp A for D. nr. longa.

For small specimens, our protocol is to make a
mount of the entire animal for better viewing of
the jaw pieces and then take the animal through
Leslie’s key. If you cannot view the maxillae
(specimen too small or maxillae missing), or if

you cannot take the specimen through the key
(it just doesn’t fit any species), identify as
Drilonereis sp. Specimens of Drilonereis that
occur inside Cirratulids will be identified as
Drilonereis sp A. Large specimens of D. sp A
and complete specimens of other Drilonereis
spp should be retained. We also agreed to keep
track of animals that do not have jaws.

The next genus considered was Fauveliopsis.
For complete specimens, we will use the key in
Fauchald and Hancock 1981 which is based on
setiger counts. The City of San Diego has been
using F. sp SD 1 which they usually find at
shallow stations with coarse sediment. Kathy
Langan- Cranford will investigate F. sp SD 1
further to see if there are differences from the
already described species and if so, what those
differences are. Until then, CSDMWWD will
use the published key in Fauchald and
Hancock.

Terebellides spp were then examined. T.
californica is our most common species of
Terebellides. We will use Kathy Langan-
Cranford’s Trichobranchidae key (August 1,
1997) which includes a new illustration of T.
reishi. If anyone gets a T. sp C, please pull it;
we are not sure if we have seen a real T. sp C.

The key and illustration of T. reishi will be
included with next month’s newsletter.

Species of Demonax were considered next.

Kirk Fitzhugh has looked at our specimens of
Demonax previously and described Demonax
sp 1. In general, we feel that published
descriptions of other Demonax species are not
detailed enough to provide confident
identifications. If you get a specimen that is
not D. sp 1, you may: 1) back off to spp or 2)
use a published species name if you feel
confident in doing so.

The next part of the meeting involved receiving
several new handouts from Rick Rowe that will
be very useful in tackling the Bight’98 samples
as well as our regular monitoring samples. All
of Rick’s handouts included excellent digital

7

July, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.3

images. The first was a key to the Nephtyidae
of Point Loma (adapted from Hilbig 1994).
Nephtys simoni Perkins 1980 and Nephtys sp
SD 2 fide Rowe 1997 are differentiated from
Nephtys ferruginea Hartman 1940 and Nephtys
caecoides Hartman 1938 in the key.

Rick’s next handout was on Polycirrus
californicus. It contained digital images of the
methyl green staining pattern of the holotype
which was provided by Larry Lovell. This
species and P. sp A are our most commonly
recorded species in this genus. Larry
commented that P. sp A often comes in a thin
tube with a tangle of branchiae stuffed inside
the tube, but he has never seen P. californicus
in a tube. We concluded that we should re-visit
Polycirrus voucher sheets at the September
meeting and go over individual protocols and
practices used in identifying these species.

Rick distributed identification sheets on four
species of Malmgreniella: M. nigralba, M. sp
A, M. sp SD 2, and M. macginitiei. This is a
difficult and confusing group, and Rick
explained and showed with images, some of
the distinguishing characters of these species.
He stressed the importance of looking laterally
at the cephalic peaks in determining their
prominence. The specimen of M. nigralba
(provided by Cheryl Brantley) is distinguished
by: 1) the polygonal reticulation pattern on its
elytra, 2) the short, broad, and rounded
supraacicular lobe, and 3) the bracts of
spinules extending onto the base of the
secondary teeth of middle neurosetae. M. sp A
also exhibits a polygonal reticulated pattern on
the elytra but has bracts of spinules that only
approach the base of the secondary tooth on
middle neurosetae, a secondary tooth that is
thin and nearly reaches to the end of the
primary tooth, long, rounded supraacicular
lobes, moderate cephalic peaks, and long
dorsal cirri. M. sp 2 is very similar to M.
bansei Pettibone 1993. It has bracts of spinules
that do not approach the base of the long, thin
secondary tooth in the middle neurosetae and
long, thin supraacicular lobes. It lacks the

dorsal cirrophore pigment and has much longer
dorsal cirri than illustrated in Pettibone’s
original description of M. bansei. Our local M.
macginitiei fits the characterization of the
species presented in the original description by
Pettibone 1993 and by Ruff 1995 (page 147,
MMS Vol. 5, Part 2). The prostomial peaks are
well formed; the bracts of spinules do not
approach the base of the moderate, sharply
pointed secondary tooth; the supraacicular
neuropodial lobe is triangular; the dorsal cirrus
is very long; and the dorsal cirrophore, base of
the dorsal cirrostyle, often the ventrum of
posterior setigers, and the dorsum of the
prostomium possess areas of dark
pigmentation.

We then launched into discussing the
remainder of the taxa listed in Attachment 2,
Table 1 of the 1994 Bight Pilot Project report.
For each taxa, we decided: 1) to what level we
could take the identifications, 2) which species
we could reliably identify, and 3) which
references we would use to identify each of
these taxa. The results of this discussion will
be presented in tabular form in the next
newsletter.

BIOASSAY ORGANISM ID

President Ron Velarde (CSDMWWD) recently
examined specimens of one of the required
bioassay species Eohaustorius estuarius to
verify their identity. He had some difficulty in
reaching that identification for the specimens at
hand (supplied from Oregon), and referred
them (with a presumptive ID of E. brevicuspis)
to Don Cadien for examination. In that process
it became clear that the presence of a recent
review of the genus (Bousfield & Hoover 1995)
was not enough to make identification of these
animals easy. Difficulties were encountered in
application and interpretation of the key
supplied in the above paper, and some basic
information on variability with age is still
lacking. The setation of these (not spines, but

8

July, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.3

robust setae following the classification of
Watling 1989) animals is very complex, with
presence/absence/size/location of setal rows of
importance in the separation of species.

Bousfield has been a pioneer in work with
haustoriid amphipods (see Bousfield 1965, and
1970), and may be so familiar with the animals
that he feels some things do not need
explanation. Others (like most of us) only see
these animals infrequently, and do not have
easy familiarity with their complex
morphology. This is not provided by Bousfield
& Hoover (op. cit.). A review of that paper and
preparation of a supporting extension which
will help us interpret its content is in progress
(by D. Cadien, CSDLAC) but will not be
available for some months. In the mean time
please be critical of the identifications of the
haustoriids you are supplied with for bioassays.
Assure yourself that you are not dealing with
mixed lots, and we will attempt to simplify the
process of arriving at a correct and supportable
identification in the near future. Please note -
this is not intended to deny the accuracy of
identification from the providing supplier, but
only to indicate that we find it difficult or
impossible to verify this with currently
available literature. We always have the
responsibility of verifying identity of supplied
test organisms; in this case we find we cannot,
at present, do so.

HESITATING ON HESIONIDS

In his recent reassessment of generic and
higher level taxonomy Pleijel (1998) mentions
several changes in the family Hesionidae. His
illustrations and discussion of the genus Gyptis
help to demonstrate that Gyptis brunnea has
undergone some taxonomic drift since its
discovery by Hartman in 1961. See Table 1.

INEORMATION TRANSEER MEETING

On 9 July an Information Transfer Meeting
dealing with identifications of trawl fishes and
invertebrates was held at SCCWRP. This
meeting was part of the Quality Assurance

program for Bight‘98. A morning presentation
on identification of invertebrates by Don
Cadien (CSDLAC) was followed in the
afternoon by a session covering fishes led by
Dr. Jim Allen (SCCWRP). In the morning the
emphasis was on process, attempting to cover
the “how to” of field invertebrate identification.
Approach was stressed; especially the need to
know when to doubt your ability to correctly
identify an animal in the field. This is
particularly important with trawls as normal
practice is to discard specimens which have
been field identified. Once the specimen is
gone, the identification must be accepted as
valid or completely ignored; the possibility of

Table 1 -

Gyptis brunnea
characters

Author Source

1)

With prominent

Pleijel illustrates; not

lip glands

mentioned by Hartman
(1961) or Hilbig (1994a)

2)

With central

Pleijel; “ lacking” in

prostomial

Hartman; “ supposedly”

antennae

with a 3*^^ antennae
centrally in Hilbig

3)

Parapodial

Pleijel illustrates weak to

ventral cirri

smooth; Hartman

“ articled” ,

illustrates smooth; Hilbig

articulated, or

illustrates and mentiions

smooth

“ distinctly articulated”

4)

Notopodial setae

Pleijel does not mention

smaller and

this condition; Hilbig

shorter than

illustrates mostly similar

corresponding

lengths for setae, with

neurosetae

only the inferior
neurosetae as shorter;
Hartman specifies the
condition, but illustrates it
only in the superior
position of the fascicles

—

Tom Parker (CSDLAC)

9

July, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.3

reexamination and reidentification being no
longer available. Attendance at the meeting was
good, with representatives of all the field
groups scheduled to participate in Bight’98
sampling present.

A brief overview of the areas of particular
concern was provided which touched on those
groups where SCBPP identifications had
proven to be unstandardized, as well as those
groups which had been misidentified during the
“bucket test” prequalification exercise.
Specimens of several of the problem groups
were displayed, and Megan Lilly
(CSDMWWD) provided a very helpful series
of slides showing the field identification marks
for local Octopus species. Fortuitously a fine
in situ color picture of Octopus californicus is
provided on the cover of Taxonomic Atlas Vol.

8 (see below).

A request for specimens has been received
from Dr. Gordon Hendler at the Natural
History Museum of Los Angeles County. He
was reading the last NL and came to the
description of our intercalibration cruise
catches which included several echinoderms of
interest to him. A hasty e-mail later I was
alerted to a need for saving such materials for
the museum. All groups which have not
already completed their trawling please save
duplicate material of species already vouchered
for Dr. Hendler. It will be appreciatively
received.

there (notification courtesy of Jim Rounds,
NHMLAC) in mid-July. Jim promises to keep
a lookout for more individuals of this species,
and also any other unusual catches at the
station.

On a somewhat more delayed note, another
specimen of the processid shrimp Processa
peruviana was taken south of Pt. Loma in July
of 1997 in 106ft. of water. This specimen is
much smaller than the large individual taken
off Palos Verdes. Ron Velarde (CSDMWWD)
also pointed out a record from the past that
may be referable to this species as well;
Processa cf. bermudensis of Laughlin
(described briefly in SCAMIT NL 7(3), August
1988). Although the distinguishing characters
provided by Laughlin are strongly suggestive
of P. peruviana, the specimen should be
reexamined before we place his animal into the
synonymy of that species. Laughlin’s
specimen was collected just under 10 years
before the San Diego specimen, and came from
100m depth in Santa Monica Bay.

MORE EL NINO

As the current prolonged ENSO event expires -
to be replaced shortly by La Nina flow from
the north, bringing cooler waters, and dryer
conditions - biological stragglers from the
south are still being recorded in local waters.
Continuing our coverage of the incursion of
Stenorhynchus debilis, the Pacific arrow crab,
into our waters, we have a new northern record
on the mainland. A single adult specimen was
taken at the Redondo Beach Generating
Station, and maintained in their culture facility

10

July, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.3

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BLAKE, JAMES A. 1995. Chapter 6. Family Sigalionidae Kinberg, 1856. pp. 189-206 IN:
Blake, J. A., Brigitte Hilbig, and Paul H. Scott (eds). Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic
Fauna of the Santa Maria Basin and Western Santa Barbara Channel. Vol. 5, The
Annelida Part 2. Polychaeta: Phyllodocida (Syllidae and Scale-Bearing Families),
Amphinomida, and Eunicida. 378pp.

BOUSFIELD, EDWARD L. 1965. Haustoriidae of New England (Crustacea: Amphipoda).
Proceedings of the United States National Museum 117(3512): 159-240.

—. 1970. Adaptive radiation in sandburrowing amphipod crustaceans. Chesapeake Science
11(3):143-154.

—, & Phillip M. Hoover. 1995. The amphipod superfamily Pontoporeioidea on the Pacific coast
of North America. II. Family Haustoriidae. Genus Eohaustorius J. L. Barnard:
systematics and distributional ecology. Amphipacifica 2(l):35-63.

CHALLIS, D. A. 1969. Philinoglossa marcusi n. sp. (Mollusca: Opisthobranchia:

Philinoglossacea) from the British Solomon Islands Protectorate. Transactions of the
Royal Society of New Zealand, Biological Sciences 11(11): 169-175.

COAN, EUGENE V. 1998. Introduction to the Mollusca. Pp. 1-2 IN: Valentich Scott, Paul &
James A. Blake (eds.). Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa Maria Basin
and The Western Santa Barbara Channel. Vol 8: The Mollusca Part 1; The Aplacophora,
Polyplacophora, Scaphopoda, Bivalvia, and Cephalopoda. 250pp.

COLBATH, G. K. 1987. Evidence for shedding of maxillary jaws in eunicoid polychaetes.
Journal of Natural History 21:443-447.

DEAN, HARLAN, K. 1998. A new species of Hesionidae, Glyphohesione nicoyensis (Annelida:
Polychaeta), from the Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica. Proceedings of the Biological Society
of Washington lll(2):257-262.

EERNISSE, DOUGLAS J. 1998. 3. Class Polyplacophora. Pp. 49-73 Z/V: Valentich Scott, Paul
& James A. Blake (eds.). Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa Maria
Basin and The Western Santa Barbara Channel. Vol 8: The Mollusca Part 1; The
Aplacophora, Polyplacophora, Scaphopoda, Bivalvia, and Cephalopoda. 250pp.

FAUCHALD, KRISTIAN and Danil R. Hancock. 1981. Deep-water polychaetes from a transect
off central Oregon. Allan Hancock Foundation Monograph No. 11, pp 37-38.

FAUTIN, DAPHNE GAIL. 1998. 3. Class Anthozoa: Orders Actiniaria, Ceriantharia, and
Zoanthinaria. Pp. 113-139 IN: Valentich Scott, Paul & James A. Blake (eds.).
Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa Maria Basin and The Western Santa
Barbara Channel. Vol 3: The Cnidaria. 150pp.

HARTMAN, OLGA. 1961. Polychaetous annelids from California. Allan Hancock Pacific
Expeditions 25:1-226.

—. 1968. Atlas of the Errantiate Polychaetous Annelids from California. Allan Hancock
Foundation, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 828pp.

HERTLING, H. 1932. Philinoglossa helgolandica . n.g.. n.sp.. ein neuer Opisthobranchier aus
der Nordsee bei Helgoland. Wissenschaftliches Meeresuntersuchungen, Abteilung
Helgoland 19(2): 1-9.

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July, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.3

HILBIG, BRIGITTE. 1994a. 9. Family Hesionidae. Pp. 243-269/A: Blake, James A. &

Brigitte Hilbig (eds.). Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa Maria Basin
and Western Santa Barbara Channel. Vol. 4: The Annelida Part 1; Oligochaeta and
Polychaeta: Phyllodocida (Phyllodocidae to Paralacydoniidae). Santa Barbara Museum
of Natural History, Santa Barbara, California. 377pp.

—. 1994b. Chapter 13. Family Nephtyidae Grube, 1950. pp. 329-362 IN: Blake, J.A. and B.
Hilbig (eds). Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa Maria Basin and
Western Santa Barbara Channel. Vol. 4: The Annelida Part 1; Oligochaeta and
Polychaeta: Phyllodocida (Phyllodocidae to Paralacydoniidae). 377pp.

HOCHBERG, FREDERICK G. 1998. 6. Class Cephalopoda. Pp. 175-236/A: Valentich Scott,
Paul & James A. Blake (eds.). Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa Maria
Basin and The Western Santa Barbara Channel. Vol 8: The Mollusca Part 1; The
Aplacophora, Polyplacophora, Scaphopoda, Bivalvia, and Cephalopoda. 250pp.

— , and John C. Fjubenkov. 1998a. 1. Class Hydrozoa. Pp. 1-54/A: Valentich Scott, Paul &

James A. Blake (eds.). Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa Maria Basin
and The Western Santa Barbara Channel. Vol 3: The Cnidaria. 150pp.

—, and —. 1998b. 2. Class Anthozoa: Subclass Octocorallia, Orders Stolonifera and
Pennatulacea. Pp. 55-112 /A: Valentich Scott, Paul & James A. Blake (eds.).

Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa Maria Basin and The Western Santa
Barbara Channel. Vol 3: The Cnidaria. 150pp.

HOOPER, JOHN N. A. 1997. Sponge Guide: Guide to Sponge Collection and Identification
(Version August 1997). 144pp. On-line electronic publication available at http://
www.qmuseum.qld.gov.au/nature/explorenature/spongeident.html.

MARCUS, ERNST. 1953. Three Brazilian Sand-Opisthobranchia. Universidade de Sao Paulo:

Boletins da Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciencias e Fetras 165(Zoologia 18): 165-203.

—. 1959. Fine neue Gattung der Philinoglossacea. Kieler Meeresforschungen 15(1): 117-119.
MARCUS, EVEFINE DUBOIS-REYMOND, and Ernst Marcus. 1954. Uber Philinoglossacea
und Acochlidiacea. Kieler Meeresforschungen 10(2):215-223.

—. 1958. Opisthobranchia aus dem Schill von Helgoland. Kieler Meeresforschungen 14(1):91-
96.

ODHNER, NIFS HJAFMAR. 1952. Petits opisthobranches peu connus de la cote
Mediterraneenne de France. Vie et Milieu 3(2): 136-147.

PETTIBONE, MARIAN H. 1953. Some Scale-bearing Polychaetes of Puget Sound and
Adjacent Waters. University of Washington Press, Seattle, Washington. 89pp.

— 1993. Scaled polychaetes (Polynoidae) associated with ophiuroids and other invertebrates and

reviews of species referred to Malmgrenia McIntosh and replaced by Malmgreniella
Hartman, with descriptions of new taxa. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 538:1-
92.

PFEIJEF, FREDERICK. 1998. Phylogeny and classification of Hesionidae (Polychaeta).
Zoologica Scripta 27(2): 89-163.

RUFF, R. EUGENE. 1995. Chapter 3. Family Polynoidae Malmgren, 1867. pp. 105-166. IN:

Blake, J.A., B. Hilbig, and PH. Scott (eds). Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the
Santa Maria Basin and Western Santa Barbara Channel. Vol. 5: The Annelida Part 2;
Polychaeta: Phyllodocida (Syllidae and Scale-Bearing Families), Amphinomida, and
Eunicida. 378 pp.

12

July, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.3

SALVINI-PLAWEN, Luitfried von. 1973. Zur kenntnis der Philinoglossacea und der

Acoctilidiacea mit Platyhedylidae fam. nov. (Gastropoda, Ceptialaspidea). Zeitschrift fiir
Zoologiscties Systematik und Evolutionsforshung 11(2): 110-133.

SCHELTEMA,AMELIEH. 1998. 2. Class Aplacoptiora. Pp. 3-47/A: Valentich Scott, Paul &
James A. Blake (eds.). Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa Maria Basin
and The Western Santa Barbara Channel. Vol 8: The Mollusca Part 1; The Aplacophora,
Polyplacophora, Scaphopoda, Bivalvia, and Cephalopoda. 250pp.

SHIMEK, RONALD L. 1998. 4. Class Scaphopoda. Pp. 75-96/A: Valentich Scott, Paul &

James A. Blake (eds.). Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa Maria Basin
and The Western Santa Barbara Channel. Vol 8: The Mollusca Part 1; The Aplacophora,
Polyplacophora, Scaphopoda, Bivalvia, and Cephalopoda. 250pp.

THOMPSON, THOMAS EVERETT. 1976. Biology of Opisthobranch Molluscs, Volume 1. The
Ray Society, London. 206pp.

VALENTICH SCOTT, PAUL. 1998. 5. Class Bivalvia. Pp. 97-173/A: Valentich Scott, Paul &
James A. Blake (eds.). Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa Maria Basin
and The Western Santa Barbara Channel. Vol 8: The Mollusca Part 1; The Aplacophora,
Polyplacophora, Scaphopoda, Bivalvia, and Cephalopoda. 250pp.

WATLING, EES. 1989. A classification system for crustacean setae based on the homology
concept. Pp. 15-26 IN: Felgenhauer, Bruce E., Les Watling, & A. B. Thistle (eds.).
Functional Morphology of Feeding and Grooming in Crustacea. Crustacean Issues 6. A.
A. Balkema, Rotterdam.

Please visit the SCAMIT Website at: http://www.scamit.org

SCAMIT OFFICERS:

If you need any other information concerning SCAMIT please feel free to contact any of the
officers e-mail address

(619)692-4903 rgv @ mwharbor.sannet.gov

(310)830-2400 ext. 403 dcadien@lacsd.org

(619)692-4901 msl @ mwharbor.sannet.gov

(310)648-5544 cam@san.ci.la.ca.us

President

Vice-President

Secretary

Treasurer

Ron Velarde
Don Cadien
Megan Lilly
Ann Dalkey

Back issues of the newsletter are available. Prices are as follows:

Volumes 1-4 (compilation).$ 30.00

Volumes 5-7 (compilation).$ 15.00

Volumes 8- 15. $ 20.00/vol.

Single back issues are also available at cost.

Southern California Association of
Marine Invertebrate Taxonomists

3720 Stephen White Drive
San Pedro, California 90731

August, 1998 SCAMIT Newsletter Vol. 17, No. 4

SUBJECT:

Problem Polychaete Soulutions

GUEST SPEAKER:

None - Ron Velarde (CSDMWWD) Discussion Leader

DATE:

Monday, 21 September 1998

TIME:

9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p. m.

LOCATION:

Worm Lab

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County

900 Exposistion Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA

There was no August SCAMIT Meeting. At the
September meeting, and after two months to
ponder the nature of the problems covered in July
and their possible solutions, a second problem
polychaete discussion will be held. Since this
will be the “prove it” meeting, please bring any
supporting references, data, specimens, etc. to aid

FUNDS FOR THIS PUBLICATION PROVIDED, IN PART BY
THE ARCO FOUNDATION, CHEVRON, USA, AND TEXACO INC.

SCAMIT Newsletter in not deemed to be valid publication for formal taxonomic purposes.

August, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.4

NEW LITERATURE

Two more landmark volumes have been
released by the U.S. Government Printing
Office (Voss et al 1998). They deal with the
systematics and distribution of cephalopods
world wide, and are symposium volumes with
multiply authored individual contributions.
Both volumes are dedicated to Gil Voss and
William Adam, two fallen giants in the field of
cephalopod systematics and biology. They
resulted from the International Workshop on
Systematics and Biogeography of Cephalopods
held 10 years ago in Washington, and are
companion volumes to an earlier publication
dealing with larval and juvenile cephalopods
(Sweeney et al 1992). These three volumes
together constitute an extremely valuable
summary of the current state of most
cephalopod systematics worldwide. We must
remember that not all of the contributions are
completely up to date, and a great deal of
revisionary work on cephalopods has been
published recently. There are some areas left
untouched as well - including the octopods of
the eastern Pacific. We assume this is because
work was not complete at the time of
publication on some of the subject taxa and or
areas. As with all Smithsonian Contributions,
it is likely that copies can be obtained from the
authors (in this case the editors). Once their
supply is exhausted it will probably be
available from the USGPO for awhile, and may
be reprinted if demand is sufficiently high.
Anyone working with cephalopods can only
benefit from many of the articles presented in
these volumes, even those only peripherally
related to our local fauna.

Another largely pelagic group is discussed in a
recently released popular article (Nadis 1998).
The siphonophores are mentioned as a major
research area for MBARI (Monterey Bay
Aquarium Research Institute) and their new
deep-diving ROV the Tiburon. Although of
little use to us taxonomically, the article
presents interesting information on the
distribution and activities of some of our local

siphonophore species, including one reaching a
length of up to 40m!! Unfortunately the article
does not discuss our one benthic siphonophore,
Dromalia alexandri.

A new journal is being launched - Biological
Invasions. As one might expect from his
prominence in the field, the Editor-in-chief is
James T. Carlton. This journal represents the
first stab at concentrating information in a peer-
reviewed journal on all aspects of biological
invasions. The subject has been increasingly
reported in recent years because of man’s role
in the process. The announcement contains a
call for papers, and a description of the journal,
along with a subscription form. Individual
subscriptions are $100/yr (four issues), and
institutional subscriptions are $252.50.
Contributing authors will not be subject to page
charges, and are provided 75 offprints at no
charge. Contact Kluwer Academic Publishers
Order Dept., P. O. Box 358 Accord Station,
Highham, MA 02018-0358; or via e-mail at
kluwer@wkap.com or on the web at http://
www.wkap.nl. Manuscripts should be
submitted to the Kluwer Academic Publishers
Journals Editorial Office - Biological
Invasions, P. O. Box 990,3300AZ Dordrecht,
The Netherlands.

SLUGEEST

The saga of California Philine species has been
often addressed in the NL. There are, however,
many other worthwhile discussions of the
current status of California species to be had.
One of the most informative, and contentious,
is the ongoing discussion on the Sea Slug
Forum run by Dr. William Rudman at the
Australian Museum. He has had several
correspondents from California who have
contacted him concerning the putative
introduction of Philine auriformis into
California waters. He has been sent, and has
dissected several specimens originally thought
to be P. auriformis from intertidal collections in
Bodega Bay. Michelle Chow, who has a
number of students who are investigating the

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locally abundant and conspicuous Philine in
the bay, supplied Dr. Rudman with photos and
specimens for his examination. Since he has
examined and reported on P. auriformis from
its home waters in New Zealand, this was quite
valuable.

The results of his dissections were, however,
very surprising. He determined that there were
two species in the material sent, and that
neither of them was P. auriformis. He has
termed them Philine sp. 1 and Philine sp. 2
from California. Both are very large animals,
pure white, with large gizzard plates. In
Philine sp. 1 there are two asymmetrical
mirror-image plates of the same size, and one
smaller plate. In Philine sp. 2 all three plates
are symmetrical and of equal size. Both
species have pits on the outside surface of the
gizzard plates at their thickest point. There
appear to be differences in radula as well, and
dissections of the reproductive system have
shown differing reproductive anatomy. In the
initial dissection a broken duct lead to an
erroneous evaluation of the structure in his sp.
2, but further dissections have remedied this
problem.

Dr. Rudman still feels that Philine sp. 2 is what
we have called P. auriformis, but that the
differences in the reproductive system and the
radula make that ID untenable. Terry Gosliner
has also been tracking this exchange, and
maintains that the animal is P. auriformis.
Rudman feels that it is more likely to be an east
Asian species from Chinese or Japanese
waters. Philine sp.I appears likely to be
Philine orientalis from China, although there
are some differences in fine structure of the
denticles on the radular teeth, and the shell
differs slightly in its anterior conformation.

We clearly have two species involved in
California, at least in Bodega Bay there are
two. I have examined specimens from other
more southern locations, and have found them
all to correspond to Rudman’s Type 2. They all
have the uniform spindle shaped gizzard plates.

and a finely sculptured shell. The question of
whether or not these are P. auriformis remains.
The differences in reproductive and radular
morphology pointed out by Rudman may or
may not be contained within the variation of a
single species. In particular the size of the
radula may vary between populations in the
native range, and in an invading population in
response to differences in prey size and
identity.

As part of the Quality Control on the Bight ‘98
sampling a series of large Philine were
examined from sites around Catalina Island,
and on the mainland. Although complete
dissections were not performed, the gizzard
plates of all specimens were examined. None
had the reduced third plate which characterizes
the introduced Philine No. I of Rudman from
Bodega Bay. At least so far there is no
evidence that this species (whether P. orientalis
or another form) occurs in the Southern
California Bight. We will continue to call these
animals P. auriformis (following Gosliner)
until their identity is established beyond
question. Rudman’s concern over the
differences between the archival animals he
dissected from New Zealand and California
specimens from Bodega Bay (differences in
radular size and reproductive tract proportions)
is well founded, but neither seems sufficient to
establish that our animal is not the same.

In his Seaslug Forum discussions Rudman
raises again the specter of Philine bakeri.

Forget it; P. bakeri is not the large animal
figured by Behrens, Abbott, and (original basis
of the faux-pas) MacFarland. The animal they
call P. bakeri is P. alba. This animal, while
scarce in recent years, is still around. Several
specimens were taken around Catalina and the
northern Channel Islands during the Bight ‘98
sampling. Philine bakeri is a much smaller and
more cylindrical species which we took in the
SCBPP in limited numbers. The shell is
distinctive, with deeply incised spiral sculpture
which forms crenelations at the margin. It also
has a sulcus where the posterior end of the

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outer lip joins the spire. Maximum size of
these animals (based on those few seen to date)
is probably 15mm. Although the species was
described by Dali based on shell only, the
shells of our animals are dead ringers for Dali’s
type (based on inspection at the Smithsonian
by D. Cadien in 1992).

Gosliner (1996) correctly deals with P. alba vs.
bakeri, but then suggests that P. bakeri, P.
polystrigma (which he redescribes) and P.
californica are all “similar” and require further
study. The implication being that they might be
synonymous. While further study would be
beneficial, separation of these three species is
quite simple, particularly P. californica, which
has sculpture unlike that of any other west
coast Philine (raised into prickles at the
intersections of the radial and spiral sculpture).
He mentions Philine sp A of SCAMIT,
referring to it as Philine sp. 1 and providing a
brief description. He also briefly describes
Bullomorpha sp. A of SCAMIT as Philine sp.

2. Given the overlap of name usage it is
probably beneficial to take stock and provide
equivalencies between authors. In the following
list the SCAMIT usage is provided first,
followed by that of other authors. If the
species is not on the SCAMIT list and has no
usage indicated then there is no default ID and
those of other authors are provided with
attribution.

Philine alba = P. bakeri of Abbott 1974,

MacFarland 1966, and Behrens 1991
Philine auriformis = Philine No 2 of Rudman
Philine bakeri
Philine californica

Philine orientalist of Rudman = Philine No. I
of Rudman = Philine auriformis of
Michelle Chow [in part]

Philine polystrigma of Gosliner nr.quadrata
of SAIC, 1986

Philine sp. A = Philine sp. I of Gosliner
Philine sp. B [newly introduced by John

Ljubenkov for animals from OCSD
sampling]

Philine sp. 2 of Gosliner = Bullomorpha sp. A
of SCAMIT

This yields a list of eight different forms from
California waters. Gosliner has identified two
other forms of modified philinids which he
includes in the genus, but no descriptions are
available, and it is unknown what these animals
are at present. One reputedly lacks both a shell
and gizzard plates (and thus might be a
philinoglossacean), while the other lacks
gizzard plates.

Anyone wishing to participate in the debate, or
contact the contending factions can reach
Michelle Chow at mbond@ucdavis.edu; Dr.
Terry Gosliner at tgosliner@calacademy.org
and the Sea Slug Forum at http://
www.austmus.gov.au/science/division/invert/
mal/forum/index .htm.

CONFERENCES

Early next year (24-27 January) a National
Conference on Marine Bioinvasions will be
held at MIT in Cambridge Maine. The
following general topic areas are scheduled to
be addressed: Transport Vectors, Ballast Water,
Patterns of Invasions, Ecological and Genetic
Consequences of Invasions, Status of Control
Factors and Predictive Models, and Economic
Impacts of Invasions. You can contact the
organizers at http://massbay.mit.edu/
exoticspecies/conference.html for furthern
information. Abstracts are due 30 September.

The Call for Papers has been received for
Coastal Zone 99, to be held in San Diego July
24-30. Such a diverse series of subjects will be
addressed that they cannot be listed here. We
direct interested parties to the Coastal Zone 99
website omega.cc.umb.edu/~cz99 or the CZ99
Secretariat, University of Massachusetts -
Boston, Urban Harbors Institute, 100
Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA, 02125-
3393.

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BIGHT ‘98 SAMPLING

Member Tim Stebbins recently posed a
question regarding counting of trawl specimens
associated with algae on the Taxonomic List
Sever. We repeat them here for those who do
not receive that material.

‘To Record or Not to Record — That is the
Question!

I recently sent a memo regarding the presence
of Synidotea harfordi at Bight ‘98 trawl station
2416.1 recommended that these isopods be
recorded since: (1) they (the genus) are
considered benthic; and (2) they were large
enough (>lcm) to meet trawl catch criteria.
They were also significant (at least to me) in
that they represent a “new” species for the
SCAMIT list. I still stand by this
recommendation. The reason that Tm
readdressing the issue is that I just had the
opportunity to examine some other isopods that
Dean gave me from a trawl. As luck would
have it, these specimens also came from station
2416. They were not recorded since they
supposedly came up with some kelp (probably
Egregia). Should they be recorded in the Bight
‘98 data? All of the specimens were large
enough (i.e., > 1cm in length). Although they
were most likely associated with the Egregia,
who knows for sure? And if they were
collected in a grab (perhaps hanging out on
drift algae) they would be recorded. I would
probably record them here, but then Tm biased
— I have a feeling others would not. Of
course, an additional problem is that they were
probably not all collected.”

The algal associated isopods he was discussing
should be recorded if they meet the size
criterion for inclusion in trawl sampling. Many
smaller individuals were probably lost through
the mesh, but they would not be countable
anyway. Association with algae, either drift or
attached does not make an organism a
sampling artifact and unreportable.

During recent trawling for Bight ‘98 little of
interest was seen by CSDLAC staff. Nearly all
our sampling sites were in shallow water and
over fine sand bottoms. Catches were small
(by our standards) to normal (by most other
standards). Few unusual species were taken,
although the lump-tail sea-robin proved to be
not uncommon in our trawls this time.

Invertebrate novelties were virtually non¬
existent. The only interesting catches were
from abandoned trawls where hard bottom had
ripped up the net. Even the large penaeid
shrimp we expected to see on shallower sandy
bottoms were sparse; only three Penaeus
californiensis were encountered in our Bight
‘98 trawls. Target shrimp, Metapenaeopsis,
and the recently arriving and somewhat deeper
living Plesionika and Pantomus species were
absent from the Bight ‘98 trawls. We did,
however, continue to see the penaoid
Solenocera mutator [several adult males] , and
two pandalids Plesionika trispinus (including
more gravid females) and Pantomus affinis in
tows along the Palos Verdes Peninsula at our
regular monitoring stations. We hit one
astonishing catch of Pantomus affinis at a depth
of 137m which contained 1132 individuals,
about 17% of which were gravid females! We
also took all three off-shore Octopus species
this time; Octopus californicus, O. rubescens,
and O. veligero.

Only three species were taken which were
additions to our cumulative species list; the
sponge Dysidea amblia, the galatheid crab
Munida quadrispina, and the bysally attached
clam Pteria sterna. This latter species was
encountered in an abandoned trawl, and was
taken from Muricea calif arnica, generally near
the attachment of the gorgonian colony.

The situation around Catalina Island was quite
different. Don Cadien (CSDLAC) met with
Karen Wisenbaker (WIES) for several days to
go over the vouchers and FID specimens they
took during Bight ‘98 trawls around the island.
A number of interesting specimens were

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obtained, including several whose identity is
still uncertain. Newly taken in these trawls
were the muricid snail Scabarotrophon grovesi,
and the crabs Cryptodromidiopsis laraburrei
and Stenorhynchus debilis. The later two have
been recently cited as part of the El Nino
evidence - both appearing in numbers in the
San Diego area.. The Cryptodromidiopsis
specimen taken was a gravid female, so
perhaps we will be seeing more of these small
cryptic sponge-carrying crabs. It was included
in Ed. 3 based on a single record.

Other noteworthy organisms were a series of
the sea star Hippasteria spinosa, some
Astropecten ornatissimus, and a specimen of
Psolus squamatus.A young specimen of the
infrequently encountered Cancellaria cooperi
was taken, as was a large specimen of Berthella
californica.

A series of sponges were taken in the trawls
around Catalina. These included Tethea
aurantia, Leucilla nuttingi, Poecilastra
tenuilaminaris, and Rhabdocalyptus dawsoni.
The latter has a layer of very long surface
tetracts/pentacts which protrude above the
sponge surface and intertwine to form a sort of
outer coarse filter. Underneath this were a
series of small ophiuroids, all Ophiopholis
bakeri, along with two species of worms, a
caprellid, and a pectinid. All these associates
derive some benefit from lodging under the
fence of spicules which cover them, while the
sponge seemed to be unharmed. Two of the
Ophiopholis had their own associates, tiny
white parasitic copepods attached to the oral
field of the ophiuroid.

Both the large Laqueus californicus and the
somewhat smaller Terebratulina crossei were
taken in samples from “Brachiopod bottoms”.
Sea-pens were common in the trawls, with
Acanthoptilum spp. being the most common,
followed by Stylatula elongata, Thesea sp B,
and Stachyptilum superbum. Both species of
Virgularia commonly encountered on the
mainland coast V. bromleyi and V. galapagana

were absent from the materials returned for
FID. A large specimen of what is probably the
‘brown tent anemone’ was taken on cobble off
the east end of the island.

Another interesting cnidarian is much more
characteristic of hard bottoms, and
undoubtedly was swept off a low lying rock. It
is a still unidentified gorgonian octocoral in the
family Primnoidae. It is very close in
appearance to what is called Plumarella
longispina in Nuttall 1909. The animal does
not have the characters of the genus Plumarella
as provided by Bayer 1991, and seems to be a
Parastenella instead based on details of the
spicules.

MY LIFE AS A BIOLOGIST
By Donald J. Reish

Chapter 9—The Hartman Years, Part 1

I remember three things about my final masters
oral. I had many questions about the honey bee
and the lymphatic system—both of which I
knew only slightly. Dr. Pratt told me later that
they terminated my oral exam early because I
drank so much of the water that they provided,
they were afraid that I would have an
“accident”! I taught one-half of the invert
course and Dr. Pratt taught the other half
during the fourth summer at OIMB [Oregon
Institute of Marine Biology]. I expanded my
efforts at collecting syllids from the Oregon
coast during the last summer.

I had written Dr. Hartman while in Oregon.

Her replies were encouraging. She wrote that
the Hancock Foundation offered fellowships. I
applied for and received one of them. I also
had TA offers at Northwestern and Hawaii. At
the end of the summer of 1948 I spent a couple
of weeks with my mother who had moved to
LA during WWII. I went to the USC campus
and to the Hancock Foundation to meet Dr.
Hartman. I learned that she only came to the
campus on Saturday, and I would be back in
Oregon by then. The receptionist at the desk

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called Dr. Hartman at home, and I talked with
her briefly; I heard a baby crying in the
background. I was amazed when I saw the
worm stacks in Room 30. Back in Oregon I
made arrangements to meet Dr. Hartman in
January 1949. We spent about two hours
talking polychaetes. She gave me copies of her
reprints. I decided then that I wanted to work
on my PhD at USC. I applied at the other two
above mentioned places plus others because I
needed financial support.

On the way back to Oregon I stopped at
Stanford to visit my friends Bob and Paul
(more about him in a later chapter) who were
working on advanced degrees. I went to the
Biology Dept, but I really didn’t talk to anyone;
I did see G. M. Smith working in his office; he
wrote many botany texts. I stopped at Berkeley
where I met Cadet Hand and Don Abbott both
of whom were working on their PhDs.

On the return trip to southern California I
stopped at Hopkins Marine Station at the
invitation of W. K. Fisher, who had retired as
director. I had sent him sipunculids and
echiuroids from Oregon which he used in his
monographs of these two groups. I slept in the
lab and was awakened by the seals in the
morning. I met Ralph Smith who was working
on the life history of Neanthes lighti. Pete
Riser and Don Abbott were also there. I
collected more syllids.

I arrived in LA in August 1949. I lived with
my mother; she put me up in her garage (no
car) since her main source of income was
renting out rooms. At my first meeting with
Dr. Hartman I told her that I wanted to work on
the syllids of Pacific Coast for my PhD. She
said no. She didn’t think it was appropriate for
a dissertation. I then decided to work on the
life history of Typosyllis. Since Dr. Hartman
did not have an academic appointment, she
could not be on my committee; however,
unofficially she was my chair. I’m sure that
she could have flunked me out if she thought
that I was unworthy. My committee consisted

of Martin, Moore, Dawson (He never had a
grad student; I was the closest to one), Sheldon
and Buchanan. The latter two died and were
replaced by Garth and Mayer. I will discuss
my doctoral research in a later chapter.

What was it like to be the first person to work
with Dr. Hartman? The environment was
formal. She always called me Mr. Reish and I
always called her Dr. Hartman. After
completion of my doctorate, she called me Don
but never Dr. Reish. She was, and always will
be. Dr. Hartman to me. My first job as a
Hancock fellow was to type the list of
polychaete genera which was used in her
catalog of the polychaetes. I then checked the
alcohol in all the vials in the stacks. These 2
jobs took me 2 years. I then started sorting
samples for her. As a Hancock Fellow, I had to
work 12 hours a week. They paid my $100.00
a month and tuition.

I was amazed by her library and especially her
catalog to all the reference to polychaetes. I
copied the syllid catalog (which I later gave to
Fred Piltz) and later the nereid catalog. You
could set your clock by her work schedule.

She came in a 7 AM and left at 11:30 AM. I
then had Room 30 to myself until 9:45 PM
when the doors of Hancock were locked.
Hancock was open to noon on Saturday and
never on Sunday. Dr. Hartman never took a
break. She looked at worms for about 2-3
hours and typed (very fast) for the rest of the
time. She never told me what she was doing or
whenever she completed a MS. She was very
receptive of my questions and the discussion
usually ended up with my carrying a pile of
references to my desk. However, sometime she
either did not hear my question or was thinking
about something else; her reply was unrelated
to my question. I could not get her back on
track so I walked away and asked the question
later. One day she showed me a fancy slide
rule that she had bought. She asked me to
teach her how to use it. I had taught others in

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years past how to use a slide rule. She wanted
to solve her long problem then and there. She
could not wait to learn the basics. She never
learned how to use it.

[Next time: Chapter 10—The Hartman Years,
Part 2]

AMPHIPOD CHATSHOP

Following the International Crustacean
Conference in Amsterdam an informal 4 day
meeting was held in Germany by world
amphipod workers. A brief synopsis of that
gathering was provided on the crustL list
server. It is reprinted here with the authors’
permission for the information of those not in
attendance.

“IXth International Meeting on the Amphipoda
(Amphipod Chatshop) Kronenburg (Germany)
26-30 July 1998

[by] Wim Vader, Adam Baldinger & Traudl
Krapp-Schickel

This amphipod meeting directly followed the
IVth International Crustacean Congress in
Amsterdam. The small village of Kronenburg
in the Eifel mountains of W. Germany formed a
nice contrast to Amsterdam, where most
participants had been the week prior. Thirty-
five scientists from twelve countries on four
continents took part in the amphipod meetings,
some accompanied by their families whose
presence increased the family atmosphere even
more. The Amphipod Chatshop, was organized
by Traudl Krapp Schickel (Bonn) and Wim
Vader (Troms0). The unpretentious title
chatshop was chosen because no official
lectures or contributed papers were given,
instead the meeting concentrated on a series of
moderated discussions on topics of common
interest.

The discussions held were as follows:

27 July morning: “Cladistic tools in amphipod
taxonomy,” moderated by J0rgen Berge
(Troms0). Cladistic analyses are rapidly
becoming a vital part in amphipod taxonomy,
but many workers are still unfamiliar with the
theory and methods of this discipline. Berge
introduced this topic based upon his own
studies. This resulted in a lively discussion,
that included the peculiar problems posed by
the mosaic-like evolution of the Amphipoda,
coupled to their almost total absence from the
fossil record. Virtually no agreement on what
constitutes apomorphic characters impedes the
search for suitable outgroups. Numerous
ingroup taxa and only a few representative
outgroup taxa, results in analyses that may
become skewed, because the many closely
related ingroup-taxa more or less swamp the
character traits in the few outgroup taxa. The
role of molecular studies and how to integrate
such results into cladistic analyses currently
generated mostly by morphological characters
was also discussed.

27 July afternoon: “What should a taxonomic
description look like?” moderated by Oliver
Coleman (Berlin). Several years ago, Olli
distributed a circular letter with the same title,
asking for as complete illustrations as possible,
and suggesting that written text concentrate on
points insufficient for illustration. He
maintained that “it is easier to understand a
illustration than to visualize a written
description.” There was general agreement on
the importance of complete and detailed
illustrations, but many colleagues also stressed
the significance of written descriptions,
particularly to explain species variation. A
researcher should discern between publications
that involve new species descriptions and/or
generic or family level revisions from the
taxonomic keys produced for the general
biologist or ecologists. Both types are of vital
importance, but it was agreed upon that these
publications can not easily be combined in one
paper.

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28 July morning. ‘Amphipod information in
an electronic age,” moderated by Alan Myers
(Cork). A number of possibilities to distribute
electronic information was discussed and
included i.e: the development of an amphipod
website, that could serve as a gateway for the
Amphipod Newsletter, now temporarily stalled;
deposition of and easy access to regional taxa
and their distribution lists; type specimens and
their museum location; and illustrated
interactive keys (hopefully in DELTA-format).

A sizable number of technical problems and
pitfalls was noted: Such a website requires
constant service by an expert, a significant
amount of time for a dedicated and altruistic
researcher (several younger colleagues were
named) and it will require resources. A
problem with an easily accessible list is quality
control, i.e: who decides which entries are
reliable, and will monitor and edit the
taxonomic and distributional data?

Stefan Koenemann (Norfolk, VA) promised to
develop an amphipod homepage. Les Watling
will scan Amphipod Newsletters 2-20 and Wim
Vader has produced AN 21; all should be
available soon to download on the web page.

28 July afternoon. “Whither amphipod family-
level taxonomy?” This discussion was
introduced by Les Watling (Maine), who gave
his views on the plesiomorphic amphipod and
on the position of the Amphipoda among the
Peracarida. Currently the classification of the
Amphipoda is still in a state of flux; the
schedules of Jerry Barnard and Ed Bousfield,
often not very compatible and neither of them
based on cladistic analyses, are still prevalent.
Discussions revolved around the bush-like
evolution of the Amphipoda and envious
comparisons to the Isopoda where the general
classification appears clearer. Not
unexpectedly, the classification problems of the
Amphipoda were not solved! However, it was
suggested that a cladistic analysis of the

amphipod families should have high priority,
simply to give a general idea of the overall
relationships, and to generate topics for further
studies.

29 July morning. “Uniformity of terminology,”
moderated by Oliver Coleman. The primary
question of this session was whether this
discussion is necessary at all in such that “we
should not try to stifle colleagues by forcing
everybody to use exactly the same
terminology,” a thesis forcefully defended.
However, descriptions should be unequivocal
and unambiguous. As an example, the
terminology of setae, spines and teeth was
discussed. Les Watling announced that a
workshop on this topic will be held in Maine in
the summer of 1999.

29 July afternoon. “Illustrations in taxonomic
descriptions.” This discussion was based on a
note contributed by Kathy Conlan and Ed
Hendrycks (Ottawa), with examples of good
and poor illustrations, and a set of guidelines
that illustrations should adhere to. These
guidelines were generally accepted as
important, although it was pointed out that they
were a bit “idealistic” and difficult to adhere to
with increasing publication costs. Among the
points mentioned often inadequately defined in
present illustrations (and descriptions!) were
the pleopods, the oostegites (form and
number), and the characteristics of immature
and juvenile animals.

“Next amphipod meeting: when and where?”
moderated by Wim Vader (Troms0). The next
International Crustacean Congress will be held
in Melbourne in 2001, and many participants
voted for an amphipod meeting or an
amphipod-isopod consortium prior to or after
the Congress (Tasmania and Sydney were
mentioned). The next European Crustacean
Conference will be in Lodz, Poland in 2002.

Most of the participants expressed interest in
having an amphipod meeting prior to the
Melbourne Congress. Wanda Plaitis (Kreta)
offered a preliminary invitation to hold the next

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amphipod meeting on Kreta in the summer of

1999. It was decided to have next amphipod
meeting in 1999 and it should be in a regular
format with contributed papers and invited
lectures and posters. Wanda Plaitis, Wim Vader
and Adam Baldinger are in the process of
developing this proposal (PLEASE SEE
BELOW).

In addition to the “chatshops,” ICC contributed
posters were arranged at the Eifelhaus, and
magnificent photographs of Antarctic and Lake
Baikal amphipods were shown by Gauthier
Chapelle (Brussel). Also shown was a
fascinating video on the biology of some
amphipod species contributed by Les Watling.
Ichiro Takeuchi (Japan) showed photographs
from his Antarctic diving exploits. An
evaluation of the chatshop format showed that
most participants were satisfied with this
informal meeting, especially when it is held
directly following a large conference.

Addresses:

(WV) Troms0 Museum, Zool. Avd., N-9037
Troms0, Norway (wim@imv.uit.no)

(AB) Museum of Comparative Zoology, 26
Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 USA
(abaldinger@oeb.harvard.edu)

(TK-S) Museum A. Koenig, Adenauerrallee
150,D-53113 Bonn, Germany
(Traudl.Krapp@uni-bonn.de)

THE NEXT AMPHIPOD MEETING?

We are proposing to have the next amphipod
conference at Heraklion, Kreta (Crete, Kriti),
Greece. To organize the meeting, we ask your
input in the following:

1. If you’re interested in attending this meeting
in Kreta, when would you prefer it to take
place? August 1999, September 1999, Spring

2000. Please indicate why or give another
suggestion.

2. Do you plan (now) to contribute a paper or
poster at this meeting?

3. Please give suggest topics and/or symposia
you would be interested in.

Thank you.

Please respond to Adam Baldinger
(abaldinger@oeb.harvard.edu)”

Attachments

Kathy Langan, CSDMWWD, has graciously
provided two useful attachments to this
month’s Newsletter. The first is a “taxonomic
protocols” table resulting from the “problem
polychaete” meeting in July. It attempts to
standardize the taxonomic approach for dealing
with problematic polychaete identifications
during the Bight’98 project. The second is a
key to the Trichobranchidae of Point Loma, as
referenced in the above mentioned table.

10

August, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.4

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ABBOTT, R. TUCKER 1974. American Seashells (Ed. 2), The Marine Mollusca of the Atlantic
and Pacific Coasts of North America. Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, New York.
663pp.

BEHRENS, DAVID. 199E Pacific coast nudibranchs (Ed. 2). Sea Challengers, Monterey, Ca.
107pp.

GOSLINER, TERRENCE M. 1996. The Opisthobranchia. Pp. 161-213 IN: Scott, Paul H.,

James A. Blake, & Andrew L. Lissner (eds.) Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the
Santa Maria Basin and Western Santa Barbara Channel. Volume 9 - The Mollusca Part 2,
the Gastropoda. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara, Cal. 228pp.
MacFARLAND, FRANCE MACE. 1966. Studies of Opisthobranchiate Mollusks of the Pacific
Coast of North America. Memoirs of the California Academy of Sciences VI: 1-546.
NADIS, STEVE. 1998. Creatures of the Twilight Zone. Popular Science 252(3):50-55.
SWEENEY, MICHAEL J., Clyde F. E. Roper, Katharina M. Mangold, Malcolm R. Clarke, &
Sigurd V. Boletzky (eds.). 1992. “Larval” and Juvenile Cephalopods: A Manual for
Their Identification. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 513:1-282.

VOSS, NANCY A., Michael Vecchione, Ronald B. Toll, & Michael J. Sweeney (eds.). 1998.

Systematics and Biogeography of Cephalopods. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology
586 (2 vols.): 1-599.

Please visit the SCAMIT Website at: http://www.scamit.org

SCAMIT OFFICERS:

If you need any other information concerning SCAMIT please feel free to contact any of the
officers e-mail address

(619)692-4903 rgv @ mwharbor.sannet.gov

(310)830-2400 ext. 403 dcadien@lacsd.org

(619)692-4901 msl @ mwharbor.sannet.gov

(310)648-5544 cam@san.ci.la.ca.us

President

Vice-President

Secretary

Treasurer

Ron Velarde
Don Cadien
Megan Lilly
Ann Dalkey

Back issues of the newsletter are available. Prices are as follows:

Volumes 1-4 (compilation).$ 30.00

Volumes 5-7 (compilation).$ 15.00

Volumes 8- 15. $ 20.00/vol.

Single back issues are also available at cost.

Bight ‘98: Identification Protocols for Selected Polychaete Taxa
Taxa Protocols

Capitella capitata complex No changes in identifieations.

, ^ Identify M. acutus. Identify all other species as Mediomastus sp. (See minutes of July 20 SCAMIT meeting for details

Mediomastus sp r j- • \

^ ot discussion).

Proceraea sp Ron is preparing a key for syllids.

^^haerosyllis sp _ Ron is preparing a key for syllids.

Syllis (Typosyllis) spp Ron is preparing a key for syllids.

Chone complex Identify to species.

Bight ‘98: Identification Protocols for Selected Polychaete Taxa (continued)
Taxa Protocols

Euchone sp

Identify to species.

Mesochaetopterus sp

Identify to species.

Aphelochaeta/Monticellina complex

Identify to species using Tony Phillip’s voucher sheets, Rick Rowe’s identification sheets of March 1998, and Blake
1996.

Chaetozone setosa complex

Use Blake 1996 and attempt to key out. We will re-visit this group at a later date.

Cirratulus sp

Use Blake 1996 and attempt to key out.

Cirriformia sp

Use key in Blake 1996 to speciate.

Magelona spp

Identify to species using Dean Pasko’s key of Nov. 1991 (Key to West Coast Magelona) and Magelona SDIO voucher
sheet.

Carazziella sp

Use Blake 1996 and refer to comments in SCAMIT Newsletter, Vol. 15 No. 5 (Sept. 1996).

Polydora sp

Identify to species using Cheryl Brantley’s table of Oct. 1996 (Tables of diagnostic characters for Polydora and
Dipolydora of California) and Blake 1996.

Prionospio A/B complex

Identify to Prionospio jubata or P. dubia.

Prionospio lighti

Identify to species.

Scolelepis spp

Identify to species using Larry Lovell and Dean Pasko’s key of Nov. 1995 (Key to the non-polydorid Spionidae from
Southern California) and Blake 1996.

Spio sp

Identify to species using Larry Lovell and Dean Pasko’s key of Nov. 1995 (Key to the non-polydorid Spionidae from
Southern California) and Blake 1996.

Spiophanes missionensis

Identify as S. duplex. This is a name change.

Lysippe sp

Identify as Lysippe sp A or L. sp B.

Sosane occidentalis

Identify to species.

Lanassa sp

Identify to species using Leslie Harris’ s key in the SCAMIT Newsletter, Vol. 10 No. 11 (1992) and Rick Rowe’s chart
of Nov. 1995 (Separating the abranchiate Amphitritinae Terebellidae of Pt. Loma).

Poly cirrus sp

We will re-visit this group.

Streblosoma sp

Identify to species.

Terebellides sp

Identify to species using Kathy Langan’s key of Aug. 1997 (Trichobranchidae of Point Loma). (A copy is included in
this newsletter. See minutes of July 20 SCAMIT meeting for details of discussion).

Bibliography

BLAKE, JAMES A. 1996. Chapter 4. Family Spionidae Grube, 1850. Pp. 81-223 IN: Blake, James A., Brigitte Hilbig, and Paul H. Scott (eds). Taxonomic Atlas of
the Benthic Fauna of the Santa Maria Basin and Western Santa Barbara Channel. Vol. 6, The Annelida Part 3. Polychaeta: Orbiniidae to Cossuridae. 418pp.
BLAKE, JAMES A. 1996. Chapter 8. Family Cirratulidae Ryckholdt, 1851. Pp. 263-384 IN: Blake, James A., Brigitte Hilbig, and Paul H. Scott (eds). Taxonomic
Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa Maria Basin and Western Santa Barbara Channel. Vol. 6, The Annelida Part 3. Polychaeta: Orbiniidae to Cossuridae.
418pp.

FAUCHALD, KRISTIAN and Danil R. Hancock. 1981. Deep-water polychaetes from a transect off central Oregon. Allan Hancock Foundation Monograph No.l 1, pp
37-38.

HARTMAN, OLGA. 1969. Atlas of the Sedentariate Polychaetous Annelids from California. Allan Hancock Foundation, University of Southern California, Los
Angeles, 812pp.

HILBIG, BRIGITTE. 1995. Chapter 13. Family Dorvilleidae Chamberlin, 1919. Pp. 341-364/V: Blake, James A., Brigitte Hilbig, and Paul H. Scott (eds).

Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa Maria Basin and Western Santa Barbara Channel. Vol. 5, The Annelida Part 2. Polychaeta: Phyllodocida
(Syllidae and Scale-Bearing Families), Amphinomida, and Eunicida. 378pp.

TRICHOBRANCHID AE OF POINT LOMA

(Check both sides of animal)

Trichobranchidae
K. Langan 8/1/97

Notosetae of setiger 1 clearly longer than notosetae of following setigers

Illustration from Williams 1984

Terebellides californica Williams 1984
other characters:

• setiger 1 notopod prolonged

Abdominal setigers number

27-35

Notosetae of setiger 1 subequal to notosetae of following setigers

Posterior end missing
Terebellides sp

Abdominal setigers number

40-55

setiger 1 notopod not prolonged

Area of glandular expansion is present on setiger 3;
setiger 3 is wider than setiger 2 and setiger 4

other characters:

• setiger 1 notopod slightly prolonged

• number of abdominal setigers = 30-35

Area of glandular expansion is lacking on setiger 3;
setiger 3 is same width as setiger 2 and setiger 4

Terebellides sp Type C Williams 1984
other chai'acters:

• setiger 1 notopod not prolonged

• number of abdominal setigers = 27-31

Southern California Association of
Marine Invertebrate Taxonomists

3720 Stephen White Drive
San Pedro, California 90731

September, 1998 SCAMIT Newsletter Vol. 17, No. 5

SUBJECT:

Bight ‘98 Trawl Invertebrates

GUEST SPEAKER:

None - Don cadien or Ron Velarde (CSDMWWD)
Discussion Leader

DATE:

Monday, 19 October 1998

TIME:

9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p. m.

LOCATION:

SCCWRP

7171 Fenwick Lane

Westminister, CA

19 OCTOBER MEETING

This meeting will be the first to examine the
collections from Bight’98 field sampling.

Our first concern will be the invertebrates
taken during otter trawling. Since sampling
was conducted both in harbors and around
the Channel Islands, we were expecting
different things to be taken than in 1994.
They were. Voucher specimens will be on
hand for examination, but FID materials to
be presented or discussed should be brought
by participants. Those of us who found our
sites routine will be surprised at the variety
encountered by other agencies.

Epialtoides hiltonio (Rathbun, 1923) from San Diego
Bay (Original photo by Rick Rowe CSDMWWD )

FUNDS FOR THIS PUBLICATION PROVIDED, IN PART BY
THE ARCO FOUNDATION, CHEVRON, USA, AND TEXACO INC.

SCAMIT Newsletter in not deemed to be valid publication for formal taxonomic purposes.

September, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.5

CHACE BIRTHDAY

Dr. Fenner Chace reaches his 90^** birthday on 5
October 1998. A celebration will be held at the
Smithsonian on that date to honor his 62 year
record of contribution to science. He has been
retired since 1978, but continues to function as
an Emeritus Curator, occupying a corner office
on the Crustacean floor. Letters of tribute,
congratulations and good wishes from friends
and colleagues are solicited for presentation at
the gathering. If you have something to offer,
please send it in as soon as you can to Dr.
Kristian Fauchald, Chairman, Dept, of
Invertebrate Zoology, NHB 153, Smithsonian
Institution, Washington, D. C., 20560-0163.
Late contributions would also be welcome, but
would have less impact. We all owe Dr. Chace
our gratitude for the myriad contributions he
has made over the years, and is still making as
this is written.

BOB OSBORN 1946-1998

In past pages of the NL we have mentioned the
passing of prominent researchers, but we have
had little occasion to lament the passing of our
own. Now we do. Bob Osborn died in his
home sometime before the 17^** of September
1998. Many of us in SCAMIT knew Bob as a
friend, co-worker or colleague (he was a
member early in SCAMIT history). He was

Williams at a SCAMIT party in 1986

trained, as were many of us, in the lab of Dr.
Donald Reish at Long Beach State (now
California State University, Long Beach). He
had studied earlier with Dr. Jules Crane at
Cerritos Junior College. Bob then moved to the
Allan Hancock Foundation, where he worked
for a number of years in the Harbors Project
under Dr. Dorothy Soule and Dr. Miki Oguri.
He also took part in the BLM project in the late
70’s under Dr. Kristian Fauchald and Dr. Gil
Jones. Bob was a polychaete taxonomist, and
did much of the polychaete identification in
projects directed by Dr. Soule. When required
he also identified other groups. He was also
employed at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
(then a Museum) for a time. When work
slowed at USC, Bob joined Marine
Biological Consultants for several years,
identifying polychaetes there as well.
Eventually he was forced into premature
retirement by a lifelong affliction. On
disability, and unable to accept employment.
Bob volunteered his time at Cabrillo,
keeping up the collections and displays from
behind the scenes. He also engaged in a
wide range of educational pursuits, and, to
the extent his limited income allowed,
collected unusual items. He is, for instance,
the only person I know who had large and
diverse collections of locks and scissors.

Growing up in Downey in the 50’s, Bob
acquired a deep affection for Doo-Wop
which he never lost. His musical horizons
were much broader, however, and I spent
many happy hours listening to and talking
about music with him. In part because of
his illness. Bob was concerned with
nutrition. Survivors of his grape juice and
cheese diet can attest to the inventiveness of
his approach to healthy foodstuffs. He lived
a solitary life, but had many, many friends.
The demands and limitations of his illness
curtailed his sociability in recent years, and
he traveled hardly at all. A combination of lack
of funds, and persistent insomnia in unfamiliar
locales kept Bob from getting around much.
Many friends gradually lost touch, but few

September, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.5

ceased to care about him. He was a gentle
soul, an interesting conversationalist, an
observer and lover of the natural world, and a
good friend. He is survived by his father, a
sister, and a brother. —Don Cadien

ISOPOD NEWSLETTER

Number 31 of the Isopod Newsletter has been
sent out to subscribers (a free subscription).
Editor Brian Kensley is taking the Newsletter
electronic, and will be distributing future issues
via e-mail to all connected recipients. If you
receive the Newsletter, and have not yet given
him your e-mail address (or if yours has
changed) contact him at
kensley.brian@nmnh.si.edu. He is hoping to
discontinue paper production, just as we are.
This issue had a summary of activities at the
Second International Isopod Conference, held
in Amsterdam in conjunction with the Fourth
International Crustacean Congress. Papers
resulting from the conference will be
collected and released as an upcoming
number in the serial Crustacean Issues.

Plans are underway for the next meeting, to
be held in Sydney in 2001 in conjunction
with the Fifth International Crustacean
Congress (to be held in Melbourne).

LAST GASP

The Bight’98 field season came to an official
end with a three day cruise around the
Northern Channel Islands on the Channel
Islands National Marine Sanctuary
(CINMS) vessel Ballena. On board were the
skipper Steve Beckwith, CINMS Research
Director Sarah Fangman, CINMS volunteer
Sarah McWilliams, Dario Diehl and David
Tsukada from SCCWRP, and Don Cadien
from CSDLAC. The cruise goal was collection
of trawl and infaunal samples from a few
remaining original sites and from a few
replacement sites.

Since the majority of the bottom around the
islands is rocky (especially inshore) the rate
of successful sampling at occupied stations
was relatively low compared to mainland
areas. Long transit time from and to port in
Santa Barbara the first and last days meant
relatively short sampling days. Naturally
the best had been saved for last, including
sites NW of San Miguel Island which sea
conditions had not allowed to be sampled in
previous attempts, and sites on the Santa
Rosa Ridge far from any land. We had tried
to sample there earlier in the month, but
had been weathered out. This time our luck
held, and we were able to work for the full
three days.

Substrate problems continued and several
sites were visited, surveyed, and abandoned.
Only one of the benthic sites could be
sampled. It yielded a number of jars of
relatively coarse medium sand/gravel/shell
hash. The only large animals visible on the
screen (large is used loosely here) were
pagurids, one occupying an empty
scaphopod shell.

The trawl catches proved more interesting,
and produced several additions to the
SCAMIT Ed 3 listing. Perhaps most
exciting was from Station 2491 in 90m of
water off the NW tip of San Miguel Island.
This was the very westernmost portion of
the Bight except for Point Conception itself.
In this trawl, as in most over these island
bottoms, some rock was encountered based
on the animals taken. Several nudibranchs
came up including a medium sized
Dendronotus iris, a Tritonia diomedea, a lovely
Tochuina tetraquetra, and two Acanthodoris
hudsoni. This last item has the same base
color pattern as Cadlina luteomarginata -
yellow rhinophores, yellow gills, and yellow
spots on the dorsum; but has elongate papillae
on the back, not the low tubercles of Cadlina.
This species is reported from the Bight, but is
new to the SCAMIT list.

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September, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.5

A number of small delicate spider crabs were
taken which were a dirty ivory banded with
brown on their elongate chelae and legs. These
proved to be Erileptus spinosus, and nearly all
were males. They adopted a curious and
distinctive posture when handled. The body
was held erect, with the rostrum in the air, and
the chelae and legs were extended in a bundle
pointed obliquely forward. Thus the crab had a
clear view of what was approaching it from the
front, and brought the long chelae into play
within this visual field. This posture was
rigidly held until the animals were ultimately
preserved. The smaller female has much
shorter limbs, a broader body, and a shorter
rostrum. Were it not for their being collected
together, the relationship between them would
be difficult to see. This disparity is what led to
their original description as different species in
different genera.

Several other interesting species were taken
including a fine large Ophionereis
eurybrachyplax, a series of clumps of
Coenocyathus bower si, both hatched and
still-occupied ratfish {Hydrolagus colliei) egg
cases, and the empty egg case of a big skate
{Raja bioculata). The egg case (nearly 10
inches long) was interesting in itself, but its
contents were more so. Inside the spent egg
case were several large flatworms
{Discosolenia burchami), several small clams
(Kellia suborbicularis), and a limpet. This
proved to be Addisonia brophyi, a member of
a family (the Addisoniidae) living exclusively
on elasmobranch egg cases. Ron Velarde
has seen this species in the San Diego area,
but this is the first listing for SCAMIT. This
is also the first record of the species from a
rajiid egg case, all other records have been
from scyllorhinid shark egg cases.

We took a specimen of the aegid isopod Aega
lecontii, at one station, an as-yet-unidentified
alcyonacean octocoral (near Anthomastus) at
several others, and various sponges
whenever we encountered rock. The hermit
crab sponge, Suberites suberea, was not

taken during this cruise, although encountered
on several others. We caught fish too, but I
really can’t comment on those since I was
attentive to the invertebrates, and not to the fish
catch.

The islands themselves were beautiful. Burned
sere and brown by the summer and a general
lack of water, they contrasted starkly with the
blue of the sea and the white of the beaches.

On our first night anchorage at Tyler Bight near
the west end of San Miguel we were
entertained (all night long I might add) by a
chorus of sea lions and sea elephants hauled
out on the beaches nearby. Hundreds of
animals could be seen with binoculars, but they
were just a bit too distant to see in detail. We
saw none in the water near the Ballena. A nice
way to end the field season, eh? Now to the
FID bags, to finish the data.

RS. - you should visit the CINMS website and
read Sarah Fangman’s journal entry on the
trawl intercalibration exercise aboard the
Ocean Sentinel just before Bight’98 trawling
began. Find it at:

http: //www.cinms .nos .noaa.gov.

NEW LITERATURE

During Bight’98 (and its precursor, the
SCBPP) we have spent a great deal of time
and effort on coordination and
standardization between participants to
generate comparable data from a number of
different observers and programs. The
same problems of observer bias are dealt
with in a recent paper by Thompson and
Mapstone (1997). Their particular interest
is in fish visual counts and identifications by
in situ observers but consideration of their
approach to the problem of bias is
instructive.

Cladistic reanalysis of relationships within
and between groups continues to be a
productive topic, as the technique is used to
address problem areas in traditional

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September, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.5

classifications. Weygoldt (1998) considers the
relationships within the Chelicerata. He also
places himself among those who consider the
Arthropoda to still be the appropriate phylum
level taxon for jointed legged animals.
Although many of the included groups are
terrestrial, and much of the argument in this
paper concerns them, the position and
derivation of the Pycnogonida is dealt with.

Liiter and Bartolomaeus (1997) review the
phylogenetic position of brachiopods. Their
analysis is based on consideration of both
morphological and molecular data. The
authors are still dissatisfied with the number
of morphological characters available, and
with the paucity of DNA and RNA
molecular sequence data, and view their
results as tentative. Since the two lines of
evidence failed to converge, their reticence is
well founded. They found evidence for both
spiralian and deuterostome relationships in
the brachiopods. Molecular data continues
to suggest association with spiralian taxa
such as Annelida and Mollusca, while
morphological data (primarily
embryological) supports deuterostome
derivation. The authors were not able to
fully resolve the discrepancies, but point out
that such results call analyses based on only
morphological or only molecular evidence
into question.

Ever since chemically fueled communities
were discovered around the Galapagos Rift
the symbiosis of sulphur-oxidizing bacteria
and other organisms has been a hot topic.
Distel (1998) provides a nice summary of the
endosymbiont system in bivalve molluscs. The
evolutionary history of both the hosts and the
symbionts is examined, and the antiquity of the
relationship stressed. Their cladistic analysis
of endosymbiont bacteria based on 1126
nucleotide positions suggested that symbiont
acquisition has happened repeatedly in
bivalves, and is not the result of a single event.
Two main groups of symbionts were identified.

one associated with mytilid and vesicomyid
species, and a second associated with lucinids,
solemyids, vestimentiferans, annelids and
nematodes.

SCAMIT treasurer Ann Dalkey’s
description of the old Lepedipecreum sp A has
now been published (Dalkey 1998). The
species is now L. serraculum. Great job Ann,
we all need to follow in your footsteps and
finally get out those manuscripts that have
been sitting around gathering dust. Our
stock of provisionally named arthropods
continues to diminish; a welcome trend. This
paper was partially supported by the
SCAMIT Publications Fund, and is
SCAMIT Contribution No. (lucky) 13.

In the same issue of the Proceedings of the
Biological Society of Washington Lambert
(1998) describes two new species of
Pentamera from the west coast, one
occurring in the Bight. He includes both a
key and tabular summary to the twelve
described species occurring in the eastern
Pacific, and provides whole body
illustrations of both his new species - a
welcome addition.

USED LITERATURE

Dr. Susan Williams has made a second
donation of reprints to SCAMIT. They were
for distribution to whatever members might
wish to take and use them. During a recent
meeting the stacks of reprints were gone
through by those in attendance and a
number of items were selected and taken
home. The remaining items have been
added to the SCAMIT Library, maintained
at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. Our thanks
to Sue for her generosity. We have all
benefitted from it. Hopefully we will fully
catalogue the Library contents in the future,
making them much more accessible to the
members. [By the way. Sue is fine. You can
see her in the photo of Bob Osborn, which she
kindly provided for inclusion in the brief
reminiscence of him.]

5

September, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.5

Dr. Don Reish has also made a portion of his
reprints available to SCAMIT members. He
should be contacted with requests by
interested parties.

MY BIOLOGICAL LIFE
Donald J. Reish

Chapter 10: The Hartman Years: Part 2

Fred Ziesenhenne had collected
invertebrates before WWII. Hartman and I
combined his collection of polychaetes with
my masters thesis to produce the Marine
Annelids of Oregon which was published in
the Oregon State College Press. It was the
only paper we did together.

Dr. Hartman did not go to scientific
meetings. She said that if they wanted to see
her they could come to Hancock
Foundation; many did over the years, and
even after I left the USC campus she often
called to tell me that so and so was going to
be in town. I was grateful to her for these
chances to meet many polychaete workers
over the years. She did, however, attend two
meetings at Berkeley; one was an AAAS
meeting and the other a pollution meeting. I
also heard her give a lecture when USC
honored her as Researcher of the Year. She
often showed me letters or manuscripts
submitted to her for evaluation. I can’t
remember of her ever approving a MS as
submitted.

I do not think Dr. Hartman liked Dr. Pettibone.
However, they had some things in common.

They both taught in a private high school
before starting on their doctoral work after the
age of 30. She didn’t want her doctoral thesis
published by the University of Washington
Press.

We never discussed personal matters. People
asked soon after I arrived at Hancock if
Hartman was married. I didn’t know; it was
two years or more after my arrival before I
learned she was married to Anker Petersen, her
artist. I admit I was puzzled since Petersen
didn’t come to work until 12 noon. Obviously, ^

they took turns baby sitting their daughter
(Remember, I heard a baby crying when I
talked to Dr. Hartman on the phone in 1948.).
After Petersen quit his job at Hancock, how
she got her drawings made became even more
puzzling . (She had a microscope at home.).
One day after Petersen had quit, I noticed
that Dr. Hartman was wearing a wedding
ring, but it was on her right ring finger
which is customary among Danish people.
Her husband was from Denmark. In later
years she mentioned that the 3 of them had
gone to Denmark. This was the only
comment she ever made to me about her
family.

A few days before I married Janice both Dr.
Hartman and I went on a two day trip on
Velcro IV (her first trip aboard the vessel).
She never mentioned my up-coming
wedding during the cruise, but the crew
made the usual joking comments. I had sent
her a wedding invitation, but she didn’t
come. She did send a gift (a cook book). You
can, therefore, sense that the relationship
was very formal. It remained that way the 4
years I had space in room 30 and for 5 more
years while I was in a lab nearby. According
to Kristian Fauchald, she became less
formal in later years. She appreciated my
dedicating “Marine Life of Southern
California” to her. Dr. Ivan Pratt, and Dr.
John Mohr.

We had many disagreements, which were
polite, but never really resolved. Most of
them centered around my findings when I
analyzed offspring of worms I had cultured.

I published on the systematic of Nereis
grubei, and placed 3 of her species (along
with others) into synonymy. Offspring from
one mating contained 3 of her species. She
never accepted my findings. She was also
unhappy when I published on the life history
of Nereis grubei in the Hancock series. She
said that I should not have published this
material until I could go to Peru (type

September, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.5

locality) and work with the worm there. I have
yet to go to Peru. After receiving my Ph. D. I
cultured many polychaetes including Capitella
capitata. I found offspring which matched her
C. ovincola. I also found hermaphroditic C.
capitata as well as the traditional form. All of
these from a single female! She said that it
was impossible. What would she say about
Grassle’s work with Capitella? I was timid
about pursuing the speciation problem with
Capitella in view of the “Queen’s”
comments. Don’t get the wrong impression.
I deeply respect Dr. Hartman, and I am
grateful for the many things she did for me.
I am attempting to capture the mood of the
time.

One day in August 1951 I walked into room
30 and there was a pallet containing books.
It was Dr Hartman’s “Literature of the
Polychaetous Annelids”, which she
published privately. I purchased the first
copy, which I still have. This book saved me
countless hours of typing reference cards. I
could now just make notations in the book.

I think the availability of this book was one
of the main reasons why Keith Woodwick
chose to work on polychaetes. He arrived at
use a couple of weeks after it was
published. He had to choose between
polychaetes and crustaceans (his only other
choice). Again, little details played a major
role. Keith got his students Jim Blake and
Todd Bridges (and others, I think) to work
on polychaetes.

Next—Chapter 11: Conclusion of the
Hartman years and my dissertation.

21 SEPTEMBER MEETING MINUTES

The meeting was held in the Worm Lab at the
Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
County. President Ron Velarde
(CSDMWWD) led us through the business
meeting. Bight ‘98 sampling is complete.
Don Cadien gave a brief summary of
CSDLAC’s sampling effort. Then Ron
Velarde summarized CSDMWWD’s

sampling effort and commented that the hermit
crab Parapagurodes makarovi was one of the
most unusual animals found. It was interesting
that this hermit crab had an abdominal parasite
Stegophryxus hyphalus Markham 1974, a
bopyrid isopod which is a relatively deep water
species. This specimen was collected at a
depth of 107 meters. Everyone agreed that
they saw an El Nino influence in the trawl
species collected and that the population of
their usual species were low compared to
normal.

The 5^** California Islands Symposium will be
held March 29 - April 1, 1999 at the Santa
Barbara Museum of Natural History. It is
sponsored by the Minerals Management
Service and SBMNH. The Western Society
of Naturalists (WSN) meetings will be held
December 26 - December 30, 1998 at the
Hanalei Hotel in San Diego. You can check
out the particulars of the conference at their
website:

http://www.csun.edu/wsn/

WSN%20Newsletter.htm.

Gary Williams and Lisa-Ann Gershwin are
writing a proposal for a book on the planktonic
and midwater fauna of California. They still
need sections written on copepods, mysids,
euphausiaceans, cladocerans, and
leptostracans. Anyone who is interested in
contributing to this book may contact Gary or
Lisa-Ann.

Don Cadien passed around the new MMS
Volume 8 which covers the Aplacophora,
Polyplacophora, Scaphopoda, Bivalvia and
Cephalopoda, and mentioned that Vol. 3 on
the Cnidaria had also been published. He
commented that we should have a SCAMIT
meeting to review the contents of these
volumes and then invite the authors to
attend another SCAMIT meeting to discuss
their respective chapters. Details on

7

September, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.5

availability of the 13 volumes issued to date,
and publication schedule for the one
remaining volume in the series can be obtained
from their website at:

http://www.sbnature.org/atlas/

Kelvin Barwick gave a report on his use of
Scheltema’s laboratory methods for
aplacophoran spicules in the MMS Atlas.

He found that he got the best results viewing
spicules by using a set of polarizing lens
attached to his compound scope, as is
suggested by Scheltema in her chapter.

With the polarizers, the spicules display a
variety of vibrant colors and are easy to
view against a dark background. Now that
Kelvin can “see” the spicules, we hope to
next hear his comments on using
Scheltema’s key.

The T'^ North American Oligochaete
Conference will be held October 26 -
October 28 at the Keys Marine Laboratory
on Long Key, Florida. Following the
conference, there will be a taxonomic
workshop sponsored by the Florida
Association of Benthologists (FAB). The focus
will be on oligochaetes, polychaetes, and
leeches associated with Florida estuaries.

As reported in Annelida (http://www.bio.net/
hy permail/ANNELIDA/9809/0001 .html),
Marian Pettibone has left the Smithsonian.
She is moving back to her hometown,
Tacoma, Washington.

We were treated to a slide show by Todd
Zimmerman, a graduate student at UCLA
who is associated with the Crustacea section
of the museum. Todd showed shots of
Guana, the small island in the British Virgin
Islands that he, Leslie Harris, Don Cadien,
and Rick Ware are engaged in studying. We
got an appreciation of the nature of the
terrestrial habitat and vegetation, and the
types of crabs that occupy both the land and
adjacent marine areas. Benthic samples
along transects were collected this July,

along with numerous samples of algal and
invertebrate substrates from intertidal and
shallow subtidal areas. These will be sorted,
and identified to produce the beginnings of
an inventory of the microbiota of Guana’s
intertidal and nearshore subtidal zones. The
results should reveal a fauna similar to that
in other nearby islands located on the
Puerto Rican Plate such as Puerto Rico, Jan
Van Dyke, Tortola, Anegada, and St. John.
None of these areas has been extensively
investigated except Puerto Rico. Guana is
privately owned, and the owners have made
it into a conservation zone. In conjunction
with the British Virgin Islands government
they have begun reestablishing locally
extinct species on the island with the aim of
returning it to its pre-human ecosystem.

Leslie Harris gave us a report on her
experiences while attending the 6^**
International Polychaete Conference in
Curitiba, Brazil. She said it was one of the
best conferences she had ever attended. It
was very well organized and the 120
attendees were well taken care of. After
registration on the day of their arrival, the
participants were treated to a wonderful
folk concert in the theater. There was lively
music, and, at one point, Kristian Fauchald
was spotted joining the “conga line” as they
danced their way amongst the audience.

The conference itself was also held in the
theater. There were many papers on
cladistics, taxonomy, and ecology. Leslie
considered the poster session also very well
done, with posters of a high scientific
quality. Of the 120 participants, about 30
were Brazilian polychaete workers. There
was a one-day train ride for participants,
starting at 1,000 meter elevation, traveling
through a rain forest, then ending at a
marine station on the beach. Following the
conference, there was a cladistics workshop
co-taught by Kristian Fauchald, Kirk
Fitzhugh, Fred Pleijel, and Greg Rouse.

Even though Leslie was not a participant in
the actual workshop, she was working

8

September, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.5

nearby in the laboratory and was often privy to
some lively debates. She presented a slide
show of live worms photographed during her
trip, from both Guana Island and Brazil. They
displayed colorful pigment patterns which
normally fade upon fixation and preservation.
Also internal structures (e.g. pharynges of
syllids) that are visible in the live animals may
be difficult or impossible to see in preserved
worms.

Leslie informed us of the recent acquisition of
a large collection of invertebrates for the
LACMNH. It consists of 240 five-gallon
plastic buckets filled with sorted samples of
invertebrates from 30 sites in Puget Sound.
From 1974 through 1980 these 30 sites were
sampled up to 4 times per year. There were
originally over 500 buckets of samples
stored at Friday Harbor. Leslie was
involved in inspecting each bucket and
determining which ones should be brought
to the Museum. Many buckets contained
species that were vialed separately and then
placed into plastic bags for each station.

Each bucket then held plastic bags for 4 or 5
stations. This collection considerably increases
the holdings of marine invertebrates from the
Puget Sound area in the museum. This material
will provide many new opportunities for
research projects once accessioned and curated.

The first specimen we looked at following the
business meeting was Chone nr. sp C brought
to the meeting by Ricardo Martinez-Lara. It
had two dark lateral methyl green pigment
patches anteriorly. Ricardo passed around
some digital images of the specimen. The
photos showed the methyl green staining
pattern of Chone nr. sp C and also illustrated,
for comparison, staining patterns of other
species of Chone. We were able to put an
identification on this species, Chone duneri,
illustrated in Banse 1972, pp. 466-467, Figure
2b.

A couple of taxonomic aids were made
available for attendees; Kelvin Barwick
handed out a “Table of Characters for the
Ampharetidae from the City of San Diego’s
Ocean Monitoring Program” revised by
Kelvin Barwick and Rick Rowe in February
1997. Rick Rowe distributed the table
“Separating the abranchiate Amphitritinae
Terebellidae of Pt. Loma” from November
1995. (See attachments.)

Next we viewed a specimen of Chone sp SD I
brought to the meeting by Kathy Langan-
Cranford. A San Diego voucher sheet for
this species is included in this newsletter.
This species occurs offshore of San
Francisco at a depth of 25-30 meters and at
the mouth of the Tijuana River, also in
shallow water. At first glance, this species
may be mistaken for C. albocincta since the
methyl green staining patterns are similar.
Chone sp SD I is unique in that it has a
raised ridge in the shape of a tuning fork on
the ventral side of the collar. This feature is
more obvious in larger specimens.

Larry Lovell showed us a specimen of what he
had been considering Levinsenia oculata.
Earlier that morning, Larry had examined
the holotype and several paratypes at the
museum, stained them, and recorded their
staining patterns. As luck would have it, the
holotype and paratypes of L. oculata were
actually L. gracilis; therefore, L. oculata
would be proposed to be an objective junior
synonym of L. gracilis, and unavailable. In
the animals he had been calling L. oculata
the anterior ends were inflated, dorsal
intersegmental furrows were deeply
invaginated postbranchially, and there were
paired pigment dots of methyl green
continuing to the posterior of the animal.
SCAMIT will designate this Levinsenia sp B
now that L. oculata is unavailable. On page
33 of the MMS Atlas, Volume 6, Blake
comments that a voucher specimen of L.
gracilis that he examined has “more
posterior spines in a fascicle (ca. 12 instead

9

September, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.5

of 7) and arranged in two rows instead of a
single row”. Larry believes this specimen
may represent Levinsenia sp B of SCAMIT.
Material of L. oculata sensu Blake 1996 in
the MMS Atlas needs to be re-examined.

We then examined Levinsenia sp A, and
Larry handed out copies of his draft
voucher sheet. Levinsenia sp A has a limited
number of branchiae (most have 7) which
are flattened and begin on setiger 7. The
modified setae are neuropodial, acicular,
and have strongly curved tips. The modified
setae also have a subterminal hood which is
an unusual character for Levinsenia.

Setigers 1-5 are inflated, and there is a body
transition at setiger 6. Methyl green stains
dorso-lateral areas in the interramal area of
anterior and branchial setigers.

The next paraonid for viewing was Aricidea
sp A, with a voucher sheet prepared by
Larry Lovell. This worm has a short
median antenna and small red eyespots on
the prostomium. The modified neurosetae
begin on setiger 15-21. They are acicular
with a subterminal arista. There are also 1-2
acicular neurosetae with a terminal arista in
inferior positions. Kelvin Barwick and Larry
Lovell provided us with draft copies of their
updated paraonid key. We reviewed this draft
at the meeting and provided them with
comments and corrections (and sarcastic
humor). We eagerly await their revised edition.

Tony Phillips then showed us a specimen of
Nephtys that he thought might be N.
squamosa. It had distinctive flaps that
partially covered the notopodia. He
encountered this specimen in a sample from
the Channel Islands. Tony will compare his
specimen to Ohwada’s 1989 redescription of
Nephtys squamosa and let us known the final
identification at a future meeting.

PREFER® FIXATION - TEST RESULTS
Dean Pasko

Prefer® is a tissue fixative used primarily for
histological and surgical applications. It is a
bi-functional aldehyde (glyoxal), and was
developed as a Formalin substitute by Anatech
LTD. It is less volatile (low vapor pressure),
slightly less toxic, and has the potential for
disposal in the wastewater stream (i.e.,
hazardous waste disposal is not required).

Price estimates showed that Prefer® could cost
less than Formalin to use (depending on the
concentration required for adequate fixation).
Additional savings could result from the
simplified disposal (i.e., not as hazardous
waste). These potential savings combined with
the lower volatility and toxicity lead
CSDMWWD personnel to investigate its
potential usefulness as a Formalin substitute in
the City of San Diego Ocean Monitoring
Program.

Benthic grab samples from 4 benthic stations
were collected by 0.1 m^ Van Veen benthic
sampler, screened, combined (when necessary),
then split into equal sub-samples. Sixteen
ounce containers were filled one-quarter full
(approx. 118 ml) with grab material and placed
in relaxant (MgS04) for 30 minutes. After
relaxation, the samples were fixed using one of
four fixative formulations (10%, 20%, 38%
Prefer®, or 10% buffered Formalin), and left in
the fixative for one, three, and twenty days
before changing to EtOH.

The quality of fixation was examined for a
variety of samples. Representative
specimens of each major taxa (polychaetes,
Crustacea, mollusks, echinoderms, and
miscellaneous phyla) were pulled and
examined for gross appearance, brittleness,
pliability, and pigment retention. The intent
was also to examine polychaetes for
effectiveness of staining (Alcian blue &
methyl green), and polyclad flatworms and

10

September, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.5

nemertean worms (Enopla) for the
effectiveness of the clearing agent, methyl
salicilate, but these tests became impractical
(see below).

Gross analysis of eight samples revealed
inferior (at best) and poor (at worst)
preservation by Prefer® when compared to
Formalin. For example, in 38% Prefer®
with 3-day fixation, several polychaete
specimens were reported as having
parapodia that were “flaky”, and some
specimens had most of their appendages and
cuticle completely “flaking off”. The
exoskeleton of Crustacea were fragile and
brittle, while the flesh was soft.

Echinoderms were also soft to the touch, yet
brittle (the arms were easily broken when
bent). The preservation of many mollusks,
nemertean worms, and burrowing
anthozoans was generally fair.

Additionally, the pigment of several taxa fixed
in Prefer® appeared different. Many
polychaetes (particularly glycerids and
lumbrinerids) had a golden or bronze
coloration that masked the color patterns
seen with Formalin fixation. The flesh of
ampeliscid amphipods was generally red,
while the exoskeleton was transparent and soft.
Ophiuroids, typically white in Formalin fixed
samples, were yellow to cream colored when
fixed in Prefer®.

Samples of 10% and 20% Prefer® produced
even worse preservation. Extending the
fixation period to 20 days did not yield
better results.

On the other hand, fixation in 10%

Formalin was adequate even at 1-day
fixation, although, with this minimal
exposure, polychaetes fixed within their
tubes were a little “softer than normal”. At
20-day fixation, the Formalin samples
yielded slightly more fragile mollusk shells.

In general. Prefer® inadequately preserved
marine infaunal samples collected and treated
by standard methodology. The cause of the
less than adequate fixation may result from
differences in acidity of Prefer® relative to
buffered Formalin (pH of 3.75 - 4.25 vs. 2.8 -
4.0 respectively). Furthermore, Prefer® was
developed for specific applications (i.e.,
histological and surgical uses) where the
material being fixed is of a more uniform,
predictable quantity (thickness) and quality, as
opposed to the variable size, shape and density
of marine infauna. Additionally, the external
layers of many inverts (e.g., chitinous
exoskeleton of arthropods, cuticle of
polychaetes) may present additional obstacles
to penetration of the glyoxal used in Prefer®.

Consequently, when compared to glyoxal, it
appears that 10% Formalin remains the
better “all purpose” fixative for marine
infaunal samples.

NOTE: Additional information on
methodology, formulations, cost estimates,
etc. may be obtained from Dean Pasko, City
of San Diego Ocean Monitoring Program -
Marine Biology Faboratory, 4918 N. Harbor
Drive Suite 101, San Diego, CA 92106.
dip@sdcity.sannet.gov

ATTACHMENTS

This month’s Newsletter contains numerous
attachments. As previously mentioned in the
newsletter, Kathy Fangan’s (CSDMWWD)
Chone sp SD 1 voucher sheet, Kelvin
Barwick’s/Rick Rowe’s (CSDMWWD)
Ampharetidae table, and Rick Rowe’s
Amphitritinae table are all attached. Dean
Pasko (CSDMWWD) has also included three
new voucher sheets dealing with crustaceans.
They are as follows: Rudilemboides sp A (the
electronic version of this sheet has been
delayed but will be available at a future date
under the Taxonomic Tools section of the
SCAMIT website), Hartmanodes sp SD 1, and

11

September, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.5

Ericthonius sp SD 1. Last of all, but definitely not least, the new SCAMIT Index has been
produced (thanks to Faith Cole) and is the final attachment.

JOB OPPORTUNITY

Applicants are being sought for an opening in the Marine Biology Laboratory of the County
Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County. The Marine Biology Laboratory is part of the
Districts’ Ocean Monitoring Group and is responsible for the conduct of monitoring studies
focused upon wastewater impacts on the Palos Verdes Shelf. The position offered is that of
Laboratory Technician. Duties include both laboratory and field work at sea. See the
accompanying announcement for details.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BANSE, KARL. 1972. Redescription of some species of Chone Kr0yer and Euchone

Malmgren, and three new species (Sabellidae, Polychaeta). Fishery Bulletin 70:459-
495.

BLAKE, JAMES A. 1995. Chapter 2. Family Paraonidae Cerruti, 1909. Pp. 27-70 IN\
Blake, James A., Brigitte Hilbig, and Paul H. Scott (eds). Taxonomic Atlas of the
Benthic Fauna of the Santa Maria Basin and Western Santa Barbara Channel. Vol.
6, The Annelida Part 3. Polychaeta: Orbiniidae to Cossuridae. 418pp.

DALKEY, ANN. 1998. A new species of amphipod (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Lysianassoidea)
from the Pacific Coast of North America. Proceedings of the Biological Society of
Washington lll(3):621-6.

DISTEL, DANIEL L. 1998. Evolution of chemoautotrophic endosymbioses in bivalves -

Bivalve-bacteria chemosymbioses are phylogenetically diverse but morphologically
similar. Bioscience 48(4):277-86.

LAMBERT, PHILLIP. 1998. Pentamera rigida and P. pediparva, two new species of sea

cucumber from the west coast of North America (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea).
Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington lll(3):535-50.

LUTER, CARSTEN, & Thomas Bartolomaeus. 1997. The phylogenetic position of

Brachiopoda - a comparison of morphological and molecular data. Zoologica
Scripta 26(3):245-53.

McLEAN, JAMES HAMILTON. 1985. The archaeogastropod family Addisoniidae Dali,
1882: life habit and review of species. The Veliger 28(1):99-108.

OHWADA, TAKASHI. 1989. Redescription of Nephtys squamosa Ehlers (Polychaeta:

Nephtyidae). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 102(1): 124-130.
SCHELTEMA, AMELIE H. 1998. Chapter 2. Class Aplacophora. Pp. 3-47 IN: Scott, Paul
Valentich and James A. Blake (eds). Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the
Santa Maria Basin and Western Santa Barbara Channel. Vol. 8, The Mollusca Part
1. The Aplacophora, Polyplacophora, Scaphopoda, Bivalvia, and Cephalopoda.
250pp.

THOMPSON, A. A., & B. D. Mapstone 1997. Observer effects and training in underwater
visual surveys of reef fishes. Marine Ecology - Progress Series 154:53-63.
WEYGOLDT, P. 1998. Evolution and systematics of the Chelicerata. Experimental &
Applied Acarology 22(2):63-79.

12

August, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.4

Please visit the SCAMIT Website at: http://www.scamit.org

SCAMIT OFFICERS:

If you need any other information concerning SCAMIT please feel free to contact any of
the officers e-mail address

Ron Velarde (619)692-4903 rgv@mwharbor.sannet.gov

Don Cadien (310)830-2400 ext. 403 dcadien@lacsd.org

Megan Lilly (619)692-4901 msl@mwharbor.sannet.gov

Ann Dalkey (310)648-5544 cam@san.ci.la.ca.us

President

Vice-President

Secretary

Treasurer

Back issues of the newsletter are available. Prices are as follows:

Volumes 1-4 (compilation). $30.00

Volumes 5-7 (compilation). $ 15.00

Volumes 8- 15 . $ 20.00/vol.

Single back issues are also available at cost.

COUNTY SANITATION DISTRICTS OF LOS ANGELE COUNTY

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Marine Biology Laboratory Technician, Ocean Monitoring Group

The County Sanitation Districts of Los Angeles County collectively are a non-civil service
government agency separate from Los Angeles County government. The Districts are
financially stable and nationally recognized for innovative engineering practices in
wastewater treatment, solid waste management and power generation.

LOCATION: Joint Water Pollution Control Plant, Carson, CA

COMPENSATION & MAJOR BENEFITS: $2857 - $3835 per month, starting rate
dependent upon qualifications. Paid retirement - including tax-deferred 7% paid into
employee’s account. Exemption from 6.2% Social Security deduction. Paid family
medical/dental coverage, holidays, vacation, personal leave.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS: To perform a variety of sampling activities at sea and
conduct or support the laboratory analysis of marine biological samples.

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES: Conducts or participates in the collection at sea and the
laboratory analysis of a variety of oceanographic samples (primarily biological). At sea,
works aboard small craft and a 66 foot motor vessel; assists in the safe navigation and
operation of small craft in coastal waters; operates oceanographic sampling gear and
instrumentation; performs shipboard duties such as hauling lines, setting and pulling
anchor, and operating hydrographic winches, and performs related duties as required.

In the laboratory, sorts infaunal samples consisting of a wide range of invertebrate taxa
and assists taxonomists in the analysis of infaunal samples, prepares specimens for
taxonomic study; provides curatorial care of biological samples; performs organism
resections; enters data into a computerized database; maintains laboratory records; acts
as laboratory librarian; prepares standard solutions and reagents and performs related
duties as required.

EXAMPLES OF ASSESSMENT CRITERIA: A knowledge of the principles of biology,
oceanography and related sciences; the fundamental characteristics of the major animal
classes found in marine habitats; the procedures and materials used in the collection of
biological and oceanographic samples; standard techniques, equipment, and materials
used in a laboratory conducting environmental studies of marine communities; basic
seamanship. The ability to perform standard laboratory tasks; maintain records; and
understand and carry out oral and written technical instructions; to work at sea aboard
small craft under a variety of conditions, including rough and inclement weather; to swim;
and to work at a microscope for extended periods of time.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS TO QUALIFY FOR TESTING: A valid California C driver s
license AND completion of twelve units of college-level zoology.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS: Include experience aboard small craft in coastal
waters; familiarity with oceanographic sampling gear; knowledge of the local marine
environment and organisms; SCUBA certification and open ocean diving experience.

TO APPLY: Call LA County Sanitation Districts, 562-908-4242 or e-mail
ejonas@lacsd.org Deadline to apply 10/23/98. EOE M/F/D

Table of Characters for the Ampharetidae from the City San Diego’s Ocean Monitoring Program

# of thoracic
setigers
(do not
count paleae)

Branchiae

Diagnostic characters

Genus species

# of thoracic
uncinigers

Paleae

# of pairs

Shape/color

(smooth & cirriform unless
noted otherwise)

Anterior

(Prostomium, peristome, etc....)

Thorax

Abdomen

Sabellides manriquei
( = Sabellides sp SDl)

11

13

small

(not obvious)

4

Minute pair of digitate
processes between post
median branchial pair

Darkish pigment spot(s) on
prostomium; oral tentacles
papillose

17 setigers; long cirri on
abdominal uncinigers;
pygidium w/2 long cirri

Amage anops

11

14

absent

4

No lateral “peristomial wings”

14 - 15 setigers

Paramage scutata

11

14

absent

4

"Well developed “peristomial
wings” on 2 segments anterior
to first setae

10 - 11 setigers

Anobothms gracilis

12

15

(first fascicle
small, easily
overlooked)

large

4

Retractile oral tentacles
smooth

Setiger l l(uncmiger 8)
with slightly elevated
notopodia and
glandular band across
dorsum (highlight
with blue stain)

Ampharete arctica

12

14

large

4

Retractile oral tentacles
papillose

13 setigers; only last few
abdominal uncinigers with
superior digitadte process
(cirrus); pygidium w/2 long

Ampharete labrops

12

14

large

4

Retractile oral tentacles
papillose; row of minute
eyespots on ventral margin of
prostbmiai lip

13 setigeps; pygidium w/2
lateral cirri

Ampharete acutifrons

12

14

large

4

Retractile oral tentacles
papillose

-

12 setigers; most abdominal
micinigers with superior
digitate process (cirrus);
pygidium with circlet of
several long cirri (up to 20)

Polychaeta (Ampharetidae) Revised Feh.’97 by K. Barwick &; R. Rowe from M. Kruse & R. Velarde 8/20/87

Page 1

Sosane occidentalis

12

15

small

(not obvious)

4

Modified 13^'’ setiger
(10'*^ unciniger) with
notopodia displaced
dorsally and expanded

Eclysippe trilobata

12

15

small

(not obvious)

3

With brown crossbars
(usually faded)

Prostomium rounded with
patches of pigment (eyespots)

Setigers 11-15
obviously elongated
with trilobed
notopodia

Ampharetidae sp SDl

12= 13
(usually 12)

15 - 16
(usually 15)

small

(not obvious)

4

Crescent shaped pigment
patch on posterior dorsum of
prostomium; lower “lip”
crenulated

Schistocomus sp A

12

15

absent

4

3 pair bipinnate; 1 pair
filamentos

Schistocomus hiltoni

12

15

absent

4

2 pair bipinnate; 1 pair
unipinnate; 1 pair
filamentous

A sake Hides lineata

12

14

absent

4

Methyl green patch stains
behind branchiae, usually a
row of 3 - 5 eyesposts across
posterior dorsum of
prostomium

Superior digitate process
(cirrus) above uncini

Lysippe sp. A

13

16

small

(not obvious)

4

w/few dark cross bars

Lower “lip” faintly crenulated

Lysippe sp. B

13

16

small

(not obvious)

4

w/niafiy white cross bars

Lower ‘dip” obviously
creiiulated with tips separated
nearly halfway down lip

Polychaeta (Ampharetidae) Revised Feb.’97 by K. Barwick & R. Rowe from M. Kruse &: R. Velarde 8/20/87

Page 2

Amphicteis

scaphobranchiata

14

17

large

(w/tapering

tips)

4

1 pair expanded,
foliaceouSj flattened with
slender tips

Paleae long golden and
conspicous

Amphicteis mucrontata

14

17

large

(w/ mucronate
lips)

4

All cirriform

Paleae long golden and
conspicous

Melinna oculata

14

18

hooks

4

With brown crossbars
(may be faded)

Nuchal hooks strongly airved;
with fine needledike spines in
first fourneuropodia

Transverse lobed
membrane across
middle of dorsum
anterior to first
normal notosetal
fascicles

Melinna heterodonta

14

18

hooks

4

Without color cross bars

Nuchal hooks nearly straight;
with fine needle*like spines in
first four neuropodia

Transverse lobed
membrane across
entire dorsum
anterior to first
normal notosetal
fascicles

Mooresamytha hioculata

14

17

absent

4

Brownish pigmentation just
under branchial base; lower lip
faintly crenulated

Samytha californiensis

14

17

absent

3

Lower “lip” of prostomium
produced slightly dov^uiward

Pygidium hoseshoe shaped

Polychaeta (Ampharetidae)

Revised Feb. ’97 by K. Barwick & R. Rowe from M. Kruse & R. Velarde 8/20/87

ye 3

R. Rowe/16Nov.95AVRD PFT AbrTerebl.doc

SEPARATING THE ABRANCHIATE
AMPHITRITINAE TEREBELLIDAE OF PT. LOMA
Lanassa gracilis /Lanassa venusta venusta /Lanassa sp D / Proclea sp A

SPECIES

UNCINI
BEGIN ON
SETIGER...

# OF SETIGERS
WITH DOUBLE
ROWS OF UNCINI

WITH

NOTOSETAE

TOTAL
NUMBER OF

;|ii|i|||||||||i

NOTOSETAL

DISTRIBUTION

Lanassa

gracilis

2(1*)

8

15

Last setiger with double
row of uncini

with

notosetae

Lanassa

venusta

venusta

2 (1*)

4

11

Last 4 setigers with
double rows of uncini

without

notosetae

Lanassa
sp D

2(1*)

8

15

Last setiger with double
row of uncini

without

notosetae

Proclea sp A

3(2*)

9

16

Last setiger with double
row of uncini

with

notosetae

(

^*)Number of anterior thoracic setigers with notosetae only

USE THESE CHARACTERS FOR SPECIMENS THAT DO NOT
POSSESS A DEFINITIVE STAINING PATTERN

City of San Diego Voucher Sheet

Species: Chone sp SD 1
AuthorityiPt.Loma 1997
Common Synonyms:

Characters:

Taxon: Annelida: Sabellidae
Date: February 13,1998
By : K.Langan-Cranford

Voucher Specimen(s):

station Date Storage Location Voucher#

TJI4 11 Aug 97; 58 ft. KL P-84

TJK-6 11 Aug 97; 51ft. DLZ _ P-2013

Illustration:

Collar slightly oblique.

Branchial lobes not completely hidden by collar.

6 pairs of radioles.

Palmate membrane at least 2/3 radiole length.

Raised ridge in the shape of a tuning fork on the ventral
side of the collar (Fig. 1). This structure stains with
methyl green.

Setiger 1 fascicles are smaller than others, except in very
small (3mm) specimens where they are the same size.

Spatulate setae without pointed tips or with minute, hair¬
like filament.

Long abdominal capillary setae, twice the length of an
abdominal setiger.

Full Description:

Specimen Size (mm) # of radioles Size of notosetiger 1

Fig. 1

San Francisco 5 cm
KL P-84 6 mm

DLZ2013 5.5mm

Main P-31 3 mm

22 pairs
6 pairs
no radioles
no radioles

smaller than others

slightly smaller than others
slightly smaller than others

same as others

Reiated Species:

Chonemollis ofBanse 1972. This species does not havethe collar ridge as shown in Fig. 1 and does not have long
abdominal capillary setae.

Comments:

Specimens were first collected offshoreofSan Franciscoin Feb.and Sept. 1995at a depth of25-30meters.Specimens
were subsequently collected at shallow stations offshore of the Tijuana River.

SeeKirkFitzhugh’snotes on “Characters usedtodistinguish C/7<7«t'specics accordingtoBanse 1972”. Notes in
SCAMIT newsletter Vol. 10(4) August 1991.

References:

Banse,K. 1972. Redescription of some species of C/zon^Kroyer and£'Mc/zow^Malmgren,andthreenew species
(Sabellidae,Polychaeta). Fishery Bulletin 70(2):459-495.

(over)

Spec\es:ChonespSDl

Taxon: Annelida: Sabellidae
Date: 11 February 1998

Additional Illustrations: K.Langan,i997

Distribution—

Pt. Loma:TJI- 4 ( 58 ft);TJK- 6 ( 51 ft)

Geographic: Mouth ofTijuana River

Habitat:

City of San Diego Voucher Sheet

Species: Hartmanodes sp SDl Taxon: Gammaridea: Oedicerotidae

Authority: Date: 15 May 1997

Common Synonyms: By: Dean Pasko

Monoculodes sp SDl of CSDMWWD Voucher Specimen(s):

station Date Storage Location Voucher#

B-13 8 Jan 1997 Main

Characters: (Female only. Male unknown.)

White oedicerotid with well defined dorsal eye.

Rostrum strongly deflexed (approx. 90 degrees), not
acutely tapered, ventral keel slightly concave.

Coxa 1, slightly produced antero-distally (ventrally
broadened).

Gnathopod 1, carpus (article 5) short (<l/4 article 6
as measured along anterior margin); carpal lobe
narrow and elongate.

Gnathopod 2 carpal process narrow and moderately
long (i.e., may extend up to, but not beyond,
defining corner of palm).

Gnathopod 1 and 2 with article 6 relatively broad
(length = 2.3X width).

Telson convex, with 4 terminal setae/spines, and
two short setae on outer margin.

Pereopod 7 basis without posterior ventral lobe.

Posterior margin somewhat produced with
medium length setae.

Full Description:

Related Species:

The species can be easily confused with M. emarginatus or M. hartmanae.

Har tin an odes sp SDl resembles M. emarginatus in the basic characters of the gnathopods (e.g.,
somewhat broadened propodus of gnathopods 1 and 2), but differs in the shorter carpus and a more
elongate carpal lobe on gnathopod I, a strongly deflexed rostrum (~90 degrees vs. <45 degrees in M.
emarginatus), 2 ind a convex rather than emarginate telson. Compare to figures on page 2.

Hatmanodes sp SDl also resembles H. hartmanae which possesses a strongly deflexed rostrum and
short carpi of gnathopods 1 and 2. M. hartmanae differs primarily in the much more elongate and
much narrower propodus and carpal process of gnathopod 2: the propodus is 3.25 longer than wide,
and the carpal process extends beyond the palm. Additionally, H. hartmanae has a convex vental
keel on the rostrum, a coxa 1 that is not antero-distally or ventrally broadened (i.e., the sides are
parallel), and a telson with a nearly straight posterior margin.

References:

Barnard, J .L. 1962. Benthic marine amphipoda of southern California: Family Oedicerotidae. Pacific
Naturalist, 3:349-371.

Bousfied, E.L. and A, Chevrier. 1996. The Amphipod family Oedicerotidae on the Pacific Coast of North
America. Part 1. The Monodculodes and Synchelidium generic complexes: Systematics and
distributional ecology. Amphipacifica. Vol 2 (2): 75-148.

Illustration: Digital images also

available on the SCAMIT
webpage: www.scamit.org

gnathopod 1 gnathopod 2

head telson

(See figures on page 2.)

(over)

Species: Monoculodes sp SDl

Taxon: Gammaridea: Oedicerotidae
Date: 15 May 1997

Additional Illustrations: From J.L Barnard, 1962.

0

^^^^osteri(

margin

Monoculodes ema.rgina.tus

Distribution—

Pt. Loma: 100 - 320 ft; Imperial Beach to La Jolla, California

Geographic:

Habitat:

City of San Diego Voucher Sheet

Species: Ericthonius sp SDl

Authority:

Common Synonyms:

lEricthonius brasiliensis (juvenile)

Taxon:Gammaridea: Corophioidea: Ischyroceridae
Date: 22 April 1998
By: Dean Pasko

Voucher Specimen(s):

station Date Storage Location Voucher#

2121 7^^ D.Pasko

2137 7/15/% D.Pasko

Characters:

A small species, approximately 2-3 mm in length at maturity.

Male gnathopod 2 with double defining tooth; coxa 2 much broader than deep, antero-ventral
marginslightiyconcave,posteriormarginstronglyoblique;article2 (basis)elongate(ngure 1).

Male coxa 1 anteriorly produced, narrow, much broader than deep (Figure 2).

Female coxa 1 anteriorly produced, gently rounded posteriorly (Figure 3).

Female coxa 2 anteriorly produced, ventrally stepped (or sinuous), with oblique posterior margin
(Figure 4).

Uropod 3 peduncle equal to urosomite 3 (both male and female).

Figure 2. Male coxa 1, setae omitted.

Related Species:

This species is very similar to Ericthonius brasiliensis in form of the gnathopods, mouthpart
morphology, shape of coxa 5, length of uropod 3 peduncle (= urosomite 3), and uropod
armature,etc.ThespeciesdiffersfromE.brasiliensisinitsconsistentlysmallsizeatmaturity(approximatelyone-half
thesizeofE.brasiliensis),thedistinctiveshapeofcoxael and2,andthemoreelongatebasisofgnathopod2(male).

Comments:

It is possible that this species was previously mistaken for Juvenile forms of E. brasiliensis,
however, the consistently small size (2-3 mm) of ovigerous females and males with well
developed penes, together with the few, but consistent differences listed above suggests that
Ericthonius sp SDl is a separate species.

(over)

Species: Ericthonius sp SDl

Taxon: Gammaridea:Corophioidea: Ischyroceridae
Date: 22 April 1 998

References:

Bousfield, E.L. 1973. Shallow water Gammaridean Amphipods of New England. Cornell
University Press, Ithaca, New York; 312 pp.

Barnard, J.L. 1975. Phylum Arthropoda: Crustacea, Amphipoda: Gammaridea. Pp. 31 3 366. IN:
R.l. Smith and J.T. Carlton (eds). Light’s Manual: Intertidal Invertebrates of the Central
California Coast. Third edition. University of California Press, Berkeley, California.

Distribution—

Pt. Lome: 63 ftto 275 ft in sandy sediments
Geographic: San Diego, California

Habitat:

Southern California Association of
Marine Invertebrate Taxonomists

3720 Stephen White Drive
San Pedro, California 90731

October, 1998 SCAMIT Newsletter Vol. 17, No. 6

SUBJECT:

Review of MMS Taxonomic Atlas Vol. 3 & 8

GUEST SPEAKER:

None - Don Cadien Discussion Leader

DATE:

Monday, 16 November 1998

TIME:

9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p. m.

LOCATION:

City of San Diego Marine Biololgy Lab

4918 North Harbor Drive #101

San Diego, CA

Next Meeting

The next SCAMIT meeting will be on 16
November at the CSDMWWD Lab. We will
be discussing the two most recent volumes of
the Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of
the Santa Maria Basin and Western Santa
Barbara Channel: Vol. 3 - Cnidaria, and Vol. 8 -
non-gastropod mollusks. As in past meetings
of this type the goal will be full annotation of
the volumes with comments from members, as
end-users, on the merits and deficiencies of the
articles discussed. Specific corrections will be
suggested, errors of commission and omission
noted, and keys evaluated for ease of use and
accuracy. The result will be forwarded to the
authors for their consideration with the intent
to have a joint meeting (probably two in this
case) with the authors themselves. Don Cadien
will be discussion leader.

A

Trivia ritteri Raymond, 1903 collected with an
otter trawl 7 miles WNW of Pt. Loma at a
depth of 625 ft. A. lateral view, B. dorsal
view. (Photos by Ron Velarde CSDMWWD)

FUNDS FOR THIS PUBLICATION PROVIDED, IN PART BY
THE ARCO FOUNDATION, CHEVRON, USA, AND TEXACO INC.

SCAMIT Newsletter in not deemed to be valid publication for formal taxonomic purposes.

October, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.6

XMAS PARTY

The 1998 SCAMIT Xmas Party is scheduled
for Saturday the 12‘^ of December. We will be
meeting again at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium
to renew old friendships, make new ones, and
to share an evening in lovely surroundings.
Although SCAMIT will provide a main meat
dish and beverages, we will need you to flesh
out our holiday table with pot-luck dishes of
your preference. Vegetables, pasta, salads,
dessert, appetizers etc. all are welcome. If
things go as usual we will have a sumptuous
repast of considerable diversity. To help assure
the latter please contact Megan Lilly or Don
Cadien to coordinate dishes. We will be calling
to find out about how many to expect around
the beginning of December, so try to have your
plans fixed by then. Last minute additions are
always welcome, last minute cancellations less
so (they mean we don’t get to see you, so we
don’t like ‘em). We will make arrangements to
have the Cabrillo Aquarium Book Shop open
for the evening, so plan for some specialty
shopping for the sea-life lovers on your list.

NEW LITERATURE

During a recent meeting with Dean Pasko and
Megan Lilly at San Diego to discuss sponges
taken in the Bight’98 trawls it became evident
that one of our problems in dealing with these
organisms is a lack of familiarity with available
literature. We might find ourselves reporting
“sponge unidentified” with less frequency were
we more familiar with papers addressing the
fauna. With that in mind a concerted effort will
be made to review the developments in sponge
taxonomy over the past decade worldwide and
bring the literature to your attention. That
these citations have gone unnoticed by most in
SCAMIT was apparent when the current Ed. 3
hierarchy was compared to that used by
Hooper in his on-line review of world-wide
sponge taxonomy available at:

http://www.qmuseum.qld.gov.au/nature/

explorenature/spongeident.html

Much of the recent taxonomic literature
dealing with this group has originated in
journals and publications with no obvious
relevance to our fauna. Researchers in
Australia, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and
in other non-US areas are making major
contributions. They are conducting a thorough
reevaluation of the sponges using modern tools,
and phylogenetic analytic methods. While
sponges are only a minor component of most
SCAMITeers workload, we should endeavor to
stay current in their taxonomy.

Several of these revisionary works were cited
in the bibliography of Green & Bakus (1994).
Another with local relevance is Van Soest et al
1991. This is one of a series of reports on the
taxonomy of the genus Acarnus. The status of
the locally occurring Acarnus erithracus was
not changed here, but the discussion of the
genus was worthwhile and enlightening. While
addressing the west Atlantic region, Alvarez et
al (1998) is a useful review of the Axinellidae,
and their generic rediagnoses have relevance to
our local fauna. More to come in future issues.

A major revisionary article on sabellid
taxonomy has just been published (Knight-
Jones & Perkins 1998). The genus Sabella is
rediagnosed and restricted, most species
previously placed there are transferred to
Bispira.

Major revisionary works have been coming out
in journals which have escaped my notice over
the last few years. One such is the Memoirs of
the Museum of Victoria. Two major review
and revisionary articles appeared there in 1994
which SCAMIT members should be aware of.
The first is a generic and above level
examination of the thalassinid shrimp by Poore
(1994). He erects several new families, and
provides keys to genera in all the families
world-wide. Character states used in his
analysis are fully illustrated as well. The isopod
family Gnathiidae was extensively reviewed by
Cohen & Poore (1994). While the species
descriptions included are all of new Australian

2

October, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.6

species, the discussion of the genera and the
family as a whole applies world-wide. They
propose to resurrect the genus Caecognathia
from the synonymy of Gnathia, and would
place two local species in the genus
(crenulatifrons and sanctaecrucis). All other
California gnathiids would remain in the genus
Gnathia.

Although mentioned previously. Ponder &
Lindberg (1997) is now in hand and can be
evaluated. This huge paper, while not
proposing a new “classification” provides
information sufficient to allow readers to reach
their own conclusions. The authors side with
De Quieroz & Gauthier (1990) in viewing only
taxa which can be defined in cladistic terms as
having validity. They do not view a
classification which uses a rigid set of
hierarchical levels as necessary or desirable.
Those of us who adopt such systematic
concepts into an applied taxonomy do have use
for a full hierarchical classification.

Integrating the findings of workers such as
Ponder & Lindberg into a working hierarchy
will be quite a challenge.

The comprehensiveness of their analysis is
staggering, although they have included only
morphological analyses and not molecular,
ecological, or behavioral evidence. Characters
derived from both adult and larval morphology
are used, however. The authors use a suite of
117 characters to construct the matrix for their
cladistic analysis. The nature and scoring of
these characters are usually thoroughly
discussed, although polarity assignments are
often unsupported assertions. More than half of
the paper is devoted to character description
and evaluation.

The resulting cladograms (five different
analyses were performed, with a few taxa
eliminated in some) produced a strict majority-
rule consensus tree (of 396 resulting trees).

The authors provide names for the major clades
in this tree. In large part this is in agreement
with that proposed by Haszprunar (1988),

although differing in some details. Those with
an interest in the higher classification and
evolutionary history of gastropods are urged to
get and peruse this paper. The extensive
discussion and presented arguments are very
thought provoking, and a valuable addition to
the existing corpus of papers on the subject.

Several non-taxonomic articles of potential
interest have come out recently. Coma et al
(1998) discuss the growth and secondary
production of a Mediterranean gorgonian
species Paramuricea clavata. Data was
gathered over a two year period by
photographing and re-photographing the same
organisms in situ. A total of 54 colonies were
followed. Sokal et al (1998) consider the
statistics and consequences of spatial
autocorrelation within stations; and Cromey et
al (1998) present a new mathematical model of
organic solids sedimentation, and its effects on
benthic communities.

Two marine related articles have graced the
pages of Scientific American in the last few
months, one discussing natural oil spills
(Macdonald 1998), and the other one of my
least favorite creatures - the hagfish (Martini
1998). In their usual style these articles are
both easy access and packed with useful
information.

NOT GONE, NOT FORGOTTEN

While conditions in mainland nearshore waters
seem to have veered away from El Nino
towards La Nina influence, the southern
Channel Islands seem to still reflect the tropical
influence. Jack Engle recently wrote “...we
continue to document new records of warm-
water species at the Channel Islands. On
October 9-11, we found a fair number
(generally 2-6 seen per dive) of ornate
fireworms (Chloeia viridis) near Willow Cove
at Catalina Island. These spectacular worms
were crawling on the surface of the stable sand
habitat at 30-50 ft. depth. Several were seen
apparently feeding on fecal material from bat
rays. We have good photographs and collected

3

October, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.6

several individuals. Limited checking indicates
this species ranges throughout the Gulf of
California to Panama. If none have been found
north of the Gulf, then this is a major range
extension.” Anyone else have observations of
these animals (or other warm-water faunal
anomalies) to report? Contact Jack at
j_engle@lifesci.ucsb.edu if you have seen these
worms locally, he is very interested.

MEETINGS

CWEA/SARBS Training Seminar “Recent
Advances in Receiving Water Monitoring” to
be held February 23-24 1999 at the Sheraton-
Anaheim. A preliminary topics list and a
registration blank are appended. For further
information contact George Robertson, Orange
County Sanitation District at Tel: (714)593-
7468, or e-mail: grobertson@ocsd.com.

Several more meetings are on the horizon, and
will be discussed in the next NL.

KUDOS

Since SCAMIT Secretary Megan Lilly first
assumed her new post in May of this year she
has enjoyed the support and assistance of two
co-workers in the performance of her duties.
Kathy Langan-Cranford has assisted by taking
notes for Megan at meetings which deal with
annelid taxonomy. Megan has also grown to
rely on the production help of Kelvin Barwick
in creation and assembly of both the paper and
on-line versions of the Newsletter. Kelvin
seems to actually enjoy Page-Maker, and has
wrestled numerous problems to the ground
over the last months. Both Megan and the
editor are very appreciative of the efforts these
two have put out (and hopefully will continue
to contribute) towards the production of the
NL. Thank You to both Kathy and Kelvin for
their efforts from Megan and Don. We might be
able to do it without you, but the result would
not be the same.

NEW ADDITION

SCAMIT announces with great pride the
arrival of a new SCAMITeer - Evan Thomas
Pasko was born November 5 at 4:40 a.m.,
weighing in at 10 lbs 4 ounces!! He has been
affectionately nick-named “Back Pack” by his
big brother Sam (ask Dean). Congratulations
to Dean and Francine. Perhaps he will aspire
to a career in marine biology...

19 October MINUTES

The meeting began with Ron Velarde
discussing the upcoming alien species
workshop in Las Vegas. The dates are
November 12 &13 and will deal mostly with
fresh water and terrestrial invasions. An alien
species database is being created and
information that would fill data set gaps is
being sought. There was some discussion as to
whether a copy of the SCAMIT species list
would be useful to these efforts. We ultimately
decided that sending them our list would serve
little purpose as we do not annotate it to allow
introduced species to be identified. To find out
more about this topic check the website at:

http: //nas .er.usgs .gov/conference/

Next Ron passed around a position
announcement from Scripps Institute of
Oceanography. They will be interviewing for a
curatorial position in the Scripps Museum
collections. Current curator Spencer Luke is
apparently beginning to think of retirement.
The job opening has recently been announced
in the ASC Newsletter, and may be repeated on
the SCAMIT website.

Don Cadien (CSDLAC) then took the floor and
started by passing along Tom Parker’s
(CSDLAC) suggestion of creating a permanent
“positions available” site on the SCAMIT web¬
page. People browsing the web-page could
periodically check for job announcements

4

October, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.6

relating to the fields of biology or marine
sciences. The members present felt this was a
good idea and it will be discussed with Jay
Shrake, our web-master.

Don then passed around his latest findings in
“new and useful” literature, and also went on to
show a three-dimensional perspective view of
Santa Monica Bay which he had downloaded
from the USGS website:

http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/docs/projects/

pac_maps/

This is a useful resource for SCAMIT
members, and should be checked periodically
to see what new maps have been made
available. USGS has on-going mapping
projects in the Bight, which will continue to
produce new maps for some time.

Don called for people to notify Jay Shrake if
they happen upon interesting or useful websites
that they feel would be an appropriate link for
the SCAMIT website. For example, he
brought to our attention a researcher at the
Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences (VIMS),
Jeff Shields, who works on parasitic isopods
and has established a website offering
information on several groups, including
dajids. That family is not included in the
World List of Isopods maintained by the
Smithsonian, and Jeff’s information is the most
complete available on the web. By the way, the
web address for Jeff is:

http://www.vims.edu/~jeff/isopod.html

There are lots of sites out there, a number not
yet listed in our links. If you find something
interesting and informative about marine
inverts while surfing, capture the URL and
send it in to the webmaster. Also don’t forget
to explore what is already there. Some most
unexpected resources will be revealed. (If hard
copy readers get the impression that we are
leaning more and more towards connected
information, they’re right. That is the path we
are currently on.)

A listing of emendations to the SCAMIT
Edition 3 list were then passed around. The list
currently is about 3 pages long, but there will
be more in the future. Any comments for
addition to this emend list can be posted
directly to the website, e-mailed to Don
(dcadien@lacsd.org), or mentioned at a
meeting. Users of the Ed 3 list will be
constantly finding problems, please don’t save
them up until the last minute, send them in
while they are fresh in your mind. Remember,
however, that our synonym/usage entries under
each name are not exhaustive or complete. We
are striving only to have all the variant forms
under which a species may be encountered in
locally used literature included.

An example of a new field ID aid used by
CSDLAC taxonomists for identification of
trawl caught shrimp was circulated. This
simply consists of basic outline drawings of
various shrimp species which are taken into the
field and live coloration of unusual (or even
routine) specimens are recorded with colored
pencils. Color patterns of live animals can be
extremely useful in identifications and this is a
way of ensuring accuracy for both field and lab
ID’S.

The upcoming SCAMIT Christmas party was
briefly discussed (see the announcement
above).

Tony Phillips (Hyperion), suggested a trip for
nemertean taxonomists to the Santa Barbara
Museum of Natural History in order to
examine the recently acquired Coe collection
which contains many types. A one or two day
workshop would be conducted in order to
standardize identifications of this difficult
group of animals. Our previous nemertean
workshop at Rancho Cuca was quite
productive. A future one centered around
examination of the Coe collection would be
very useful, as interpretations of the literature
leave so much to the imagination. Examination
of Coe-identified material might help us sort
out existing problems with literature

5

October, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.6

interpretations, and give us a better handle on
the degree of variability within the group as
seen through the eyes of its preeminent west
coast taxonomist.

It was then announced by Don Cadien that
SCAMIT will no longer be accepting orders for
Lambert’s book on Holothurians. “The books
are closed”, as it were, and he will now begin
the process of actually trying to acquire the
book for those who ordered it.

Just as a note, Mary Bergen, formerly of
SCCWRP, is now working for the State Lands
Commission. Those of you looking for help
with difficult holothuroid IDs (yes, she’s still
working with sea cucumber taxonomy) can
reach her at Mary_Bergen@email.msn.com.

Jim Allen (SCCWRP) joined at this point to
give us an update on the Bight’98 trawl efforts
and what standards have been set at this point.
Pelagic and fouling organisms will be
eliminated, as well as hard substrate animals
with the exception of Metridium and a few
other animals which may attach themselves to
a small rock on a soft bottom, but do not
require a true reef. Infaunal animals, also, will
not be considered with the exception of the
heart urchins.

Jim would like to see the trawl ID’s submitted
to SCCWRP by November I5th. Unlike the
SCBPP, which had a very uncertain and elastic
schedule, the Bight’98 results are scheduled to
be reported in a relatively short period. This
cannot proceed until the trawl identifications
are completed and the data submitted. The
voucher collections will be examined to verify
that name usage was the same across the
participating groups, and once this QC step is
complete, the data can be analyzed.

From there we finally got to the heart of the
matter and started discussing actual animals
encountered, comparing photographs taken,
and voucher specimens kept. It was decided
that a sponge meeting will be held at the City
of San Diego’s Marine Biology Lab with Don
Cadien, Megan Lilly and Dean Pasko in order
to compare and standardize identifications. It
was felt that a similar meeting will have to be
held with Cnidarian specimens, but who will
attend, when and where were not decided at
this point.

We made it through the Miscellaneous Taxa
and Mollusks before breaking for lunch. In the
afternoon Crustacea and Echinodermata were
examined. With the exception of the newly
sampled areas of San Diego Bay and the
offshore islands there were no real surprises
and few interesting catches from the Bight’98
trawls. Several participants remarked that the
collections seemed bland to the point of
disinterest. Because of the prevalence of hard
bottom around the islands, and in San Diego
Bay (in the form of oyster bioherms on the
muddy bay floor) a number of species not
normally seen were encountered. Not all of
these will be included in the database for the
soft bottom trawling effort, but we are doing
our best to identify even those which will not
be used.

HOLIDAY BREAK

It was decided by the members present at the
November meeting that there will be no
meeting in December. The Christmas party
will serve as the forum for our monthly
gathering. Taxonomic discussions will resume
in January with the subject being unusual
polychaetes being encountered in the Bight’98
benthic samples. Date and Location to be
announced.

6

October, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.6

Bibliography

Alvarez, Belinda, Rob W. M. van Soest, & Klaus Riitzler. 1998. A revision of Axinellidae

(Porifera: Demospongiae) of the central west Atlantic region. Smithsonian Contributions
to Zoology 598:1-47.

Cohen, Brian F. & Gary C. B. Poore. 1994. Phylogeny and biogeography of the Gnathiidae
(Crustacea: Isopoda) with descriptions of new genera and species, most from south¬
eastern Australia. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 54(2): 271-397.

Coma, R., M. Ribes, M. Zabala, & J.-M. Gili. 1998. Growth in a modular colonial marine
invertebrate. Estuarine, Coastal & Shelf Science 47(4):459-470.

Cromey, C. J., K. D. Black, A. Edwards, & LA. Jack. 1998. Modeling the deposition and

biological effects of organic carbon from marine sewage discharges. Estuarine, Coastal
& Shelf Science 47(3): 295-308.

De Quieroz, K. & J. Gauthier. 1990. Phylogeny as a central principle in taxonomy: phylogenetic
definitions of taxa names. Systematic Zoology 39:307-322.

Green, Karen D. & Gerald J. Bakus. 1994. The Porifera. IN: Blake, James A., Andrew L.

Lissner, & Paul H. Scott (eds.). Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa Maria
Basin and Western Santa Barbara Channel, Volume 2. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural
History, Santa Barbara, Ca. 82pp.

Haszprunar, Gerhard. 1988. On the origin and evolution of major gastropod groups, with special
reference to Streptoneura (Mollusca). Journal of Molluscan Studies 54(4):367-441.

Knight-Jones, Phyllis & Thomas H. Perkins. 1998. A revision of Sabella, Bispira and Stylomma
(Polychaeta: Sabellidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 123(4):385-467.

MacDonald, Ian R. 1998. Natural oil spills. Scientific American 279(5):57-61.

Martini, Frederic H. 1998. Secrets of the Slime Hag. Scientific American 279(4):70-75.

Ponder, Winston F. & David R. Lindberg. 1997. Towards a phylogeny of gastropod molluscs: an
analysis using morphological characters. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society
119(2):83-265.

Poore, Gary C. B. 1994. A phylogeny of the families of Thalassinidea (Crustacea: Decapoda)
with keys to families and genera. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 54(1):79-120.

Soest, Rob W. M. van, John N. A. Hooper, & F. Hiemstra. 1991. Taxonomy, phylogeny and
biogeography of the marine sponge genus Acarnus (Porifera: Poecilosclerida).

Beaufortia 42(3):49-88.

Sokal, Robert R., Neal L. Oden, & Barbara A. Thomson. 1998. Local spatial autocorrelation in
biological variables. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 65(l):41-62.

7

October, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.6

Please visit the SCAMIT Website at: http://www.scamit.org

SCAMIT OFFICERS:

If you need any other information concerning SCAMIT please feel free to contact any of the
officers e-mail address

(619)692-4903 rgv @ mwharbor.sannet.gov

(310)830-2400 ext. 403 dcadien@lacsd.org

(619)692-4901 msl @ mwharbor.sannet .gov

(310)648-5544 cam@san.ci.la.ca.us

President

Vice-President

Secretary

Treasurer

Ron Velarde
Don Cadien
Megan Lilly
Ann Dalkey

Back issues of the newsletter are available. Prices are as follows:

Volumes 1-4 (compilation).$ 30.00

Volumes 5-7 (compilation).$ 15.00

Volumes 8- 15. $ 20.00/vol.

Single back issues are also available at cost.

Southern California Association of
Marine Invertebrate Taxonomists

3720 Stephen White Drive
San Pedro, California 90731

November, 1998 SCAMIT Newsletter Vol. 17, No. 7

SUBJECT:

Part I, Island Copper Mine Collection, Dr. Derek Ellis.

Part II, Bight’98 Polychaetes, discussion leaders,

Ron Velarde & Tony Phillips

GUEST SPEAKER:

Dr. Derek Ellis

DATE:

19 January 1999

TIME:

9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p. m.

LOCATION:

Worm Lab

Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.

900 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, CA

NEXT MEETING

There was not a meeting in December, except
for the Christmas Party at the Cabrillo Marine
Aquarium. We have tentatively scheduled
meetings for February, and March (see below)
which await finalization of arrangements with
participating speakers.

The January meeting will be held at the Worm
Lab of the Natural History Museum of Los
Angeles County on 19 January. We will have a
speaker in the morning, and then will move on
to consideration of new and interesting
polychaetes from the Bight ‘98 sampling. Dr.
Derek Ellis will begin the meeting with a
presentation on the Island Copper Mine
Collection, the fruits of decades of monitoring
in British Columbia. Subsequently President
Ron Velarde and Tony Phillips will co-lead the
from polychaete discussion. Tony has been working
up some of the samples collected around

Scolanthus sp A photo by D. Pasko specime
City of San Diego Ocean Monitoring Prograr

FUNDS FOR THIS PUBLICATION PROVIDED, IN PART BY
THE ARCO FOUNDATION, CHEVRON, USA, AND TEXACO INC.

SCAMIT Newsletter in not deemed to be valid publication for formal taxonomic purposes.

November, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.7

Catalina and the Northern Channel Islands, and
has found interesting new things. Ron has
been closer to home, working on samples from
San Diego Bay, but has also found that the
benthic community in the south bay differs
significantly from that he is used to offshore. If
you have questions or questionable specimens
from Bight ‘98 samples, bring them along for
examination and discussion (polychaetes only
please).

NON-SCAMIT MEETINGS

The National Conference on Marine
Bioinvasions is scheduled for 24-27 January
1999 at MIT. Those interested in the latest on
this increasingly important subject area should
seriously consider attending. Information on
talks to be presented, registration, and
accommodations is available at:

http://massbay.mit.edu/exoticspecies/

conference.html

or by calling Conventures, Inc at (617) 439-
7700.

The Call for Papers for the 1999 meeting of the
National Shellfisheries Association has been
announced. The meetings will be held in
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada April 18-22
1999. Members will receive information and
abstract forms via the Fall 1998 Newsletter.
Non-members can find information on the
meetings at their web site:

http: //www.shellfish .org

Deadline for abstract submission and student
travel award application has passed
(DECEMBER 11,1998).

SCBPP and Bight’98 participants may wish to
consider attending or presenting a paper at a
conference to be held April 6-8 1999 in San
Francisco sponsored by EPA Office of
Research and Development. Entitled “The
EMAP Symposium on Western Ecological
Systems: Status, Issues and New Approaches”
Proceedings will be published in

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment.
Information on subject areas and registration is
available from Dr. Brian Melzian, EPA Region
IX, at TEL: 401-782-3188, by FAX at 401-
782-3030, and by e-mail at
Melzian.Brian@epamail.epa.gov, or at the
website:

http://www.epa.gov/emap/html/news.html.

For those who don’t get the Ecdysiast, the
Crustacean Society will have its summer
meeting on May 26-30 in Lafayette, LA.
Information on the meeting can be had at
nicely developed:

http://www.usl.edu/Departments/Biology/TCS/

You can also contact Darryl Felder at
dlf4517@usl.edu for more info.

The Seventh International Conference on
Artificial Reefs and Related Aquatic Habitats
(7^** CARAH) will be held October 7-11,1999
in San Remo, Italy. Scheduled symposia will
cover Planning, Function and Ecology, Options
for Designing Habitat Systems, Habitat
Protection, Evaluation of Reef Performance,
Artificial Substrata Reefs, Monitoring and
Assessment, Artisanal Fishing, Other Habitat
Enhancement, and Mariculture. Since the
deadline for abstracts is the end of February
1999 you still have plenty of time to
conceptualize and write the abstract for a
paper. Information on registration, abstract
format, costs, etc. is available at the website:

http://www.soc.soton.ac.uk/SUDO/DEPT/

7CARAH/7carah.html

POLYCHAETE CONEERENCE

The sixth International Polychaete Conference
was held in Curitiba Brazil, 2-7 August 1998.
The conference was hosted by Centro de
Estudos do Mar - Universidade Federal do
Parana, Curitiba and superbly organized by
Paulo da Cunha Lana <lana@cce.ufpr.br>. The
conference web-pages provided information for

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November, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.7

contributors. We have already had a brief
overview provided by a member who attended
(Leslie Harris of NHMLAC), but will pass on
this note from the conference organizer as well:

“-About 130 contributions were presented, and
145 scientists (together with 20 accompanying
persons) attended the conference. They came
from 29 different countries. - There was a nice
balance between taxonomic (‘classic’ and
cladistics) and non-taxonomical contributions.
Recent advances in polychaete cladistics were
of course one of the hot topics of the
conference. - About 25 graduate students had
the chance to attend their first international
meeting and to get in contact with their
‘elders’. Special prizes were given to the best
students’ poster (won by Sabine Cochrane,
from Norway) and oral presentation (won by
Kim Last, from the United Kingdom). The
meeting was specially important for South
American students and researchers, mainly
from Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Venezuela.
Many of them had the chance to meet
colleagues from the Northern Hemisphere for
the first time. It is presumed that many
scientific cooperation programs will result
from these contacts, be they formal or
informal. - There were three proposals to host
the next meeting, coming from Iceland
(Gudmundur Helgason and Ellin
Sigvaldadottir), Japan (prepared by a group of
researchers and presented by Hiro Tsutsumi),
and the United States (Jim Blake). Gudmundur
will chair our next meeting, to be held in
Iceland in 2001. - There were two associate
polychaetological events just before and just
after the conference. The pre-conference one
was organized in Arraial do Cabo (Rio de
Janeiro) by Paulo Paiva, who invited Paul
Schroeder, Pei-Yuan Qian, Hiro Tsutsumi, and
Edmundo Nonato for a series of conferences. A
course on polychaete cladistics was offered to
13 students, from 8 different countries, for a
two week period in Pontal do Sul, just after the
conference. Course staff was made up by Greg
Rouse, Kristian Fauchald, Kirk Fitzhugh, Fred
Pleijel and Thomas Dahlgren. Despite the rain.

the course was a most successful one. - Donald
Reish was elected president of the International
Polychaete Association, and Andy Mackie
from Scotland was elected its secretary/
treasurer. The IPA Advisory Council was
renewed. - There was a special session
dedicated to Edmundo Ferraz Nonato, the
father of Brazilian polychaetology. He had the
chance to meet about 20 of his former students
(and the students from his students) during the
conference. A tribute to our late colleague Wu
Bao-Ling was prepared by Pei-Yuan Qian, and
also presented during an special session.” -
Paulo da Cunha Lana.

MEMBER COMMENTARY

A brief, but pertinent comment was received
from a member concerning the format of the
SCAMIT Newsletter. It is passed on below.

“I know this has been discussed before....and
its more true now than ever...The footer ‘Funds
for this publication provided....’ is not at all
true. Unless very recent financial support has
been provided there are no funds from these
companies used to produce, publish, support
etc the newsletter publication. All those funds
from 1982-1984 are all gone! Keeping this
footer really misrepresents the facts and
misinforms the membership. Time to drop it”

- Tom Parker (CSDLAC)

Cheryl Brantley passed on the following note
of interest to members. Please implement her
recommendations in your copies of the Ed 3
list.

“One of Blake’s new synonymies from Vol. 6
of the MMS Atlas series was forgotten about
when the 3rd edition of the SCAMIT Species
list was finished. The spionid Malacoceros
punctata (Hartman 1961) should be listed as
Malacoceros indicus (Fauvel 1928). From
notes in the SCAMIT Newsletter vol. 15(5)
where SCAMIT members reviewed all the
spionid changes it was agreed to accept Blake’s
new synonymy. I believe it was just forgotten
about when it came

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November, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.7

time to work on Ed. 3. A note has been made
so this won’t be forgotten about for Ed. 4, but
members might want to edit their Ed. 3 lists so
Malacoceros punctata won’t be used.”

NEW LITERATURE

As in the last issue of the Newsletter, I am
beginning to incorporate as “new” older
literature which has seemingly slipped through
the cracks. Those of you who have kept
abreast of these less commonly encountered
publications please bear with me. As I play
catch up I will be adding a number of older
papers to the mix. Hopefully they will prove
useful. The Editor.

The longest reach is back nearly 20 years to
two sponge papers by Bergquist (1980a b). In
the first she proposes the separation of a new
group, Nepheliospongida, based on larval,
biochemical, and structural characters. In the
second she reexamines the horny sponges, and
provides a concise discussion of the characters
used in their taxonomy. Higher level taxa are
reconsidered in the Orders Dictyoceratida,
Dendroceratida and Verongida, but even
generic level taxa are treated. Diagnoses of all
are provided, but the author shied away from
providing a key to any of the taxonomic levels
considered.

Another comprehensive examination of a major
group of sponges (this time the family
Chalinidae) was provided by Weerdt (1989).
She performed a cladistic analysis of the
haplosclerid families, using a series of
outgroups to establish character polarities. As
in other cases where a fauna from a different
ocean is considered, the main value to local
users is in the discussion of characters and their
variability.

Members of Diala, a genus of small
prosobranch gastropods, have been reported to
occur in our local fauna in the past (Oldroyd
1927, Grant & Gale 1931, etc). As suggested
by the latter, and stated by Keen & Coan
(1974), this is not the case. All the eastern

Pacific taxa previously assigned to the genus
belong in Barleeia. Ponder & de Keyzer
(1992) revised the genus and discussed all its
members, providing much better discrimination
of its valid members from the local species
previously assigned to it.

Beu & Cernohorsky (1986) lay groundwork for
a review of the gastropod family Bursidae.

This preliminary paper does not treat our local
species, but covers the basis of the familial
review, and the nomenclatural history of the
group.

A series of nemertean species were analyzed
by Harlin & Sundberg 1995 using cladistic
methods. The results of this review suggest
that most current nemertean families and even
genera are paraphyletic! It is a commentary on
the difficulty of character description in the
group, and the nature of historical descriptive
practice, that the authors considered only 34
taxa sufficiently well described for inclusion in
the analysis.

While most of the above papers have no direct
bearing on a member of the local fauna, that of
de Broyer & Vader (1990) does. They
reexamine the small symbiotic lysianassoid
amphipod Orchomenella recondita, providing
both a detailed description and information on
the biology of the animal. This is an intertidal
species taken in association with the
aggregating anemone Anthopleura
elegantissima, and so is not taken in our
programs (as yet) and is not listed on the
SCAMIT Ed 3 list. As the predominantly
intertidal lysianassoid Ocosingo borlus has
recently been taken offshore by CSDMWWD,
who knows - we might see O. recondita as
well!

16 NOVEMBER MEETING

Ron Velarde (CSDMWWD) called the meeting
to order at approximately 10:00 a.m.. The
morning began with a brief discussion of the
Chinese mitten crab invasion in the San
Francisco Bay-Delta region. Ron passed

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November, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.7

around an article which revealed the staggering
rate at which these crabs are reproducing and
establishing themselves. The crabs are a threat
to the system for numerous reasons, one being
their potential destruction of the levee system
by creating burrows which weaken the
structures and as well, they compete for many
of the same resources as the indigenous
animals. A law was passed earlier which
prohibited the fishing of the Chinese mitten
crab in San Francisco area waters. However, it
was felt by those present that the spirit of the
law at the time was to prevent people from
introducing the mitten crab in order to establish
a fishery. Since that point is now moot and the
crab seems firmly established, it may be time
to reconsider that law and open a fishery on the
mitten crab in order to control their burgeoning
numbers. At least it is legal for individuals to
catch and have mitten crabs as long as they are
immediately killed. Possession and/or
transport of live crabs is against regulations.
However, the other concern regarding the
fishing of the mitten crab is that it is known to
carry a fluke parasitic to human beings and
which causes tuberculosis like symptoms (so
far no evidence that California crabs are
infected). If you want to know more about this
situation you can consult the California Fish
and Game site:

http://www2.delta.dfg.ca.gov/mittencrtab/

index.html

or the Marine Science Institute (Redwood City)
site:

http://www.sfbaymsi.org/mcrab.htm

Information on monitoring efforts in the bay/
delta system is available at:

http://iep.ca.gov/sdfg/mitten.htm

and a student consideration of the problem in
Washington at:

http://weber.u.washington.edu/~goen/

crablc.htm.

Background to the San Francisco Bay invasion
is provided in a Pacific Discovery article at:

http://www.calacademy.org/pacdis/issues/

summer96/crab.htm

Since both the mitten crab and the European
green grab have now been taken as far south
along the outer coast as Morro Bay, we will all
be seeing them at some time in the fairly near
future. At least for the mitten crab, our
exposure will be seasonal. During most of the
year (when they are not reproducing) the
animals stay in fresh water.

Speaking of introduced species, Don Cadien
(CSDLAC) then mentioned that he recently
had noticed a decline in the population of the
introduced cephalaspid, Philine auriformis.
Tony Phillips agreed that the numbers have
been decreasing in their samples as well.
Megan Lilly (CSDMWWD) and Ron Velarde
stated that San Diego has never seen large
numbers of these animals in their samples, so it
may not be as well established in this area.

Don feels that perhaps one of our local species
of fish has finally developed an appetite for the
introduced mollusk.

Ron then passed around the November issue of
the Festivus which announced the third annual
meeting of SCUM (Southern California
Unified Malacologists). The SCUM meeting
will be hosted by Hans Bertsch at the Torrey
Pines Campus of National University. It is an
informal, one day meeting set for the 16
January 1999. For more information please
contact Hans Bertsch at 619-642-8251 or email
him at, hbertschsch@nunic.nu.edu.

Ron then passed around two polychaete
identification sheets produced by the City of
San Diego. The first sheet dealt with Euchone
limnicola, produced by Ricardo Martinez-Lara
(CSDMWWD)(available in the next issue) and
the second,, Diplocirrus sp SD 1, produced by
Rick Rowe (CSDMWWD) (see attachments).
These worms are frequently encountered
species in the San Diego Bay samples.

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November, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.7

The Bight’98 trawl vouchers are starting to
amass and are being examined by Don Cadien
and Ron Velarde for quality control purposes.
Much to Ron and Don’s chagrin there was no
money to hire outside taxonomic experts to
examine the collection so QC is left to our two
fearless leaders. Don said he expected a
significant number of new (not in the SCAMIT
Ed. 3 list) taxa in the Bight’98 voucher
collection due to sampling in new areas and
new substrates (Islands/Bays), with major
additions of sponges and cnidarians.

Literature dealing with sponge classification
and taxonomy was then passed around for all
to peruse. Don again stressed the fact that so
many of us have not kept current on sponge
literature, preferring to rely on Gerry Bakus
and Karen Green to keep us up to date. Now
that we are seeing samples from different areas,
including the Channel Islands, we should be
making a more concerted effort to stay abreast
of changes within this group.

As stated in the last Newsletter there will be no
December meeting, but we set a tentative
schedule for meetings to resume next year.

The January meeting will be an information
transfer meeting dealing with strange/difficult
worms being encountered in the Bight’98
benthic samples.

The February meeting will hopefully be held at
the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History
where the Coe Nemertean collection will be
examined. March will be the first of two
follow up meetings on the review of the
Taxonomic Atlases. We will meet at Rancho
Cuca with John Ljubenkov and hopefully Eric
Hochberg to review Volume 3 - The Cnidaria.
April will potentially have us back up at the
SBMNH to review Volume 8 - The Mollusca,
part I with the authors. During these months it
may become necessary to have more than one
meeting a month in order to accommodate the
polychaete taxonomists in their struggles with
new and difficult species.

Jay Shrake was next on the floor. He discussed
the status of the SCAMIT web-page. Jay is
pleased to announce that we are getting several
hundred hits a day. He feels that the number of
hits have increased since we signed on with the
Yahoo search engine. We’ve also had 8 or 9
on-line membership requests. Jay stated that
some of the hits are not only from out of state
but out of the country, citing Russia as just one
country of origin. Jay has done a wonderful
job of establishing our web-page and spreading
the name and idea of SCAMIT not only around
the country, but around the globe. John
Ljubenkov mentioned SCAMIT at the recent
Cnidarian conferences at the Bodega Bay
Marine Station. Some of our recent Russian,
Dutch, and Italian website visits may be from
international workers alerted to our existence
by John. Thanks. Members take note. We
depend on all of you to further SCAMIT
through your personal contacts where you feel
it might be of benefit to others.

Next, John Ljubenkov took the floor to suggest
a new possible source of funding for SCAMIT.
Recently, while attending a hydrozoan
conference, he learned of NSF funding which
was supporting the study of hydrozoan
systematics. John suggested that we could
potentially approach NSF under the auspices of
SCAMIT in order to acquire funding for
digitizing species lists, etc. He also felt that the
NSF is not the only organization to be
approached and that there are more sources of
funding than previously realized, we just need
to do a little research. However, someone
cautioned that we would not want to duplicate
the failed efforts of the National Biological
Inventory. It is all interesting “food for
thought”.

The rest of the morning was spent reviewing
the Hydrozoan section of the Cnidaria volume
of the MMS Atlas series (Hochberg &
Ljubenkov 1998a). After lunch the Anthozoan
sections (Hochberg & Ljubenkov 1998b,

Fautin I998)were reviewed . For the most part
those present had little or no comment

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November, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.7

regarding inadequacies or errors in the sections
(comments on a few typographic errors and
editorial corrections are being forwarded to the
authors for consideration in any future editions
of the Atlas). We all wished for MORE, more
coverage of more species than were
encountered in the Santa Maria Basin
collections. John Ljubenkov (and previously
Eric Hochberg via telephone to D. Cadien)
indicated that they wanted to go further, to
provide coverage of other taxa, and to
generally use the existing volume as a basis for
a full reexamination of the fauna. These goals
should be applauded, such a treatment is sorely
needed.

Most commentary was directed to the section
on anemones by Daphne Fautin. While the
author brought a refreshing broad perspective
to consideration of the local fauna, we felt that
the predominance of cosmopolitan forms in her
section was probably inaccurate. Based on
experience with other groups we tend to
disbelieve worldwide distributions unless they
can be substantiated. In consequence, much of
Chapter 3 of Volume 3 (Fautin 1998) will lie
fallow until supporting information is
forthcoming, or a more thorough consideration
is given to a regional level review of these taxa.
The material from the Santa Barbara Basin
study was clearly not sufficient to allow one for
this publication.

We were also somewhat surprised by the
treatment of the edwardsiids. The report of
Edwardsia californica from very deep water
off Central California does not match at all
with local experience on the distribution of the
animal. Those present suspected, despite the
author’s assertion that the specimens exactly
match the original description of McMurrich
(1913), that more than one species was
involved, and that none of them were actually
E. californica. The comment that no members
of the genus Scolanthus are known from
California is reasonable if you add “in the
published taxonomic literature”, but is
otherwise inaccurate. Specimens of the genus

have been shown to and discussed with the
author over a period of several decades. To
local monitoring agencies and SCAMIT the
presence (and community importance) of
Scolanthus spp in the eastern Pacific is very
apparent, and has been so for some time.

At 2:15 the constituent sections of the mollusc
volume were discussed (Scheltema 1998,
Eernisse 1998, Shimek 1998, Valentich Scott
1998, and Hochberg 1998). Kelvin Barwick
(CSDMWWD) gave a demonstration of
mounting chaetodermatid spicules and of
subsequent examination under polarized light,
a technique described and used by Scheltema
(1998) in the Aplacophoran section of the
Atlas. Kelvin is still working on using the
technique to help him identify the animals to
species. It is a difficult task at best. Trials by
the members present did, however, demonstrate
the sorts of polychromatic differences which
refracted polarized light provides. We tested
spicules from two closely related species which
differed in the patterns of spicule thickening.
The resulting color differences under
polarization were very clear. A few editorial
slip-ups and typos were found in the remaining
sections, and will be forwarded to the authors
for their consideration. We were delighted to
have descriptions of several species which have
been long time provisionals in our faunal lists.
Examination of most sections was rather
perfunctory, as those present found little to
comment on. With more use perhaps some
faults, questions, or difficulties will emerge.

But for now there is general satisfaction with
Volume 8.

Most potential difficulty lies in the aplacophore
(Scheltema 1998) and chiton (Eernisse 1998)
sections. With the former because of the nature
of the characters used to distinguish the taxa,
and in the latter because so much of the fauna
was not represented in the Santa Maria Basin
collections reported on. Tim Stebbins
(CSDMWWD) is currently working on a
project to supplement the Eernisse chiton

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November, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.7

section with information on other species taken
offshore in the Southern California Bight. If
you haven’t already sent him chiton specimens
you should do so soon.

We have previously had the opportunity to
examine the scaphopod section (Shimek 1998)
in manuscript, and there appears to have been
little or no change between our examination
and publication. The Valentich Scott (1998)
bivalve section was happily received, and will
immediately be put to use. We expect it to
soon be superseded by the California bivalve
monograph he and Gene Coan are completing
from Frank Bernard’s manuscript. The
cephalopod section (Hochberg 1998) was
particularly strong on discussion of the biology
of the animals: a most welcome resource for
west coast workers. The discussion of
octopods was very detailed, although O.
veligero was addressed only comparatively (it
was not included in the Santa Maria Basin
material). Even the cover of the volume was
outstanding, providing a terrific in situ
photograph of Octopus californicus busy on the
sea floor. The color of the animal, and the
texture of its skin, are both clearly shown in the
photograph. As both the color and texture are
very useful field characters for this species (and
difficult to adequately convey in words) this
picture is a boon to field biologists sampling at
the depths where O. californicus is taken.

CORRECTION

In the September issue of the Newsletter there
was an error in one of the attatchments. On the
second page of the voucher sheet for
Hartmanodes sp SDl the title (species name)
is incorrect. It reads as Monoculodes sp SD 1
which is the former name for H. sp SD 1. We
have re-issued the sheet as an attachment to
this newsletter with the appropriate corrections.

My Life as a Biologist

Donald J. Reish

Chapter 11: Hartman years (conclusion) and
my dissertation

As I was completing my dissertation. Dr.
Hartman tried to obtain a position for me. She
wrote to many people including Waldo L.
Schmidt who was then director of zoology at
the USNM. Nobody had an opening. While I
was completing my dissertation, I went to work
for the California Department of Fish & Game
on funds obtained from the newly formed
Water Pollution Control Boards (name changed
later). It was a seasonal aid position which was
good for only 9 months (more later). I was
newly married, had my PhD, and was
unemployed (despite my temporary job, I had
no prospects for a permanent position). Dr.
Hartman obtained a temporary position for me
as her assistant. My duties were to take
benthic samples from the harbor to Catalina Is.
and sort the samples into animal groups. This
was Dr. Hartman’s last “official” dealings with
me. I held this position for a few months until
I went to Alaska (more later).

As I indicated in an earlier chapter, I had
wanted to study the life history of Typosyllis,
but since I could never get the adult to eat or
reproduce, I switched to Nereis mediator (as it
was known then). It occurred in the same
niche, and would eat and reproduce in the lab.

I had two frustrations with this species: (I) it is
only sexually mature for 12 hours and (2) I
couldn’t get the trochophores to eat. The first
problem was solved by having 50-75 worms in
separate petri dishes. I examined them daily
and watched for the early signs for sexual
metamorphosis. That problem was solved.

The latter problem took me one year to solve.
Trial and error research played a role. I tried
many different foods to no avail. I tried to
construct a plunger jar system like the one
devised by D.RWilson. I didn’t have the
physical set-up to build this system, but I used
his concept. I placed 5 gallon jars in the

8

November, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.7

window sill (north facing) with sea water and
connected to a compressed air system. Since
the trochophores of this species swim for
several days and do not feed, by the time they
were old enough to feed, there was a growth of
phytoplankton on the side of the jar. The
larvae fed and I had the basis for my
dissertation. I used this technique with Nereis
grubei, as it is now called, in the 1960s and
again in 1998. As I indicated in an earlier
chapter, I was able to correct many taxonomic
problems with the southern California species
of Nereis by studying the variability of its
offspring. It also pointed out the usefulness of
life history studies in solving taxonomic
problems—a subject of my paper in the
Hartman memorial volume. There is continual
need for this type of study. The year I spent
trying to get larvae to eat proved to be well
spent; not only for completion of my
dissertation, but also for culturing additional
species by me and my graduate students over
the years.

1951 was an important year in my life, and also
a sad one. I will present events in a more-or-
less chronological order. I mentioned my
friend Paul in an earlier chapter. He had lived a
block from me in Corvallis, but we were not
close friends then. He moved to San Diego late
in 1950 and we did many things together. I
bought his 1935 Buick sedan from him which
was my first car. One Saturday in February we
decided to go skiing. We didn’t know where to

go so we went up Highway 39 which ended at
Crystal Lake, but there is no skiing there. Then
we went to Hollywood, rented skis and learned
that there was skiing at Mt. Waterman. On
Sunday (Feb. 25,1951) we headed for Mt.
Waterman. Ski conditions were poor, and Paul
met a young lady. She learned that we were
from Oregon. She called her friend over who
had graduated from Univ. of Oregon. That was
Janice, and the rest is history. That night she
told her cousin that she had met the man she
was going to marry!

I had already passed my French exam at
Oregon State and I took the German exam in
January but failed.. I began studying German
night and day and I passed the exam in May. I
was then able to take my prelims in July.
Hyman’s vol 2 and 3 came out in June and I
spent much time studying her 3 vols [The
Invertebrates: Vol. 1 - Protozoa to Ctenophora,
Vol. 2 - Platyhelminthes and Rhynchocoela,
Vol. 3 - Acanthocephala, Aschelminthes, and
Entoprocta. Hyman coined the term
Aschelminthes to include 6 phyla but she never
discussed their relationships. I figured that Dr.
Mohr would ask a question about the
relationships between them. I guessed
correctly. Written exams were 4 hours each for
4 days followed by an oral exam. During the
orals Dr. Buchanan stayed for a few minutes
then signed his ok. Dr. Martin asked me lots of
questions about bioluminescence, of which I
knew little. Next chapter: 1951 continued.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BERGQUIST, PATRICIA R. 1980a. The ordinal and subclass classification of the

Demospongiae (Porifera); appraisal of the present arrangement, and proposal of a new
order. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 7(1): 1-6.

—. 1980b. A revision of the supraspecific classification of the orders Dictyoceratida,

Dendroceratida, and Verongida (Class Demospongiae). New Zealand Journal of Zoology
7(4):443_503.

BEU, A. G. & Walter O. Cernohorsky. 1986. Taxonomy of gastropods of the families Ranellidae
(=Cymatiidae) and Bursidae. Part 1. Adoption of Ranellidae, and review of Linatella
Gray, 1857. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 13(2):241-266.

DE BROYER, CLAUDE & Wim Vader. 1990. Revision and notes on the biology of

Orchomenella recondita (Stasek, 1958)(Amphipoda, Lysianassoidea) an associate of sea
anemones. Beaufortia 41(5):31-38.

9

November, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.7

EERNISSE, DOUGLAS J. 1998. Class Polyplacophora. Chapter 3, pp. 49-73 IN: Valentich
Scott, P. & James A. Blake, eds. Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa
Maria Basin and the Western Santa Barbara Channel. Volume 8 - The Mollusca Part E
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara, California. 250pp.

FAUTIN, DAPHNE GAIL. 1998. Class Anthozoa: Orders Actiniaria, Ceriantharia, and

Zoanthinaria. Chapter 3, pp. 113-139 IN: Valentich Scott, P. & James A. Blake, eds.
Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa Maria Basin and the Western Santa
Barbara Channel. Volume 3 - The Cnidaria. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History,
Santa Barbara, California. 150pp.

GRANT, ULYSSES S. IV, & Hoyt Rodney Gale. 1931. Catalogue of the Marine Pliocene and
Pleistocene Mollusca of California and adjacent regions. Memoirs of the San Diego
Society of Natural History 1:1-1036.

HARLIN, MIKAEL S. & Per Sundberg. 1995. Cladistic analysis of the eureptantic nemerteans
(Nemertea: Hopolonemertea). Invertebrate Taxonomy 9(6): 1211-1229.

HOCHBERG, FREDERICK G. 1998. Class Cephalopoda. Chapter 6, pp. 175-236 IN:

Valentich Scott, P. & James A. Blake, eds. Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the
Santa Maria Basin and the Western Santa Barbara Channel. Volume 8 - The Mollusca
Part 1. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara, California. 250pp.

— & John C. Ljubenkov. 1998a. Class Hydrozoa. Chapter 1, pp. 1-54 IN: Valentich Scott, P. &

James A. Blake, eds. Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa Maria Basin
and the Western Santa Barbara Channel. Volume 3 - The Cnidaria. Santa Barbara
Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara, California. 150pp.

— & John C. Ljubenkov. 1998b. Class Anthozoa: Subclass Octocorallia Orders Stolonifera and

Pennatulacea. Chapter 2, pp. 55-112 IN: Valentich Scott, P. & James A. Blake, eds.
Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa Maria Basin and the Western Santa
Barbara Channel. Volume 3 - The Cnidaria. Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History,
Santa Barbara, California. 150pp.

KEEN, A. MYRA & Eugene V. Coan. 1974. Marine Molluscan Genera of Western North
America, An Illustrated Key. Second Edition. Stanford University Press, Stanford,
California. 208pp.

OLDROYD, IDA SHEPARD 1927. The Marine Shells of the West Coast of North America, Vol.

II, Part III. Stanford University Press, Stanford, California, pp. 605-941.

PONDER, WINSTON F. 1992. A revision of the genus Diala (Gastropoda: Cerithoidea:

Dialidae). Invertebrate Taxonomy 6(4): 1019-1075.

SCHELTEMA, AMELIE H. 1998. Class Aplacophora. Chapter 2, pp. 3-47 IN: Valentich Scott,
P. & James A. Blake, eds. Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa Maria
Basin and the Western Santa Barbara Channel. Volume 8 - The Mollusca Part 1. Santa
Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara, California. 250pp.

SHIMEK, RONALD L. 1998. Class Scaphopoda. Chapter 4, pp. 75-96 IN: Valentich Scott, P. &
James A. Blake, eds. Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa Maria Basin
and the Western Santa Barbara Channel. Volume 8 - The Mollusca Part 1. Santa Barbara
Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara, California. 250pp.

VALENTICH SCOTT, PAUL H. 1998. Class Bivalvia. Chapter 5, pp. 97-173 IN: Valentich
Scott, P. & James A. Blake, eds. Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa
Maria Basin and the Western Santa Barbara Channel. Volume 8 - The Mollusca Part 1.
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara, California. 250pp.

WEERDT, WINIFRED H. de. 1989. Phylogeny and vicariance biogeography of North Atlantic
Chalinidae (Haplosclerida, Demospongiae). Beaufortia 39(3):55-88.

November, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.7

Please visit the SCAMIT Website at: http://www.scamit.org

SCAMIT OFFICERS:

If you need any other information concerning SCAMIT please feel free to contact any of the
officers e-mail address

(619)692-4903 rgv @ mwharbor.sannet.gov

(310)830-2400 ext. 403 dcadien@lacsd.org

(619)692-4901 msl @ mwharbor.sannet.gov

(310)648-5544 cam@san.ci.la.ca.us

President

Vice-President

Secretary

Treasurer

Ron Velarde
Don Cadien
Megan Lilly
Ann Dalkey

Back issues of the newsletter are available. Prices are as follows:

Volumes 1-4 (compilation).$ 30.00

Volumes 5-7 (compilation).$ 15.00

Volumes 8- 15. $ 20.00/vol.

Single back issues are also available at cost.

City of San

Species: HartmanoS^s sp SDl

Authority:

Common Synonyms:

Monoculodes sp SDl of CSDMWWD

Diego Voucher Sheet

Taxon :Grammaridea: Oedicerotidae
Date: 15 May 1997
By :Dean Pasko

Voucher Specimen(s):

station Date Storage Location Voucher#

B-13 8 Jan 1997 Main

Characters:

(Female only. Male unknown.)

liiustration

Digital images also

White oedicerotid with well defined dorsal eye.
Rostrum strongly deflexed (approx. 90 degrees), not
acutely tapered, ventral keel slightly concave. Coxa
1, slightly produced antero-distally (ventrally
broadened). Gnathopod 1, carpus (article 5) short (<1/
4 article 6 as measured alo^ anterior margin); carpal
lobe narrow and elongate. Gnathopod 2 carpal
process narrow and moderately long (i.e., may extend
^ to, but not beyond, defining corner of palm).
Gnathopod 1 and 2 with article 6 relatively broad
(length = 2.3X width). Telson convex, with 4 terminal
setae/spines, and two short setae on outer margin.
Pereopod 7 basis without posterior ventral lobe.
Posterior margin somewhat produced with medium
length setae.

available on the SCAMIT
webpage: www.scamit.org

gnathopod 1 gnathopod 2

coxa 1 expanded
antero-distally

(See figures on page 2.)

Related Species:

The species can be easily confused with Monoculodes emarginatus or Hartmanodes hartmanae.

Hartmanodes sp SDl resembles M. emarginatus in the basic characters of the gnathopods (e.g.,
somewhat broadened propodus of gnathopods 1 and 2), but differs in the shorter carpus and a more
elongate carpal lobe on gnathopod 1, a strongly deflexed rostrum (~90 degrees vs. <45 degrees in M.
emarginatus), and a convex ratlier than emarginate telson. Compare to figures on page 2.

Hatmanodes sp SDl also resembles H, hartmanae which possesses a strongly deflexed rostrum and
short carpi of gnathopods 1 and 2. H. hai'tmanae differs primarily in the much more elongate and
much narrower propodus and carpal process of gnathopod 2: the propodus is 3.25 longer man wide,
and the carpal process extends beyond the palm. Additionally, H. hartmanae has a convex ventral
keel on the rostrum, a coxa 1 that is not antero-distally expanded (i.e., the sides are parallel), and a
telson with a nearly straight posterior margin.

References:

Barnard, J.L, 1962. Benthic marine amphipoda of southern California: Family Oedicerotidae. Pacific
Naturalist, 3:349-371.

Bousfied, E.L, and A. Chevrier. 1996. The Amphipod family Oedicerotidae on the Pacific Coast of North
America. Part 1. The Monodculodes and Synchelidium generic complexes: Systematics and
distributional ecology. Amphipacifica. Vol 2 (2): 75-148.

(over)

Species: Hartmanodes sp SDl

Taxon: Grammaridea: Oedicerotidae
Date: 15 May 1997

Additional Illustrations: From J.L Barnard, 1962.

0

^^^^osteri(

margin

Monoculodes ema.rgina.tus

Distribution—

Pt. Loma: 100 - 320 ft; Imperial Beach to La Jolla, California

Geographic:

Habitat:

City of San Diego
Provisional Voucher Sheet

Species : Diplocirrus sp SD 1 Taxon :Flabelligeridae

Authority: Date: 9 Nov 98

Common Synonyms: By:R. Rowe

Voucher Specimen(s):

station Date Storage Location Depth Voucher#

SD Bay (Bight’98) 2227 27JUL98 DLZ 8.8m 2049

Characters: (Based on an entire, typical Bight 1998, San
Diego Bay specimen with approximately 45
setigers and 19mm total length.)

1. Anterior nine setigers somewhat inflated w/o
distinct intersegmental furrows. Intersegmental furrows
more defined and the body tapers beginning on the tenth
setiger. Posterior setigers well defined, nearly moniliform
in appearance.

2. Body covered with flask shaped papillae. Papillae
arranged in a random pattern, very dense posteriorly, but
with open areas between them on the dorsum and ventrum
especially on anterior setigers.

3. Up to four notosetae in each fascicle of the first
setiger elongated and directed forward forming a minimal
cephalic cage. (The elongate notosetae are missing on one
or both sides of some individuals.)

4. Notosetae long thin, tapering with widely spaced
crossbars. Neurosetae shorter, but long and thin, with
similar crossbars and minutely hooked, blunt tips.

5. Eight branchiae present on retractile buccal lobe.
Four outer ones large, squared and laterally adhered to
each other. Four inner branchiae are cirriform, similar in
length and free from one another.

6. Anal opening subterminal, dorsal, and without
accessory structures.

Illustration:

^ ^ . Fig. 1 Entire specimen, dorsal view

Fig. 2 Anterior

dorsolateral view

Fig. 4 Median notopodium

Related Species & Comments:

Preliminaiy literature search reveals that this species is nearest Diplocirrus capensis Day, 1961 and has similar cephalic cage,
setae, body form, and papillation. D. sp SD 1 has four each of two types of branchiae while D. capensis was described with
eight subequal branchial filaments. Faiichald, 1972 describes a species (D. rnicans) of this genus from deep water (>450 fms)
off western Mexico that differs in papillae stmcture and distribution, setae, number of segments, and other characters. An
unpublished description of specimens identical to D.sp SD 1 collected April 1995 from Aqua Hedionda Lagoon (north San
Diego County), was provided by Larry Lovell

References:

Day, J.H. 1967. A monograph on the Polychaeta of Southern Africa. Part 11. Sedentaria. Brit. Mus. (Nat.
Hist.), Publ. no.656;664-666.

Day, J.H. 1973. New Polychaeta from Beaufort, with a key to all species recorded from North Carolina.

NOAA Tech. Kept. NMFS Circ. 375:105-107.

Fauchald, K. 1972. Benthic polychaetous annelids from deep water off western Mexico and adjacent areas in the easternPacific
Ocean. Allan Hancock Monogr. Mar. Biol. 7:214-219 & 508-509.-556.

Southern California Association of
Marine Invertebrate Taxonomists

3720 Stephen White Drive
San Pedro, California 90731

December, 1998 SCAMIT Newsletter Vol. 17, No. 8

SUBJECT:

Examination of the Coe Nemertean Collection

GUEST SPEAKER:

Dr. Eric Hochberg

DATE:

22 February 1999

TIME:

9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p. m.

LOCATION:

Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

Department of Invertebrate Zoology

2559 Puesta del Sol Rd

Santa Barbara, CA

Gnathia sanctaecrucis Schultz, 1972

- from the Taxonomic Atlas, Volume 11 Part 2,
The Isopoda, Cumacea, and Tanaidacea, pg46.

PAST AND FUTURE MEETINGS

Normally, the January meeting would have
been announced with this newsletter, however
with the Holidays, etc, we have unfortunately
fallen behind in production of the Newsletter.

I have included above, the announcement for
the next upcoming meeting. Please bear with
us as we get back up to speed. Thank you -
Megan Lilly (Secretary)

There was no meeting in December, but the
Christmas Party took place on the 12^** of the
month at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. The
January meeting was held on 19 January 1999
at the Worm Lab of the Natural History
Museum of Los Angeles County. Dr. Derek
Ellis gave us two short talks in the morning,
and the afternoon session consisted of
examination of new and unusual species taken
in B’98 infaunal samples from the Channel
Islands, and San Diego Bay. The minutes of
that meeting will be presented in the next
Newsletter.

FUNDS FOR THIS PUBLICATION PROVIDED, IN PART BY
THE ARCO FOUNDATION, CHEVRON, USA, AND TEXACO INC.

SCAMIT Newsletter in not deemed to be valid publication for formal taxonomic purposes.

December, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.8

NOT SO PETTY THEFT

Mea culpa. Although starting off cautiously in
the new world of webpublishing, I have
become lax, and have failed in my duty to
protect copyrighted material. I was alerted to
this by a brief note from Geoff Read, whose
Annelida site had served to supply text for the
November newsletter. I received the material
in an e-mail from a third party, but failed to
properly note the source in the NL (although
the author was acknowledged). Apparently
some of the text was added by Dr. Read,
although that was not evident in the e-mail
missive I received. Regardless, it is my job as
editor of the SCAMIT Newsletter to ascertain
the status of all contributions made to the NL.

I failed to do so in this case.

In general there is a great deal of freedom on
the WWW, although there is also a good deal
of structure underlying that freedom. One such
structural underpinning is the emerging
application of copyright law in the electronic
medium. Basically, if you say your material is
protected by copyright on your webpage (as
SCAMIT does on our own webpage)- it is.

One does not need to apply for the rights, or
submit written copies of material for which
copyright is claimed to a controlling agency.
The mere claim of copyright is sufficient to
provide a legal basis in court, if the origin of
the information is provable. Should it turn out
that some other party can prove that they were
responsible for origination of the material, and
not the person who claims the copyright, the
claim of copyright offers no protection.

Since many of the parties who place material
on the net do so to disseminate it, and not to
profit from it, their main concern is that the
source of the material used is acknowledged.
This is the case for Dr. Read. While he doesn’t
mind “rebroadcasting” of information provided
on the Annelida site, he would like to receive
acknowledgment as the source of his material.
That this should be so is entirely appropriate,
since he is the source, and puts a good deal of

labor into providing the service which Annelida
represents. I apologize to him for failing to
provide such acknowledgment in the last NL
where the description of the Brazil conference
by Dr Lana was presented, without attribution
of the source.

NEW LITERATURE

The latest issue of the Proceedings of the
Biological Society of Washington has several
items of interest to SCAMIT members. New
nereid species are described from Baja
California by de Leon-Gonzalez & Diaz-
Castaneda (1998). Both are currently known
only from the coast of Baja California, and
may be endemics. Wider distribution may be
demonstrated in the future for these newly
described animals. Information bearing on
local polychaete species is provided by Lu &
Fauchald(I998). They treat Marphysa belli
and Marphysa oculata, both species reported in
the past from our area. Specimens referred to
these species locally are probably Marphysa sp
A Harris & Velarde 1983. The new
information and redescriptions provided by the
authors may assist in evaluation of the local
member of this complex.

Although Gerken & Watling (1998) are
primarily concerned with the description of a
new species of Diastylis from Chile, they also
emend the description of Diastylis crenellata
from central California. They note the
presence of reduced exopods on the 3"^^^ & T**
pereopods of female D. crenellata, characters
not noted in the original description.

WICKSTEN ON SHRIMP

Member Dr. Mary Wicksten (TAMU) has sent
several e-mail comments regarding her recent
synonymy of the shrimp Neocrangon zacae
with N. resima (an action which the editor has
not yet adopted), and other matters of interest
to the membership at large. They are presented
below largely verbatim with her permission.

2

December, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.8

“I visited the Los Angeles County Museum
after Christmas, and examined specimens
labelled as Crangon zacae and Crangon resima
from Alaska, southern California, Baja
California, Clarion Island in the Revigagigedos
and Gorgona Island, Colombia. Anything
called ‘C. resima’ from north of Puget Sound
can be safely assumed to be N. communis. The
specimens have the prominent, characteristic
Carina of the fifth abdominal somite, regardless
of the shape of the rostrum. I also examined
some specimens of N. communis from Santa
Monica Bay, where they were taken at 200 m.

As for the other specimens—I stick with my
conclusions with my paper. Neocrangon zacae
is a junior synonym of N. resima. There are
long, cilia-like setae on the rostrum of each and
every specimen that is in reasonably good
condition, regardless of whether the rostrum is
only slightly elevated or blade-like and raised.
In the latter form, the setae run parallel along
the sides of the rostrum, and are not as easily
seen as in the specimens with a flatter rostrum.

I compared material identified as ‘C. zacae’ by
Fenner Chace himself with specimens from all
over the known range of the species. I could
find NO consistent morphological differences
between them. Specimens with various rostral
shapes were taken in the same trawls at the
same depths and locations, so there is no
difference in habitat or range. The various
shapes of the rostrum seem to be due to
individual variation. Mary Jane Rathbun, who
described N. resima, noted that the
development of the rostral ‘plate’ was
dependent on age; “specimens 20 mm. long
show no evidence of it”. Note that the same
rostral variation occurs in N. communis. One
can distinguish N. resima from N. communis on
the basis of the distinct abdominal carina.
Anything else —shape of the rostrum, setae on
the rostrum, shape of the subchela, body size,
carapace width, etc. varies with size and sex of
the animal or simply does not show sufficient
difference to indicate the presence of a distinct
species.”

“Please recall that the original description of
Crangon resima of Rathbun notes that
‘specimens 20 mm. long show no evidence of
(the rostrum having the shape of a compressed
plate)’. Since this plate-like shape varies
considerably and occurs not only in N. resima
but also in N. communis, it is not a useful
characteristic for species recognition. One can
distinguish between N. resima and N.
communis on the basis of the carina of the 3rd-
5th abdominal somites, which is easy to see.

As for anything else —length/width ratio of the
subchela, angle of the finger of the subchela,
setae of the rostrum, shape of the scaphocerite,
etc.—I found absolutely nothing that could not
be attributed to the size, age, sex or condition
of preservation of the specimen. Should you
decide to pursue the matter further, please note
that N. resima as I interpret it goes all the way
down to Central America from Monterey Bay.
You would need to do a multivariate analysis to
determine that any differences were not clinal
variation, as occurs in other eastern Pacific
carideans. You are welcome to do so—the
LACM has hundreds of specimens from all
over the place.

I am busy with 5 undescribed carideans from
the Galapagos and other parts of the tropical
eastern Pacific; also have reports of an
undescribed midwater shrimp from southern
California.” “I will be writing the sections on
deep-water decapods for a forthcoming book
on deep-water fauna of California. If anyone
finds any odd midwater species, I would be
happy to have a look at them.” If you have
specimens in response to this last comment
contact Dr. Wicksten at
wicksten @ bio .tamu .edu.

3

December, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.8

B’98 CRUSTACEA

Member Dr. Tim Stebbins (CSDMWWD) has
posted several notes to the TAXONOMY
list-server for taxonomists involved in B’98
sample identification. They are reproduced,
slightly edited and updated (by Tim), for the
information of other members and interested
parties who are not list members.

“Everyday the key to SCB Isopods that I
distributed appears more and more obsolete, at
least in terms of species names. The final
source for most of these corrections is the
Smithsonian’s World List of Marine and
Freshwater Crustacea Isopoda, compiled by
Brian Kensley and Marilyn Schotte I am
currently in the process of rechecking all the
SCB isopods against this list. Anyway,
following are some changes regarding the
cymothoids and gnathiids, a useful reference
on the Limnoridae for those interested, plus
notes on a possible new serolid from deep
waters.

(1) Cymothoidae: Perhaps you remember the
discussion, etc. regarding the change from
Lironeca (with an “r”) to Livoneca (with a
“v”). I think there was an opinion published
about this, but I can’t recall when this occurred.
The current version of the Smithsonian’s list
uses Lironeca in contrast to our use of
Livoneca. As interesting as this may or may
not be, it is actually irrelevant as far as the SCB
fauna. In fact, only three (possibly two)
species belong in this genus. These are L.
bowmani, L. ovalis, and L. redmanii, the latter
two which may actually be one species.
Although L. bowmani does occur in the Eastern
Pacific, none of these species is included in the
SCAMIT listing for our fauna. The four
species of cymothoids that are included in the
list are L. californica, L. convexa, L. vulgaris,
and Nerocila acuminata. Nerocila is the only
one that remains unchanged, while the three
Livoneca species have been placed into two

different genera: Elthusa Schioedte & Meinert,
1884 and Enipsa Schioedte & Meinert, 1884.
The changes (based on Bruce 1990) are as
follows:

L. californica - Elthusa californica (Schioedte
& Meinert, 1884)

L. vulgaris = Elthusa vulgaris (Stimpson,

1857)

L. convexa - Enipsa convexa (Richardson,
1905)

I contacted Niel Bruce of the University of
Copenhagen (presently at the Queensland
Museum in Australia) and Rick Brusca of
Columbia University’s Biosphere 2 Center, and
they confirmed these changes. Rick’s
monograph on the cymothoid isopods of the
eastern Pacific (Brusca 1981) is still the best
reference for separating these species.

(2) Gnathiidae: The Gnathiidae were revised in
a paper by Brian Cohen and Gary Poore in
1994. This revision removed two of our local
species from the genus Gnathia Leach, 1814
and placed them in Caecognathia Dollfus,

1901. All other of our species remain in
Gnathia. The changes are:

G. crenulatifrons = Caecognathia

crenulatifrons (Monod, 1926)

G. sanctaecrucis - Caecognathia

sanctaecrucis (Schultz, 1972)

(3) Limnoriidae: Cookson (1991) is a useful
reference for this family. Although the paper
does not specifically deal with species from our
region, it is a good general reference on
limnoriid terminology and systematic
characters. It also has a key to the world
species that includes Limnoria algarum and L.
lignorum from our side of the world.

(4) New serolid: There may be a new species
of Heteroserolis off our coast. Briefly, after
looking at some of the Bight’98 samples from
San Diego Bay, I noticed that Heteroserolis
carinata is fairly common in these shallow
waters. However, something looked strange

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December, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.8

and I compared these bay specimens to a few
animals that were recently collected from
deeper waters (> 100 m). On a gross level,
there appear to be several differences between
the shallow and deep animals. I described
these differences to Gary Poore from the
Museum Victoria, Australia, and he was of the
opinion (preliminary of course) that there was
likely a new species of serolid from deeper
water. Consequently, this is under current
investigation. I would appreciate it if you
could send me any Heteroserolis you collect,
especially from deep waters. The differences
between the shallow and deep water animals
are:

(a) deep water specimens have a much larger
dorsal carina, especially on the cephalon, than
do shallow water animals. This seems similar
to differences described by Hessler (1972)
between H. mgrayi (i.e., like my deep
specimens) and H. carinata (i.e., like my Bay
specimens).

(b) deep specimens have a rather shallow
lateral notch on the pleotelson that does not
form a well defined tooth (similar to that
described for H. tropica and I think H. mgrayi),
while shallow critters have the distinct tooth or
deep notch characteristic of H. carinata.

(c) Pereonites 5 and 6 are subequal in width to
pereonite 4 in deep water animals (i.e., the
lateral margins are fairly smooth and
continuous, just a gradual tapering to the
pleotelson); in contrast, there is a distinct
narrowing of the pereon between pereonites 4
and 5 in shallow water animals. This
difference in shape appears distinct even on a
few very small juveniles I looked at.”

B’98 AMPHIPODS

The following two commentaries were also
distributed through the TAXONOMY list-
server and are presented here for those who are
not involved in Bight 98 sample processing.
Both were submitted by Don Cadien
(CSDLAC).

This is to alert you to the occurrence of the
small talitroidean amphipod Najna kitamati in
the Bight ’98 samples. As of this time the
depth of collection is not known to me, but it is
doubtless deeper than I am used to seeing this
animal. It is rarely encountered, but when
found is usually in intertidal scrapings. There
are only two species in the family, and only one
occurs in the Southern California Bight.
Fortunately for us J. L. Barnard found and
described it. He originally identified it as
Najna Iconsiliorum Derjhavin (Barnard 1962),
then later described it as new (Barnard 1979). I
suggest you consult his figures of the species in
the 1962 paper. When you see this animal it
appears similar to Allorchestes, but has the
antennae strikingly displaced so that the eye is
dorsal to both pair. A quick look to the other
end seems to indicate that the 3rd uropods are
missing, but a very close look will reveal them
as tiny, and still there. Barnard’s description is
adequate to identify the animal so I will not
digress further.

I suspect that relatively shallow samples from
any of the channel islands may have these
animals in them. You are not likely to confuse
this with anything else, but since it is relatively
obscure, and uncommon, you might not
initially recognize it. Once you review the
Barnard description (1962), specimens will be
immediately recognized if present.

There are two new Bight species of the
amphipod genus Synchelidium currently
designated sp A and sp B of LACSD. Voucher
sheets are in preparation, but are not yet
completed. Since we are now working on the
samples from B’98 I need to let you know what
these guys are, so you can recognize them if
you get them. Both are similar to other species
known from the area. Synchelidium sp. A of
LACSD would reach couplet 5 of the Bousfield
and Chevrier (1996) key, where it would not fit
either side of the key dichotomy. It has an
obtuse lower posterior corner of epimeron 2
like S. micropleon, but has subequal uropod 2
& 3 tips (that is uropod 3 is not especially

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December, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.8

shortened, and the two appendages reach about
the same distance past the telson).

Synchelidium sp. Bof LACSD would all the
way down to couplet 8 in the key before
failing. It would not key to S. latipalpum
because it lacks the expanded segment 3 of the
mandibular palp of that species. It would key
well to S. americanum, but differs from that
species in several respects. S. americanum has
a rounded posteroventral corner of epimeron 2,
while 5. sp. B has an obtuse tooth. S.
americanum has a slightly oblique G1 palm,
while that of 5. sp. B is more oblique. A
further distinction is that the distal “spines”
[setae in Les Watling’s usage] on the outer
plate of maxilla 1 are tuberculate in 5. sp. B,
and simple in S. americanum. Species B could
also fall out at couplet 3 of the key, if the term
“acutely produced” were inappropriately
applied to the obtuse tooth of the second
epimeron, and if the GI propod were
considered to be markedly oblique in couplet 2.
Should you find yourself at the S. shoemakeri/
S. millsi dichotomy, a 5. sp B specimen would
probably be taken to S. shoemakeri. S. millsi
has a G2 propod much longer than 5. sp B.
Synchelidium shoemakeri has a short G2
propod, sparse setation of the basis of GI, and
tuberculation of the distal spines on the MX I
outer plate; all characters similar or the same in
5. sp. B. Species B can be distinguished from
S. shoemakeri by the less oblique palm of GI,
by the less prominent posterodistal corner of
epimeron 2, and by the more pronounced
ventral extension of the posterior lobe of the P7
basis. Hopefully additional characters will be
firmed up on the voucher sheets. For now this
will have to do. They are all small and white,
and look pretty much the same grossly. Nasty
group.

ROCK SHRIMP

Two species of the genus Sicyonia have been
reported from the Southern California Bight in
recent years, Sicyonia ingentis and Sicyonia
penicillata. During 1998, both before and
during the B’98 sampling, several specimens

were taken off San Diego which were believed
to belong to a third species, Sicyonia
disedwardsi. These had been initially
identified as S. penicillata, which shares with
S. disedwardsi a bulls-eye like lateral carapace
marking. Field personnel had noted some
subtle differences in antennal pigmentation and
in the shape of the lateral carapace mark which
suggested to them that these might not be S.
penicillata.

The specimens were collected, and after
examination in the laboratory the identification
was changed to S. disedwardsi. As part of the
B’98 QC the specimens were reexamined by
Don Cadien. He felt that the specimens
probably fell within the range of variability of
S. penicillata. No authoritatively identified S.
disedwardsi specimens were available at the
time for comparison, so the identity of the
animals remained in question. Enquiries
turned up a series of lots of S. disedwardsi at
the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles
County, which were examined by Don Cadien
on 19 Jan 1999.

Externally the two species are quite similar in
most characters, and are easy to confuse in the
field (and also in the laboratory). The
definitive separation depends on the genitalia,
particularly that of the male. None of the
specimens from off San Diego suspected of
being S. disedwardsi were males,
unfortunately. There are also differences in the
formation of the thelycum of the female
according to the literature. As this is a
particularly complex organ, it was not clear
from the published descriptions how the
females of the two species differed. It was also
not clear if the differences applied to smaller
specimens.

Fortunately the material at the museum was
authoritatively identified. All the lots
examined had been identified by Isabel Perez-
Farfante during preparation for description of a
new species of Sicyonia from the tropical
Eastern Pacific (Perez-Farfante & Booth 1981).

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December, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.8

The material also covered a range of sizes and
collecting areas. Most was from the Allan
Hancock Foundation Velero cruises to tropical
west America.

Among the literature sources consulted prior to
and during the examination of the material
were Hendrickx 1984, Perez-Farfante 1985,
and Hendrickx 1995 and 1996. Sicyonia
disedwardsi is not among the species keyed
and discussed in Perez-Farfante 1988. A total
of eleven specimens identified as S.
disedwardsi from the museum collections and
three from the CSDMWWD collections were
compared. Of these eleven were female, and
three were hermaphrodites exhibiting both
male and female characters (ie. with both
petasma and thelycum).

The thelycae of the females of Sicyonia
penicillata and S. disedwardsi proved relatively
easy to separate in practice, once actual S.
disedwardsi specimens were examined. In all
the above cases females of S. penicillata have
the median sinus of the posterior component
(see Figure 6 of Perez-Farfante 1985) narrow,
while that of S. disedwardsi is broad. This is
used in Hendrickx 1995 key as the last part of
couplet ll...”depresi6n mediana muy ancha \S.
disedwardsiY vs. “depresion mediana angosta
[S. penicillataY. Perez-Farfante (1985) used
other features of the thelycum, but not this
median notch, as characters separating the two
species in her key. The relative elevation of the
bulges at the bases of the legs on sternite XIV
which she utilized proved difficult to apply for
a less experienced observer than she. The
medial notch was easily seen and interpreted in
females of sizes ranging from 6.0-24.2 mm
carapace length. No overlaps were seen within
this size range, and the character differs in
other species as well. In S. disparri, for
instance, it is a shallow lunate notch, neither
narrow nor broad, and clearly different from
that in either S. penicillata or S. disedwardsi.
While other characters are available, and can
be used in conjunction (see descriptions of both
species in Perez-Farfante 1985), I recommend

you check the posterior median notch of the
thelycum for easy separation of females of
these species. The structure, number, and
disposition of the dorsal crest teeth in the two
species is somewhat variable, and will not fully
separate them. Likewise the lateral carapace
“bulls-eye” marks are subject to some
variability in color and distinctness which can
lead to confusion of the two species [remember
it was field pigment differences that initially
suggested the CSDMWWD specimens were
not S. penicillata ].

The structure of the petasma of males is
radically different in S. penicillata than in all
other members of the genus. In S. penicillata
males the tips of the projections on both the
ventrolateral and dorsolateral lobules of the
petasma are drawn out into long filaments (see
Figure 5 of Perez-Farfante 1985 for general
orientation, and Figure 33 for an illustration of
petasma structure in male S. penicillata). The
three hermaphrodite specimens of S.
disedwardsi examined had typical petasmae of
that species (see Figure 28 of Perez-Farfante
1985), but had abnormal thelycum structure.

All three had the male gonopores swollen and
protrusive, forming conical projections at the
bases of the 5^** legs. This suggests that active
sperm transfer had been taking place just prior
to or during collection and preservation. In
each specimen the posterior area of the
thelycum was smooth and undifferentiated,
lacking a median notch or any other obvious
structure. The specimens ranged from 13-
22mm carapace length, and exhibited the same
thelycum anomaly, and the same petasma
structure. They came from different collections
in different years and in different locations.
They ranged in source from off Angel de la
Guardia Island in the Gulf of California to off
Isla Manuelita, Costa Rica. Depths ranged
from 42-146m.

None of the literature consulted makes any
mention of intersex or hermaphrodite
specimens in this or any other species of
Sicyonia. Similarly, no mention of

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December, 1998

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.8

hermaphrodite condition is made by Dali et al.
(1990) in their review of penaeoid biology
(they cover the traditional ‘penaeidae’ and
include the Aristeidae, the Sicyoniidae, and the
Solenoceridae as well as the Penaeidae). One
recent report (perhaps the only one) of
hermaphroditism in penaeoids is that of Perez-
Farfante & Robertson (1992) (thanks to Dr.

Ray Bauer for that citation, and for discussion
of the problem).

The bottom line for all of this is we still have
no authenticated records of Sicyonia
disedwardsi occurring in the Southern
California Bight. The species does occur as far

north as Todos Santos Bay on the Pacific coast
of Baja California, but is not verifiably
recorded from north of that point. None of the
other species known from the Panamic region
range this far to the north. Currently only
ridgeback prawn and target shrimp occur in our
waters, but though we are not under strong El
Nino influence at the moment, we should
always be alert to the possible excursion of
other species into our area. Please also watch
for additional hermaphrodite specimens. Don
Cadien (CSDLAC).

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BARNARD, J. LAURENS. 1962. Benthic Marine Amphipoda of Southern California: Families
Amphilochidae, Leucothoidae, Stenothoidae, Argissidae, Hyalidae. Pacific Naturalist
3(3): 116-163.

—. 1979. Littoral Gammaridean Amphipoda from the Gulf of California and the Galapagos
Islands. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 271:1-149.

BOUSFIELD, EDWARD L. & Andree Chevrier. 1996. The amphipod family Oedicerotidae on
the Pacfic Coast of North America. Part E The Monoculodes and Synchelidium generic
complexes: systematics and distributional ecology. Amphipacifica 2(2):75-148.

BRUCE, NILE L. 1990. The genera Catoessa, Elthusa, Enipsa, Ichthyoxenus, Musa, Livoneca,
and Norileca n. gen. (Isopoda, Cymothoidae), crustacean parasites of marine fishes, with
descriptions of eastern Australian species. Records of the Australian Museum, 42: 247-
300.

BRUSCA RICHARD C. 1981. A monograph on the Isopoda Cymothoidae (Crustacea) of the
eastern Pacific. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 73:117-99.

COHEN, BRIAN & Gary C. B. Poore. 1994. Phytogeny and biogeography of the Gnathiidae
(Crustacea: Isopoda) with descriptions of new genera and species, most from south¬
eastern Australia. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 54(2): 271-397.

COOKSON, LESLIE J. 1991. Australasian species of Limnoriidae (Crustacea: Isopoda).
Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria, 52: 137-262.

DALE, W., B. J. Hill, P. C. Rothlisberg & D. J. Sharpies. 1990. The Biology of the Penaeidae.
Advances in Marine Biology 27:1-489.

GERKEN, SARAH & Les Watling. 1998. Diastylis tongoyensis, a new diastylid (Crustacea:

Cumacea) from the northern central coast of Chile, with an amendment to the description
of Diastylis crenellata Watling & McCann, 1997. Proceedings of the Biological Society
of Washington lll(4):857-874.

HENDRICKX MICHEL E. 1984. The species of Sicyonia H. Milne Edwards (Crustacea:

Penaeoidea) of the Gulf of California, Mexico, with a key for their identification and a
note on their zoogeography. Revistas De Biologia Tropical 32(2):279-98.

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December, 1998

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Vol. 17,No.8

—. 1995. Camarones. Pp. 417-537 IN: Fischer, W., F. Krupp, Wl. Schneider, C. Sommer, K. E.
Carpenter & V. H. Niem (eds.) Guia FAO para la identificacion de especies para los fines
de la pesca. Pacifico centro-Oriental. Vol. 1. Plantas e Invertebrados. F.A.O., Roma,
Italia. 646pp.

—. 1996. Los camarones Penaeoidea bentonicos (Crustacea: Decapoda: Dendrobranchiata) del
Pacifico Mexicano. Comision Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad/
Instituto de Ciencias de Mar y Limnologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico.
147pp.

HESSLER ROBERT R. 1972. The relationship between Serolis carinata Lockington and Serolis
m’grayi Menzies and Frankenberg (Isopoda, Flabellifera). Crustaceana 3(Suppl):l-6.
LEON-GONZALEZ, J. a. de & V. Diaz-Castaneda. 1998. Two new species of Nereis

(Polychaeta: Nereididae) from Todos Santos Bay, Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico.
Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 111(4): 823-828.

LU, HUA & Kristian Fauchald. 1998. Marphysa ^6'///_(Polychaeta: Eunicidae) and two related
species, oculata and M. totospinata, a new species, with notes on size-

dependent features. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 111(4): 829-
842.

PEREZ-FARFANTE, ISABEL. 1985. The rock shrimp genus Sicyonia (Crustacea: Decapoda:

Penaeoidea) in the eastern Pacific. Fishery Bulletin 83(1): 1-79.

—. 1988. Illustrated key to penaeoid shrimps of commerce in the Americas. NOAA Technical
Report NMFS 64:1-32.

— & Billy B.Boothe Jr. 1981. Sicyonia martini, a new rock shrimp (Decapoda: Penaeoidea) from

the American Pacific. Journal of Crustacean Biology l(3):424-32.

— & L. Robertson. 1992. Hermaphroditism in the penaeid shrimp Penaeus vannamei (Crustacea:

Decapoda: Penaeidae). Aquaculture 103:367-376.

Please visit the SCAMIT Website at: http://www.scamit.org

SCAMIT OFFICERS:

If you need any other information concerning SCAMIT please feel free to contact any of the
officers e-mail address

(619)692-4903 rgv @ mwharbor.sannet.gov

(310)830-2400 ext. 403 dcadien@lacsd.org

(619)692-4901 msl @ mwharbor.sannet.gov

(310)648-5544 cam@san.ci.la.ca.us

President

Vice-President

Secretary

Treasurer

Ron Velarde
Don Cadien
Megan Lilly
Ann Dalkey

Back issues of the newsletter are available. Prices are as follows:

Volumes 1-4 (compilation).$ 30.00

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Volumes 8- 15. $ 20.00/vol.

Single back issues are also available at cost.

Southern California Association of
Marine Invertebrate Taxonomists

3720 Stephen White Drive
San Pedro, California 90731

January, 1999 SCAMIT Newsletter Vol. 17, No. 9

SUBJECT:

The Coe Nemertean Collection

GUEST SPEAKER:

Dr. Eric Hochberg (SBMNH)

DATE:

19 February 1999

TIME:

9:30am to 3:30 pm

LOCATION:

Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

2559 Puesta del Sol

Santa Barbara, CA 93105

Daphnella sp SD 1, CSDMWWD,
B-ll(2), 1-6-99, 289 ft

The meeting will be to examine the material in
the Coe Nemertean Collection on deposit at the
museum. Types of several of our commonly
encountered (we think) species are included,
and will be examined. Bring questionable and/
or voucher material of your own for direct
comparison with the types, and with
authentically identified non-type Coe material
in the collection.

SCAMIT ELECTIONS

It is time once again to elect officers for our
organization. Nominations are open for all
four of the officers positions. Three of the
incumbents have signaled their willingness to
run again. Vice-President Don Cadien will not
accept nomination for the vice-presidency
again this year, but hopes to continue as
Newsletter Editor (if the Executive Committee
so desires). Please send e-mail nominations to
either Secretary Megan Lilly
(msl@mwharbor.sannet.gov ) or Vice-

FUNDS FOR THIS PUBLICATION PROVIDED, IN PART BY
THE ARCO FOUNDATION, CHEVRON, USA, AND TEXACO INC.

SCAMIT Newsletter in not deemed to be valid publication for formal taxonomic purposes.

January, 1999

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.9

President Don Cadien (dcadien@lacsd.org)j
or voice you choice at a SCAMIT meeting (or
over the phone if you choose). Don Cadien has
nominated Carol Paquette (MBC/Independent),
Dean Pasko (CSDMWWD), and Rick Rowe
(CSDMWWD) for the office of Vice-President.
If these individuals are willing to accept
nomination, their brief qualifications statement
will be in the next NL. Nominations for others
to run against the incumbents are also
welcome, and solicited. Consider putting
yourself forward for office. All are welcome,
and a broad base of officers is desirable.

19 JANUARY MEETING MINUTES

The meeting was held at the Los Angeles
County Museum of Natural History in the
Worm Lab. President Ron Velarde
(CSDMWWD) called the meeting to order at
approximately 10:00 a.m. Ron announced that
he and Don Cadien continue to make progress
in performing QA/QC checks on the Bight’98
trawl voucher specimens. Jim Allen
(SCCWRP) is tackling the QA/QC on the
Bight’98 fish voucher specimens.

A meeting of the Southern California Unified
Malacologists (SCUM) was held this past
weekend, January 16th, in San Diego.
Apparently no SCAMIT members were in
attendance. This is unfortunate, as SCUM is a
sister organization with which we can interact
constructively. Their annual meeting allows
their members to keep up with what other
members are doing, and to keep contacts open
and active. SCAMIT members with an interest
in the Mollusca might consider attending the
next SCUM meeting.

New Literature:

To our amazement, Don had no new literature
this month. Leslie Harris passed around a
recent article by Minoru Imajima (1997). It
includes the families Polynoidae and

Acoetidae. Leslie noted that there are several
species covered in this article that are similar to
our local Harmothoe imbricata, so please be
careful on your identifications of this species.

Don Cadien then took the floor. Many of us
are in the midst of processing Bight’98 infauna
samples. There has recently been increased
activity on the Bight’98 Infaunal Taxonomists
Reflector List. Don stressed the importance of
using this venue of communication to quickly
and efficiently get taxonomic information out
to people. He suggested printing the messages
and keeping them in a notebook for easy access
and future reference.

He then drew our attention to an item in the last
Newsletter expressing regrets to Dr. Geoff
Reed, creator and operator of the Annelida
website and list server for use of materials from
that source without appropriate creditation.

Don requested that those submitting things for
inclusion in the SCAMIT NL which are drawn
from other sources include the original source
information so that the originator can be
properly credited.

Our “nemertean people” are looking forward to
next month’s meeting at the Santa Barbara
Museum of Natural History where Coe’s
nemertean collection will be examined. It will
be very informative to examine his type
specimens and evaluate our interpretations.

This will be the first in hopefully a series of
meetings to investigate Coe’s material. After
we initially evaluate where we are with the
material, we may invite some nemertean
specialists to give us their perspective.

The Fifth California Islands Symposium will
be held at the Santa Barbara Museum of
Natural History in Santa Barbara on March 29
to April 1,1999. For more information about
the meetings, check their website at

http: //www.sbnature .org/symposium99 .htm.

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January, 1999

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.9

The Annual Meeting of the Southern California
Academy of Sciences will be held at California
State University, Dominguez Hills on April 30-
May 1,1999. For more information about the
meetings, check their website at

http: //dhvx20 .csudh .edu/~sqinn/scas/.

Dr. Derek Ellis then gave a very interesting and
informative two-part presentation. First, he
talked about the Island Copper Mine Collection
and then told us about seabed restoration
around the mine.

The Island Copper Mine Collection is being
brought to the Los Angeles County Museum of
Natural History, a number of lots have already
arrived. Dr. Ellis estimates the collection,
which is mostly polychaetes, consists of 1,000-
1,500 species and between 200,000 and
500,000 specimens. The Island Copper Mine
is located on N. Vancouver Island, British
Columbia, Canada. In 1971, a required
monitoring program was started at 26 stations
with 3 reps each. Both pre-operational and
operational data were collected, and currently,
post-operational monitoring is being conducted
and will continue until 2001,6 years after mine
closure.

Having this long term data of pre-operational,
operational, and post-operational conditions
provides an excellent opportunity for a time
series analysis of variability using benthic
infauna. This type of analysis has traditionally
been performed on terrestrial animals, the
classic example being the peppered moth.

In the monitoring of the Island Copper Mine
stations, a Ponar grab was used to collect the
samples. The samples were then passed
through a 0.5mm mesh screen. Dr. Ellis
explained their criteria of defining juveniles
and immatures during processing of infauna
samples. Juvenile specimens were defined as
measuring 1/3 the size of the most abundant
adult form and having no gametes. They were
able to identify many of these individuals to
species. Immature specimens were defined as

measuring a fraction (1/8) of the adult size.
These were individuals that had recently settled
(a few days to a few weeks). Immature
specimens were mostly identified to the genus
or family level. Don Cadien added that age¬
staging was somewhat different for amphipods
and other peracarids. Age-specific morphology
in juveniles and sub-adults, for instance,

has been recently discussed on the Bight’98
Taxonomic Reflector. Sub-adults of Photis are
defined as having no secondary sexual
characteristics but may be as big as adults.
Sub-adults can usually be identified to species.
Juveniles are smaller than sub-adults and are
not differentiated by secondary sexual
characteristics. One usually has to back off to
genus level on the identification of this age
group.

Ellis’s group performed studies to look at
differences using 0.5mm, 1.0mm, and 2.0mm
screens. Even though the infaunal data were
different, the overall conclusions regarding
impact and/or state of recovery that were
reached were the same. They created the
Rapid Preliminary Assessment (Ellis &
MacDonald 1998), a report that could be given
to the industry within a few days after sampling
that contained preliminary conclusions. Pre¬
requisites for making this assessment are: 1)
key stations must be identified and selected for
the analysis, and 2) the staff must be very
experienced in the identification of benthic
infauna from that region.

The next portion of Dr. Ellis’s talk was on
restoration of the seabed near the mine after
operation ceased in 1996. At that time, the
mining pit was flooded with seawater followed
by a cap of freshwater. When the mine was in
operation, the tailings that were produced at the
mill passed through a de-aeration tank, were
mixed with seawater, and then were discharged
into the nearby inlet. Tailings are very fine, but
heavy particles, and mostly settle at a depth of
100 meters or deeper. Tailings are relatively
inert, and leach only small amounts of
manganese.

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Biodiversity data, e.g. number of species,
number of individuals, and names of species
are being gathered to assess how quickly the
seabed is being restored. Within 2 years of
mine closure, animals previous excluded at the
stations with the greatest amounts of tailings
are returning. Some habitat change (to coarser
grain sediment) has also occurred.

One measure of recovery is determining if the
animal community has achieved a sustainable
succession. Dr. Ellis listed 2 such criteria: 1)
the number of species and total number of
organisms must fall within the ranges of
reference stations nearby, and 2) several
opportunists must have sustained themselves in
large numbers for 1 or 2 years. He uses the
term opportunist to indicate a relatively stable
species (= secondary opportunist).

A discussion ensued about succession and
recovery. What defines recovery? How do you
know when the community has reached it? We
agreed on one thing: benthic communities
never return to the “same” condition because
they are naturally variable in time and space.

In a study off Pt. Conception, the Minerals
Management Service defined recovery on
damaged hard-bottoms as obtaining the
original composition and age structure of the
population. Realistically, this could take
decades to reach, if it could be reached at all,
due to the continual natural fluctuations of
populations over time. Dr Ellis is hoping that
he has the data to persuade regulatory agencies
that his view of recovery as the achievement of
a stable successional sequence has more merit
that other more rigid definitions. His does
offer a more “biological” and realistic dynamic
view of benthic communities. Regulators have
often proven more interested in measurable
threshhold definitions in the past, and despite
the mine data. Dr. Ellis may have a difficult
time finding acceptance for a dynamic
definition of “recovery” in regulatory
applications. We wish him well in his attempt.

After this very informative presentation, we
were able to sit back, relax, and enjoy a slide
show by Leslie Harris. She showed us some
excellent instructive, colorful slides of live
worms (and a few other invertebrates). Leslie’s
presentation emphasized the color and pattern
characters lost in preserved material.

After lunch, Ron Velarde and Leslie Harris
opened a gift box of polychaete literature from
Sue Williams. Members eagerly sorted
through the piles, taking reprints that were of
interest to them. It was suggested that people
who hold reprints will make copies (upon
request) for others who may want the same
reprint(s).

The topic of the afternoon was new and
interesting polychaetes from the Bight’98
sampling. Tony Phillips started the discussion
by telling us about the samples he’s been
processing from Santa Cruz Island, Catalina
Island, and Long Beach Harbor. Tony
described several interesting species he
encountered in the Santa Cruz Island samples.
The dominant ampharetid he identified was
Ampharete sp SD I. See Kelvin Barwick and
Rick Rowe’s voucher sheet of Lebruary 1995,
attached, (or www.SCAMIT.org) and Kelvin
Barwick and Rick Rowe’s Table of Characters
for the Ampharetidae which was included in
the SCAMIT Newsletter, Vol. 17, No. 5. He
also found several specimens of Spinosphaera
sp SD I. See Rick Rowe’s voucher sheet of
May 1997 which was included in the SCAMIT
Newsletter, Vol. 16, No. 10 and is available in
the Taxonomic Tools section of the SCAMIT
website.

There were also many different species of
cirratulids. Tony cautioned us about
identifying cirratulids without posterior ends.
Since many cirratulids have similar anterior
ends, you must have distinct anterior
characters to define the genus or species. Tony
has found a large amount of variation in where
the modified setae begin within a single
species. He cited an example. In a specimen

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Vol. 17,No.9

measuring 5mm, the modified setae started on
setiger 40; in a specimen measuring 10mm, the
modified setae started on setiger 20; in a third
specimen measuring 12-13mm, the modified
setae started on setiger 90. Therefore we must
be very careful when identifying cirratulids
without posterior ends (it’s difficult enough
even when we do have the posterior end!).

Tony then passed around draft voucher sheets
for several provisional species that he has
encountered. The first was Monticellina sp
B981 from the Channel Islands, collected at
station 2511, August 5, 1998 at a depth of 102
m. The body is linear and has a short pointed
prostomium. The peristomium is very elongate
and consists of 4 setigers. A unique character
of this species is the anterior peristomium
which forms a ridge over the prostomium. This
specimen has a distinct methyl green stain
pattern which is illustrated on Tony’s ID sheet.

The next species described by Tony was
Aphelochaeta sp B981 from Santa Cruz Island.
There were 6 specimens collected at station
2515 on July 23,1998 at a depth of 102 m. It
has a pointed prostomium, a simple pygidium,
and approximately 20-30 anterior thoracic
setigers that are compressed. After staining
with methyl green, there is an unstained ring all
the way around the anterior peristomium.

Tony next passed around his ID sheets on
Chone sp Hyp 1 and Chone sp Hyp 2. Chone
sp Hyp 1 has spatulate setae with long tips and
a distinctive methyl green staining pattern.
Chone sp Hyp 2 has radioli with long filiform
tips and spatulate setae without tips. Both
sheets included illustrations of the methyl
green staining patterns.

Tony’s complete descriptions of these
provisional species will be put on the Bight’98
Infaunal Taxonomists Reflector List. Ron
Velarde suggested putting the descriptions on
the SCAMIT website, to make this information
available to a wider audience.

Rick Rowe then discussed the common species
that CSDMWWD is encountering in San Diego
Bay samples. The most common species at
this point is Euchone limnicola.

Pseudopolydora paucibranchiata is also very
common. This species is described with an
entire, rounded prostomium; however, after
looking at thousands of specimens, Rick has
noticed that a few specimens have a slightly
incised prostomium. These few specimens
match all of the other characters listed for
Pseudopoly dora paucibranchiata by Light,
1978. This lead to a discussion of Tony
Phillip’s message to the Reflector List
(December 2,1998) regarding Dipoly dora
barbilla. D. barbilla has barbate notospines in
the posterior and distinct pigmentation bands
across the dorsum (not solid) which separates it
from our common, local Dipoly dora socialis.

Rick told us about two unique specimens of
Caulleriella he has encountered from San
Diego Bay. They seem to be the same species
and have bifurcate setae and a multi-annulate
peristomium. The specimens are reproductive
even though they are quite small (6-8mm total
length). They do not match any described
species, so they will be identified as
Caulleriella sp until more material can be
collected.

My Biological Life

Donald J. Reish

Chapter 12: 1951 concluded and beyond

The Pacific Division of the AAAS met on the
use campus in June 1951, while I was busy
studying for my prelims. This meeting was an
important influence on my life, which, in turn,
affected the lives of many of my students.

Curtis Newcombe arranged a symposium on
water pollution at the meeting. Dr. Mohr spoke
on protozoans as indicators of pollution. I just
recently learned he filled in for the originally
scheduled speaker. The State of California had
just established the State Water Pollution
Control Board (as it was known then), and

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California Department of Fish and Game had
the responsibility of conducting biological
studies. CDF&G approached Dr. Mohr to head
up the studies in southern California. He, in
turn, selected Bob Menzies, Howard Winter
and Chuck Horvath to conduct surveys in Los
Angeles/Long Beach Harbors, San Gabriel
River, Newport Bay, San Diego Bay, and
Avalon Bay. They were hired as seasonal aids
which limited their employment to 9 months.
Horvath obtained a small orange peel bucket
from Scripps. These studies were the start of
benthic studies at USC. I identified the
polychaetes from these surveys, and later
became a seasonal aid after their 9 month
period was completed. My first study was to
survey Alamitos Bay, the beginning of my long
interest in that body of water. I was
responsible for writing up many of the reports,
two of which were published in the CDF&G
quarterly. I later surveyed the biota of the San
Gabriel River after it was dredged (there was
no benthic life in 1952); this was my first
pollution abatement publication.

Continuing the happenings of 1951; I began to
write up my dissertation. In August my friend
(since childhood) Paul was drowned in Baja
California; a rip-tide claimed him. He was his
parents only child and I drove them back to
Corvallis. It was a sad trip. His father had
initiated the Microbiology Dept at Oregon
State.

Early in 1952 I proposed to Janice and we set a
June wedding date. Jerry Barnard went with
me when I selected the ring for her. I thought
that I would have my dissertation completed
before the wedding. Ha! (I finished in
December). Curtis Newcombe, who worked
with the U.S. Public Health Service, suggested
that I apply for a grant to study the relationship
of polychaetes to pollution. Dr. Mohr served as
the principle investigator as required by USC.

It wasn’t funded until mid-1953.

I had applied for a faculty position at Cal Poly-
San Luis Obispo, but I later withdrew my name
because I didn’t qualify to teach microbiology.
Mid-September of 1952 I was offered a faculty
position at the new campus of Cal Poly
Pomona. Janice had just accepted a position at
LA City Schools. I turned the job down
because I didn’t think my 35 Buick could make
the daily 60 mile round trip. Jerry Barnard
took the job and stayed there one year. My 9
month CF&G seasonal position terminated in
early 1953. Dr. Hartman obtained a temporary
appointment with the Hancock Foundation to
collect and sort benthic samples as I had
described earlier. She was impressed with
what we had done with benthic work in the
bays and harbors.

There was considerable interest in the Arctic
Ocean in the early 50’s, probably due to the
cold war with Russia. Personnel at USC were
actively involved with biological studies at
Point Barrow, Alaska. John Mohr had spent
the summer of 1952 at Point Barrow and in
1953 he took Chuck Horvath, Jerry Barnard
and me with him to the Arctic. It was my first
real experience in an entirely different
zoogeographical area. It became clear to me
how important it is for a biologist (at least one
interested in whole organisms) to visit and
study diverse biological regions. I flew by
myself to Point Barrow on military planes. At
Fairbanks I got on the wrong plane and flew to
Barter Is. which is on the Alaska—Canadian—
Arctic border. We then flew to Pt. Barrow at
1500 feet along the Alaska Arctic coastline. It
was quite a trip especially since I had to wear a
parachute (no instructions). The others were
envious of me since none of them had flown
that route. Jerry and I worked together
especially with the biota of Nuwuk Pond. A
pond which was freshwater for the top 6-7 feet
with fresh water fauna and the remaining 10 to
the bottom was saline with marine fauna.

Water froze to 6-7 feet each winter hence the
fresh water floated on top of sea water. We did
a paper on this, and I did two others based on

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Vol. 17,No.9

my Arctic experience. We returned to the
warmth of southern California and I began to
work on the U.S. Public Health Service grant
(EPA didn’t exist until 1970).

Next: Conclusion of my SC days

CORRECTION:

“(3) Error 2: In the “Bibliography”, the
Hessler (1972) reference has an unnecessary
apostrophe between the “m” and the “g” in the
name Serolis m'grayi— should just be

MGRAYI ”

Member Tim Stebbins (CSDMWWD)
contributed a section on SCB isopods in the
December newsletter and would like to correct
some aspects of his original submission.

“(1) Ommision: Under my note on the
Limnoriidae, I said that the key to world
species in Cookson (1991) included L. algarum
and L. lignorum from our area. I failed to
mention that two other local species are also
included: L. quadripunctata Holthuis, 1949 and
L. tripunctata Menzies, 1951. These latter two
species are also described in detail in
Cookson’s paper.”

“(2) Error 1: The newsletter lists Cookson’s
first name as LESLIE, however, her name is

LAURIE

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ellis, Derek V. and Valerie I. MacDonald. 1998. Rapid preliminary assessment of seabed

biodiversity for the marine and coastal mining industries. Marine Georesources and
Geotechnology, 16:307-319.

Light, William J. 1978. Invertebrates of the San Francisco Bay Estuary System. Family

Spionidae (Annelida, Polychaeta). The Boxwood Press, Pacific Grove, California. 211

pp.

Imajima, Minoru. 1997. Polychaetous Annelids from Sagami Bay and Sagami Sea collected by
Emperor Showa of Japan and deposited at the Showa Memorial Institute, National
Science Museum, Tokyo. Families Polynoidae and Acoetidae. National Science
Museum Monographs No. 13. 131pp.

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January, 1999

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.9

Please visit the SCAMIT Website at: http://www.scamit.org

SCAMIT OFFICERS:

If you need any other information concerning SCAMIT please feel free to contact any of the
officers e-mail address

(619)692-4903 rgv@mwharbor.sannet.gov

(310)830-2400 ext. 403 dcadien@lacsd.org

(619)692-4901 msl @ mwharbor.sannet .gov

(310)648-5544 cam@san.ci.la.ca.us

President

Vice-President

Secretary

Treasurer

Ron Velarde
Don Cadien
Megan Lilly
Ann Dalkey

Back issues of the newsletter are available. Prices are as follows:

Volumes 1-4 (compilation).$ 30.00

Volumes 5-7 (compilation).$ 15.00

Volumes 8- 15. $ 20.00/vol.

Single back issues are also available at cost.

^^UfOR/VM

Southern California Association of
Marine Invertebrate Taxonomists

3720 Stephen White Drive
San Pedro, California 90731

February, 1999 SCAMIT Newsletter Vol. 17, No. 10

SUBJECT:

Non-polychaete Taxa from Bight’98 samples:
new, odd, problematic

GUEST SPEAKER:

None - Don Cadien Discussion Leader

DATE:

22 March 1999

TIME:

9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p. m.

LOCATION:

City of San Diego Marine Biololgy Lab

4918 North Harbor Drive #101

San Diego, CA

Astropecten ornatissimus CSDMWWD,
station uncertain, circa July 1997

The March meeting will be a first stab at
dealing with all the odd and unusual things we
non-polychaete workers have encountered so
far in analysis of the Bight’98 infaunal
samples. Since several different habitats
(narrow Channel Islands shelves, bays) were
examined, odd things were expected. This first
meeting is to find out what areas might need to
be addressed by single meetings in future, and
to provide an overview of the problems
encountered. Bring specimens for help and for
others to view and comment on.

HELP!!

The Bernice P. Bishop Museum in Hawaii is in
crisis. Their funding has been cut below the
support level for staff and on-going programs,
as well as below that necessary for collections
maintenance. The following message
(originating on the TAXACOM list) merits our
attention and action. “In response to the request
I’ve [Scott Miller] had from various people

FUNDS FOR THIS PUBLICATION PROVIDED, IN PART BY
THE ARCO FOUNDATION, CHEVRON, USA, AND TEXACO INC.

SCAMIT Newsletter in not deemed to be valid publication for formal taxonomic purposes.

February, 1999

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.lO

about how best to support the problems facing
Bishop Museum, here is a concise summary
from Allen Allison. If you do write support
letters, I would personally suggest emphasizing
the value of the ‘Hawaii Biological Survey’ and
the need for the state government to support the
vital systematics infrastructure.

“You asked for a short statement on how the
community could best support Bishop
Museum. Our problems are mainly problems
involving our state appropriation. In 1989, the
first year of the appropriation, we received
$1,352 million. By 1992 this had increased to
$2,466 million. In 1995 it had decreased to
$2,077 million, by 1996 it decreased to $928,
873, and by 1998 it was down to $805,000.

This fiscal year (1999) it was reduced by more
than half to $381,000. In other words, in less
than a decade we’ve lost ~84% of our state
funding. That funding has mostly provided
basic support for the care, maintenance and
access of collections. It has also provided a
crucial match for obtaining research and
collections support grants. Our primary
priority is to increase our state funding this
year from the $381,000 proposed by the
Governor to the $1.6 million we’ve formally
requested. I might add that last year we faced
losing our state appropriation entirely. I think
that our letter writing campaign at that time
helped us avoid that fate. We are again asking
our colleagues to write in support of increasing
our state appropriation. Our basic message is
that although we are a private institution, we
are a crucial component of the state’s
infrastructure in science, cultural history and
education. Letters of support are best directed
to me; I will forward to government officials:
Allen Allison, Bishop Museum, 1525 Bernice
Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96817. Fax 808-847-
8252 and e-mail allison@hawaii.edu.””

It should be noted that their predicament is not
unique. Funding cutbacks in many areas have
already affected systematic biology at all
levels. The British Museum was gutted a
number of years ago, the Smithsonian

Institution has seen positions eliminated rather
than filled [and a change in mission from
research, training, and archival to public
education], the Natural History Museum of Los
Angeles County has had many lay-offs [and
departmental closures], etc. A recent
communique from Dr. Michel Hendrickx in
Mazatlan indicated that their funding has been
cut by 70% just this year [any “angels” out
there want to buy a marine station?]. If we
have the opportunity to speak out as a
systematic/research community to assist our
colleagues, we should grab that opportunity
firmly with both hands and do what we can to
fight de-prioritization of organismal biology.

UPCOMING MEETING

A gathering scheduled for later this year might
provide a forum for discussion of this problem.

The Species 2000 2""* International Workshop -
“Biological Diversity: Value of Information for
the 2L^ Century” is scheduled for 14-16 July
1999 at Tsukuba International Convention
Centre, in Japan.

Discussion topics are to include the following:
Global Species Database; Museum, Collection,
and Species Bank Information; Regional and
Inter-regional Biodiversity Information
Resource; Interoperability of Biological
Information Resources; and Standardization of
Taxonomic Information Systems. Papers in any
of these areas are invited. Abstracts are due by
1 May 1999.

Information on the meeting is available at

http://www.sp2000.riken.go.jp/sp2kj/

workshop.html.

NEW LITERATURE

Several new books are available which may
appeal to the membership.

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A second edition of the American Fisheries
Society Mollusk volume is now out (Turgeon,
et al 1998). This is a major improvement on
the first edition which fully documents all the
changes between editions 1 and 2. Extensive
new information is reviewed, incorporated, and
referenced. Hopefully this same path will be
followed with other volumes in the series.

“Sex and Parthenogenesis, Evolutionary
ecology of reproductive modes in non-marine
ostracods” (1998) may be of interest as a
discussion of reproductive modality using a
single group as an example, rather than as a
resource on reproduction in marine ostracods.
Edited by Koen Martens, it is available for
$75.50 from Backhuys Publishers, P. O. Box
321,2300 AH Leiden, The Netherlands (or
backhuys@euronet.nl).

A new catalogue with multiple specialist
authorship has been announced (Young, Paulo
S., ed.. 1998. Catalogue of Crustacea of
Brazil. Museu Nacional, Serie Livros n. 6,
718pp.) . It covers both marine, freshwater, and
terrestrial taxa, and draws on experts from
throughout the world, as well as from Brazil
itself. Each species is presented with
information on synonymy, distribution, and
comments, as well as by a description and
references. It can be purchased by check
($50.00 made out to Fundacao Universitaria
Jose Bonifacio) from Ms. Alzinete Rego
Albuquerque, Museu Nacional, Biblioteca,
Quinta da Boa Vista, 20940-040, Rio de
Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. Postage via surface mail is
included in the purchase price (airmail is
available for an additional $15.00).

A changed system at CSDLAC has allowed me
to resume my earlier efforts at examining new
literature for the membership. The paucity of
such items recently has reflected our system
problem and not a dearth of interesting new
articles.

Riemann-Ziirneck (1998) posed (and
answered) the interesting question How Sessile
are Sea Anemones? Her article covers a
variety of behavioral and physical adaptations
of sea anemones to predators, food-gathering,
and population dispersal. One of her most
interesting results was the recognition of a
“straying predator” type of unattached
anemone behavior. Based on photographs in
situ on coarse ground off South Africa, she
postulates that one species exists in a neutrally
buoyant “drift” mode in which bottom currents
bring it into contact with its gorgonian prey (it
attacks sea-fans via extracoelenteric digestion).

Phylogenetic analysis of the mollusks
continues apace. A recent analysis of 18S
rDNA sequence data by Harasewych et al
(1998) attempted to clarify the relationships of
groups within the lower Caenogastropoda.
Their main concern was refinement in the
placement of the Campaniloidea, an early
offshoot of the cerithioids. They found it,
along with architaenioglossan taxa, and the
cerithioids, to comprise a single clade, while
the remaining caenogastropods formed the
Eucaenogastropoda (the Hypsogastropoda of
Ponder and Lindberg 1997).

Those “rusty” clams we find in our samples
have always intrigued me. Now information is
available on the crusty coating for a related
species from European waters. The ferruginous
coating usually found on species in the genera
Montacuta, My sella, and Rochefortia is
probably similarly constituted wherever the
animals occur. Gillan et al (1998), investigating
Montacuta ferruginosa, concentrated on the
bacterial component of this incrustation. The
authors believe that, based on the identity of
the bacteria in the coating, they may be
instrumental in the construction of the coating
itself. The precipitation of metallic and/or
phosphatic salts as part of the coating can be
assisted by some of the bacteria. They also

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may be involved in lysis of both the
periostracum and the organic constituents of
the clams shell. Further investigations into the
nature of the bacterial activity are planned.

We usually think of an octopus attack as being
grabbed and bitten by the beak. The beak bite
is, however, just the beginning for organisms
attacked by cephalopods. If you have wanted
to know about the “other” part of the
cephalopod buccal armature (other than the
beak), now is your chance. Messenger &
Young (1998) provide a detailed overview of
the radular apparatus (radula and its support
structures) emphasizing Octopus and Nautilus.
They discuss its development, function, and
eventual breakdown.

Harlin (1998a) brings clarity to the
consideration of names. He provides an
interesting discussion which draws upon
numerous recent sources arguing the relative
value of traditional Linnean nomenclature and
phylogenetically based nomenclature. While,
for the most part, we in SCAMIT tend to find
the traditional system perfectly adequate for
our uses, we need to remain conversant with
the arguments provided in support of an
overthrow of the Linnean style of naming, and
the substitution of names derived from
phylogenetic analysis. This article helps. A
related article (Harlin 1998b) addresses the
impact of the phylogenetic approach on the
systematics of nemerteans.

Taxonomy of the sentinel organism Capitella
capitata has been in turmoil since a series of
closely related sibling species were discovered
within ""Capitella capitata"" by Grassle &
Grassle (1974). Most of these taxa are most
easily distinguished by their ecology or
reproductive behavior, and are difficult to
separate morphologically. Gamenick et al
(1998) provide some ecophysiological traits
which further separate forms within the sibling
species complex. Their investigation focused
on sulfide tolerance/oxygen demand aspects of
the animals physiology.

A particularly clever polyculture arrangement
has been suggested by the work of Ahlgren
(1998) who tested the effectiveness of the
holothurian Parastichopus californicus at
reducing fouling in salmon rearing pens. Only
a fraction of the feed provided to salmon
during their rearing is consumed by the fish
themselves. The remainder, and the fish waste
products, form a rich food resource for fouling
organisms on (and under) the net pens used for
fish culture. Excess fouling organism presence
reduces flow through the pens, and has other
undesirable effects. Sea cucumbers, noted
browsers on loosely attached or flocculent
organic material on rocky bottoms, were tested
as potential agents for net clearing. They
proved surprisingly efficient at the task, and
offer the added benefit of being a marketable
product themselves. Hopefully this test will be
welcomed and acted on by the salmon rearing
industry. The resulting decrease in organic
oversupply to nearshore areas where the fish
are raised would benefit the entire coastal
habitat. It also might stop the establishment of
a wild-caught Parastichopus fishery in the
Bight if they can be easily cultured in salmon
pens.

WHERE THE BOYS ARE

In a previous issue I called attention to the
prevalence of hermaphrodite or intersex
individuals and lack of males in some local
sicyoniid shrimp. Well, although the road was
long and led through unfamiliar territory, I
finally know where the boys are. All the
specimens I had interpreted as hermaphrodites
were actually males. I fell into a literature trap
concerning the definition of the female external
genitalia, and interpreted a feature held in
common by both male and female shrimp as
part of the female thelycum. I contacted Dr.
Ray Bauer, an authority on sexual systems and
sexual function in shrimps (penaeoid and
otherwise), concerning the supposed

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hermaphrodites. He directed me to some
literature on the subject of intersexuality and
hermaphroditism, and sent me articles of his
own on shrimp sexuality.

Among these items was Perez-Farfante &
Robertson (1992) which offered a good
description of apparent hermaphroditism in a
Penaeus species from the eastern Pacific. I
continued to dig in the literature but was
frustrated by the result. I was missing crucial
information, on morphology of male and
female sicyoniid shrimp. Continued literature
research finally revealed my error, and
explained its source.

Bauer had made a step towards clarifying the
situation (1986) by defining the thelycum as
“any external modifications of the female’s
posterior (somites 12-14) thoracic sternites
and/or coxae that are related to sperm transfer
and storage”. This effectively excludes the
elongate anterior “thelycal” plate of somite 13
from inclusion as part of the thelycal structure.
It was the definition (usually visual) of the
spine on somite 13 as part of the thelycum,
found in most of the literature, which confused
me into believing I had intersex specimens. In
Perez-Farfante’s illustrations of thelyca of
various female Sicyonia species (1985), for
instance, this elongate spine-like anterior
projection is always included in its entirety.

I finally extracted enough evidence from the
literature to satisfy myself that what I had seen
in my male specimens was not only normal,
but implicitly expected. The first clue was in
Kubo (1949, p. 443) where he mentions
“Sternal spine of seventh thoracic segment of
male, which is homologous with anterior plate
of thelycum...’’while discussing Eusicyonia
lancifer japonica. I then located a somewhat
more cryptic statement by Burkenroad (1934,
p. 75) “The thelycum and the corresponding
male genital sternites, less varied than among
other penaeid groups, sometimes supply
diagnostic features; the thelycum chiefly by the
outline of the posterior margin of the thirteenth

sternite, which forms the anterior lip of the
transverse groove; the male genital area chiefly
by the shape of the transverse elevation lying
just anterior to the suture between the
thirteenth and fourteenth sternites. The length
and outline of the large spine of the thirteenth
sternite are too insusceptible of exact
description and with too limited a range of
variation over the genus and too high a rate of
individual variability, to be of very
considerable service.”

I assume, based on the above, that Burkenroad
found no reason to mention the male sternal
spine in his subsequent species descriptions
since it would serve no discriminatory purpose.
Others seem to have followed his lead, and
omit description of this rather prominent
feature which apparently characterizes all
members of the Sicyoniidae.

To complete my education on the nature of this
structure Burkenroad actually illustrated it (the
only illustrations I have found to date) in his
description of S. disedwardsi (Burkenroad
1934 fig. 29). So, no hermaphrodites after all.
My thanks to those who examined their shrimp
in response to my earlier report, and found that
they too had “hermaphrodite” individuals.

Sorry to have mislead you. Hopefully my error
(and the above discussion) will allow others to
avoid this trap in future. - Don Cadien
(CSDLAC)

22 FEBRUARY MEETING

Soon it will be election time again and Don
Cadien (CSDLAC) started the meeting by
calling for nominations for SCAMIT officers.
Don then announced he would not accept
renomination for the post of Vice President.

He hopes to be appointed Newsletter Editor by
the Executive Committee, a position which he
currently occupies and which was separated
from the duties of the Vice-President at our last
election. Ann Dalkey was renominated for
Treasurer. No other nominations were offered
or recognized at this time. Subsequent
nominations of Ron Velarde for another term as

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February, 1999

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.lO

President, and for Megan Lilly to continue as
Secretary, were received. The latest news is
that Leslie Harris has been nominated for the
position of Vice President and has accepted.
Please see the candidate biographies at the end
of the newsletter.

Don Cadien requested any specimens of dajid
parasites of shrimp (along with the host if
possible) be sent to him. Specimens of several
species of local dajids were circulated among
those in attendance. These isopod parasites are
found on top of the shrimp carapace (not in
side bulges like bopyrids). They look sort of
like hats. Most programs apparently do not
take them in any appreciable quantity. The
impetus of this request is the finding of an
undescribed species on two of the shrimp
species in our area in response to El Nino
warming. While the ENSO is now gone (and
replaced by La Nina), the shrimps (and their
dajid parasites) have stuck around. A local
species which parasitizes the euphausiid
shrimp Stylocheiron affine offshore has
recently been described (Shields and Gomez-
Guttierrez 1998). It sites itself between the eyes
of the shrimp, maintaining its position by
wrapping modified antennae around the shrimp
eye stalks.

The meeting got down to the business of
nemerteans with an opening introduction by
Dr. Eric Hochberg (SBMNH). Eric gave a
brief, but informative overview of the
Invertebrate Zoology Department and then
went on to discuss some of his current projects.
Eric is looking at the association of leech eggs
and leeches on crustaceans. He showed us a
large specimen of Paralithodes with leech eggs
on its carapace. The eggs looked like small
brown/black dots all over the animal. Both
local species in the genus are usually covered
with leech eggs, and often bear adult leeches as
well. Other large decapods probably also bear
leech eggs, at least those without hairy
carapaces. He is also interested in which
species of nemerteans inhabit and are
commensal upon crustaceans.

Eric is also researching semi-terrestrial
nemerteans. He has found some in Goleta
Slough and suspects they may be native. More
specimens and locations will be needed to
confirm or refute this premise. The animals live
in moist, slough type environments, under
rocks, wood, etc. and Eric would greatly
appreciate any specimens people can provide.
There is one paper on native California
terrestrial nemerteans (Gibson et. al. 1982)
available to provide information on these
animals.

Eric next introduced Patricia Sadeghian, who is
currently a graduate student under Dr. Armand
Kuris at UCSB. She is working on commensal
nemerteans associated with crustaceans and
Eric would like to extend that interest to the
Class Bivalvia as well. They put out a request
for any nemerteans one finds in association
with either crustaceans or bivalves. Macoma
and Yoldia are two genera of bivalve which
might contain commensal nemerteans. You can
reach her for further information, or to respond
to her request at psadeghian@sbnature2.org.

At this point Don Cadien urged that in the
future we try to organize a meeting which
would deal with associates of coastal marine
invertebrates. This is a fascinating subject, but
one which is often over looked and under
researched. Parasites of fishes are usually at
least noted during data collection, but those of
invertebrates are either missed, or ignored. As
we focus more closely on non-lethal impacts of
discharges, the presence and prevalence of
symbionts (which include parasites) becomes
of greater interest. Eric agreed that this would
be a worthwhile effort, and suggested that a 2
day workshop might be even better.

To help us recognize and collect specimens of
parasitic nemerteans two handouts were
distributed; one on bdellonemertine parasites of
bivalves, and one on carcinonemertine parasites
of crabs. Eric then went on to pass around the
Proceedings of the last 3 international
nemertean meetings. Each contained a number

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February, 1999

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.lO

of papers on taxonomy and ecology of
nemerteans. He also showed Gibson’s
Annotated check list for the nemertean species
of the world (Gibson 1995). This last
publication deals with all nemertean species
described to 1995, providing comments on
synonymy, distribution, current nomenclatural
status, and other available biological
information; an indispensable watershed for
current and future nemertean workers.

According to Eric, the taxonomy being done by
the “nemertean experts” involves intensive
serial sectioning and is not particularly useful
to taxonomists in our position (using external
characters, and characters visible by clearing).
We are hoping to continue using simple whole
animal characters in our identification process,
avoiding sectioning as impractical for our
application.

A brief history of the Coe Collection and its
curation was then given by Eric (and in
Hochberg & Lunianski 1998). The collection
has been sorted by an intern and an effort has
been made to match the specimens in hand
with Coe’s 1940 publication. Some types and
specimens came up missing, but a box
discovered in the Scripps Benthic Invertebrate
Collection contained some of the missing
animals. Eric suspects there is also some
additional Coe material in Connecticut. He
also has in the collection some specimens from
the MacGinitie Collection identified by Coe,
although not collected by him. In addition
there are quite a few unidentified nemertean
specimens from the Allan Hancock Collections
a number of these are materials from the BLM
studies in various years. Nemerteans in those
programs were identified by Dr. Bruce
Thompson, and the specimens were
recombined into station lots. Identifications of
nemerteans in these lots should be available in
the BLM databases, but connecting individual
specimens to identifications will be, in most
cases, impossible.

Among identified lots Sue Williams discovered
a series of lots identified by Patricia MacEwen,
chiefly from programs administered by Dr.

Dale Straughn in King Harbor and elsewhere.
As the key prepared by her is in general use by
local nemertean IDers, it is particularly
valuable to have material of many local species
identified by her available for comparison.

Don Cadien and Tony Phillips made a list of
the lots and their identifications for use in
future trips to consult the nemertean collections
at the Santa Barbara Museum. Fortunately for
us all. Sue Williams was present to interpret the
labels and identify the handwriting and
recording styles of several workers. She had
seen all of this material before, either as co¬
participant in the programs, or as Hancock
Foundation collections manager.

After Eric’s brief, but informative opening
statements he showed us where the nemerteans
were stored and we all frantically went to
work. For Dean Pasko and myself (Megan
Lilly) it was very helpful to be able to compare
some of our specimens to the original types.

As in any examination of historical material,
there were some surprises. We found several
mixed lots, and we found what we would call
one species identified as several different
species. We found Tubulanus nothus (in
current SCAMIT usage) identified as T.
pellucidus on several occasions. We also found
adult series of species which are only
encountered (if at all) as juveniles in our
programs. Several additional trips will be
required before we can be satisfied we have
gleaned even a majority of the information
available from these collections. We may not
like what we find, but such comparisons serve
a valuable purpose in QC of our nemertean
IDs.

[Editor’s Note - The interesting report which
follows was submitted by member Mary
Wicksten several months ago. I apologize to
her, and to the other members for the delay in
getting it into the NL. I would like to

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February, 1999

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.lO

encourage such involvement on the part of the
members in the content of the Newsletter, not
discourage it by allowing submissions to
languish for months!]

TWO WEEKS IN THE GALAPAGOS!

- Mary K. Wicksten, Texas A&M University

I really “lucked out” this August and spent
close to two weeks in Ecuador, most of the
time at the Galapagos Islands. I joined Dr.
Cleveland Hickman Jr. of Washington and Lee
University, Virginia, who is producing a series
of photographic guides to the marine
invertebrates of the islands. ( Dr. Hickman
already has produced a color guide to the
echinoderms, “A Field Guide to Sea Stars and
Other Echinoderms of the Galapagos”.

Contact him at hickman.c@fs.sciences
WLU.EDU for information). With the aid of
Rodrigo Bustamante and other personnel of the
Charles Darwin Research Station, we collected
along shore on the south side of Isla Santa
Cruz, finding the first specimens of Alpheus
galapagensis since 1925.

For a week, Cleve Hickman and I joined a crew
from the CDRS aboard the 40-foot boat
“Beagle” for a cruise through the central part
of the archipelago. We dived at Islas Floreana,
Pinzon, Baltra, Seymour Norte and San
Salvador. Diving was tough: visibility was 20
feet at best, water temperatures were about 68
degrees F, and currents and surge were
common. Imagine 8 people crowded on a 40-
foot boat, making 4 dives per day while
donning and doffing full wet suits, using
underwater cameras and cameras on photo
stands and having only one cabin for dining,
cataloguing, photographing, etc.

Much of the diving time was spent collecting
carideans and other decapods for the
photographic guides. Dr. Hickman already had
photographed many of the common mollusks,
so effort was spent on crustaceans; however, a
few previously uncollected nudibranchs turned
up. The carideans included many never

photographed in life, several spectacular range
extensions (including the starfish-eating shrimp
Hymenocera picta ) and three new species: two
species of Lysmata and one brightly colored
Automate. Over 30 species of carideans were
collected. An unusual find was a large gray-
and-white cerianthid, the first one any of the
personnel from the Station had ever seen. We
collected quite a few small green echiuroids
that live under subtidal rocks.

The underwater habitats of the Galapagos are
diverse. Many areas remind one of Catalina
Island, having rock walls, jumbled rocks and
coarse sand (but no kelp —in fact, we saw little
algae except in intertidal zones). There are lots
of fish in schools, but poor visibility meant that
any big pelagic fish would remain unseen. We
saw one green sea turtle. Very large stingrays,
butterflyfishes, Moorish idols, king angelfish,
damselfishes and other reef fishes were
common. Sea lions were common visitors
underwater and sometimes had to be chased off
the inflatable boats. One larger colonial coral,
Pavona gigantea, showed a lot of bleaching,
probably from the effects of El Nino.

However, smaller colonies of Pocillopora spp.
were doing well and had a full complement of
commensal crabs {Trapezia spp.) and snapping
shrimp {Harpiliopsis spinigera, Alpheus lottini
and Synalpheus charon). We saw no crown-of-
thorns starfish (Acanthaster), although other
echinoderms were common. Most of the
holothurians we saw and collected were
small —perhaps an artifact of the fishery that
recently existed at the Galapagos. There were
lush growths of gorgonians and Antipathes sp.
on vertical walls, but we collected no
commensal species living with these colonies.
While diving off Isla Floreana, we visited the
beds of mushroom corals {Cycloseris spp.) and
branched corals (Psammocora stellata) that are
unattached and free-living on the bottom.

The islands vary geographically north to south
and east to west. The southern sides are surf-
swept, making for some glorious surfing
beaches but dangerous collecting conditions.

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The westernmost islands tend to be cooler than
the central and northern islands. There are
some very deep channels between some of the
islands and extremely shallow ones elsewhere.
Volcanic activity ranges from long-dormant to
erupting today, but lava flows are common rock
types everywhere. There are no large coral
reefs, although certain bays, islets and points
generally have small reefs or beds of corals,
hermatypic and ahermatypic. Because the
“normal” marine fauna is poorly known in
many places, it is difficult to assess effects of
“El Nino”. The last big invertebrate surveys of
the islands were those of Captain Allan
Hancock and the “Velero III” in 1933-38, with
sporadic and localized collecting ever since.
The specimens from the Velero III collections
still are not completely worked up!

The marine iguanas were hurt by the warm
currents, which destroyed much of the algae
that they eat. However, there were some very
comfortable ones living on algae on the boat
ramps by the Station. They would amble away
if poked, but most of the time was spent
snoozing on the lava rocks, by the boatyards or
under the drying racks for diving gear. Native
finches, especially the small ground finch, were
everywhere. These little wren-sized birds were
so “cheeky” that they would try to eat crumbs
off your lunch plate. I saw penguins at sea and
ashore, also albatrosses, endemic gulls, two
species of mockingbirds, the native hawk,
Vermillion and native flycatchers, lava lizards
and some humongous spiders; also visited
“Lonesome George” the last tortoise of his
kind, now living with three nubile (?) females
from another island. Many of the islands still
were green from rains, and the cacti were
draped with flowering vines.

Rates for use of the boats and dormitories at
the Station are very reasonable, as are prices
for food, even in restaurants. However, anyone
wishing to go to the Station should make
arrangements well in advance, and be sure to
allow plenty of time for problems with the
airlines (delays, lost luggage, long lines, etc.)

Side trips to Quito and the Andes are
worthwhile to see crater lakes, volcanos and
llamas and to spend like a “loco gringo” in the
fabulous craft marketplaces.

HYBRID ASTROPECTEN?

Although I don’t disbelieve any of the field
identifications of Astropecten ornatissimus
reviewed in the QC of trawl invertebrates,
something has come up. During the review
process several A. ornatissimus were found
with a previously undocumented character.
Three specimens had small spines on the
superomarginal plates near the distal end of the
ray, a character which can lead to confusion in
separating A. ornatissimus and A. armatus.

In the extended description of A. ornatissimus
in Fisher 1911 he specifically states there are
NO spine-like granules on the superomarginal
plates in this species. In the present specimens,
which otherwise conform completely with A.
ornatissimus, there are single recurved
tubercles (“spines”) on both sides of multiple
rays on at least three animals. They are not
always symmetrical (i.e. - plates in equivalent
positions on each side of the arm may have or
lack spines), and in no case extend more than
half-way to the base of the ray. There is some
tendency for the spines to occur on the distal
edge of the superomarginal plate rather than
near its middle as is usual in A. armatus.

In none of these three specimens were the
superomarginal plates in the interradii enlarged
or bearing a prominent spine. Paxilla counts
and structure of the adambulacral spines were
also those of A. ornatissimus rather than A.
armatus. The overall appearance of the animal
(R:r ratio, broadness of rays, relative size of
lateral spines etc.) was that of A. ornatissimus
as well.

These specimens bring up the interesting
possibility of hybridization among local
Astropecten species. It was originally raised by
Fisher (1911-p. 70), although he thought there

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February, 1999

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.lO

was little concrete evidence of it. The present
specimens are suggestive of an A. ornatissimus
X A. armatus cross, but also do not provide
hard evidence of hybridization.

In any case, we must approach usage of the
keys currently in circulation with the idea that
presence of a secondary series of
superomarginal plate spines on the distal
portions of rays is NOT diagnostic for A.
armatus, although enlarged plates and spines
on the superomarginal plates in the interradii
ARE diagnostic for A. armatus. This is a
potential problem for distinguishing smaller A.
armatus, which often have the secondary
spines, but lack the primary interradial spines,
from spine bearing A. ornatissimus. - Don
Cadien (CSDLAC)

SPECIMEN REQUEST

The following request was found on Geoff
Read’s Annelida site, and is repeated here in
hopes that SCAMIT members may be able to
assist.

Scott Harrison, a graduate student working on
pinnotherid crabs, requests any specimens of
pinnotherids we can provide. He is interested
in knowing the host of the crab, particularly
annelid hosts. Preparation should ideally be
into 100% ethanol so that molecular analyses
can be performed on the tissues. Specimens
prepared by other means are, however, also
welcome.

Scott offers to pay cost of shipping. Contact
him at scott@bio.tamu.edu, by telephone at
(409)845-0168, or via mail at Department of
Biology, Texas A & M University, College
Station, Texas 77843-3258.

It might be useful for those of us who will
respond to this and other future requests for
specimens to be used in molecular analysis to
consider the results of Dawson et al (1998).
They tested various field preservatives for

tissues to be used in DNA analysis. They found
that, if facilities are available, freezing is the
best way of dealing with tissue samples in the
field.

CANDIDATE BIOGRAPHIES
PRESIDENT

Ron Velarde

Ron is the current President of SCAMIT and a
past Vice-President; he has been a Marine
Biologist with the City of San Diego since
1983 and currently is the supervisor of Benthic
Taxonomy for the Ocean Monitoring Program.
His taxonomic interests include most groups,
especially polychaetes and nudibranch
mollusks. He earned his B.S. degree in Marine
Biology from California State University, Long
Beach, in 1976, and did post-graduate research
on the systematics and ecology of autolytid
polychaetes.

VICE-PRESIDENT

Leslie Harris

Collections manager of the Allan Hancock
Foundation Polychaete Collection, at the Los
Angeles County Museum of Natural History.
Ongoing research centers on taxonomy of the
polychaete fauna of Pacific North America,
polychaete-algal associations (especially in
Macrocystis), introduced species, and
Caribbean reef polychaetes.

SECRETARY

Megan Lilly

Graduated from Humboldt State University in
1991 with a B.S. in Marine Biology. From
1991 to 1993, worked at the Santa Barbara
Museum of Natural History where the
taxonomy of marine mollusks was studied
under Dr. Eric Hochberg, Paul Scott, and Hank
Chaney. Currently working as a marine

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February, 1999

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.lO

biologist for the City of San Diego’s Ocean
Monitoring Program. Specialities include
mollusks, with an emphasis on cephalopods,
and echinoderms.

for nearly 10 years, reaching a position of
senior laboratory and research analyst. She
received her B.S. from California State
University Long Beach in Marine Biology in
1974 and her M.S. from the same university in
1982. Her thesis research pertained to
polychaete bioassay.

TREASURER

Ann Dalkey

Ann is presently the Treasurer for SCAMIT
and has held this position since SCAMIT was
founded. Ann is a member of the water
biology staff at the Hyperion Treatment Plant
where she specializes in the identification of
polychaetes and amphipod crustaceans. Prior
to working at Hyperion, Ann was a member of
the laboratory staff at the County Sanitation
Districts of Orange County. She worked there

BIBLIOGRAPHY

AHLGREN, MOLLY O. June 1998. Consumption and assimilation of salmon net pen fouling
debris by the red sea cucumber Parastichopus californicus: Implications for polyculture.
Journal of the World Aquaculture Society 29(2): 133-139.

BAUER, RAYMOND T. 1986. Phylogenetic trends in sperm transfer and storage complexity in
decapod crustaceans. Journal of Crustacean Biology 6:313-325.

BURKENROAD, MARTIN W. 1934. Littoral Penaeoidea, chiefly from the Bingham

Oceanographic Collection with a revision of Penaeopsis and descriptions of two new
genera and eleven new American species. Bulletin of the Bingham Oceanographic
Collection 4(7): 1-109.

DAWSON, MIKE N., Kevin A. Raskoff & David K. Jacobs. 1998. Field preservation of marine
invertebrate tissue for DNA analyses. Molecular Marine Biology and Biotechnology
7(2): 145-152.

FISHER, WALTER K. 1911. Asteroidea of the North Pacific and adjacent waters. Part 1.
Phanerozonia and Spinulosa. United States National Museum Bulletin 76:1-419.

GAMENICK, L, B. Vismann, M. K. Grieshaber, and O. Giere. 1998. Ecophysiological

differentiation of Capitella capitata (Polychaeta). Sibling species from different sulfidic
habitats. Marine Ecology Progress Series 175:155-166.

GIBSON, RAY. 1995. Nemertean genera and species of the world: an annotated checklist of
original names and descriptive citations, synonymies, current taxonomic status, habitats
and recorded zoogeographic distribution. Journal of Natural History 29(2): 271-561.

GIBSON, RAY, Janet Moore, and C. E. Cantell. 1982. A new semi-terrestrial nemertean from
California. Journal of Zoology 196:463-474.

GILLAN, DAVID C., Arjen G. C. L. Speksnijder, Gabriel Zwart, & Chantal De Ridder. 1998.

Genetic diversity of the biofilm covering Montacutaferruginosa (Mollusca, bivalvia) as
evaluated by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis and cloning of PCR-
Amplified gene fragments coding for 16S rRNA. Applied and Environmental
Microbiology 64(9):3464-3472.

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Vol. 17,No.lO

GRASSLE, J. FREDERICK & Judith R Grassle. 1976. Sibling species in the marine pollution
indicator Capitella (Polychaeta). Science 192:567-569.

HARASEWYCH, MICHAEL G., S. Laura Adamkewicz, Matthew Plassmeyer, & Patrick M.
Gillevet. 1998. Phylogenetic relationships of the lower Caenogastropoda (Mollusca,
Gastropoda, Architaenioglossa, Campaniloidea, Cerithioidea) as determined by partial
18S rDNA sequences. Zoologica Scripta 27(4):361-372.

HARLIN, MIKAEL. 1998a. Taxonomic names and phylogenetic trees. Zoologica Scripta
27(4):381-390.

HARLIN, MIKAEL 1998b. Tree-thinking and nemertean systematics, with a systematization of
the Eureptantia. Hydrobiologia 365:33-46.

HOCHBERG, FREDERICK G. & David N. Lunianski. 1998. Nemertean collections at the Santa
Barbara Museum of Natural History: type specimens and vouchers for Wesley R. Coe’s
1940 publication. Hydrobiologia 365:291-300.

KUBO, ITSUO. 1949. Studies on the penaeids of Japan and its adjacent waters. Journal of the
Tokyo College of Fisheries 36(1): 1-467.

MESSENGER, J. B. & J.Z. Young. 1999. The radular apparatus of cephalopods. Philosophical
Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B Biological Sciences
354(1380): 161-182.

PEREZ FARFANTE, ISABEL. 1985. The rock shrimp genus Sicyonia (Crustacea: Decapoda:
Penaeoidea) in the eastern Pacific. Fishery Bulletin 83(1): 1-79.

PEREZ FARFANTE, ISABEL & Lori Robertson. 1992. Hermaphroditism in the penaeid shrimp
Penaeus vannamei (Crustacea: Decapoda: Penaeidae). Aquaculture 103:367-376.

PONDER, WINSTON F. & David R. Lindberg. 1997. Towards a phytogeny of gastropod

molluscs: an analysis using morphological characters. Zoological Journal of the Linnean
Society 199(2):83-265.

RIEMANN-ZURNECK, KARIN 1998. How sessile are sea anemones? A review of free-living
forms in the actiniaria (Cnidaria : Anthozoa). Marine Ecology Pubblicazioni Della
Stazione Zoologica di Napoli I 19(4): 247-261.

SHIELDS, JEFFREY D. & Jaime Gomez-Gutierrez. 1998. Oculophryxus bicaulis, a new genus
and species of dajid isopod parasitic on the euphausiid Stylocheiron affine Hansen.
International Journal for Parasitology 26(2): 261-268.

TURGEON, DONNA D., et al. 1998. Common and Scientific Names of Aquatic Invertebrates
from the United States and Canada: Mollusks. American Fisheries Society Special
Publication 26 [Second edition]: 1-526.

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SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17, No.10

Please visit the SCAMIT Website at: http://www.scamit.org

SCAMIT OFFICERS:

If you need any other information concerning SCAMIT please feel free to contact any of the
officers e-mail address

(619)692-4903 rgv @ mwharbor.sannet.gov

(310)830-2400 ext. 403 dcadien@lacsd.org

(619)692-4901 msl @ mwharbor.sannet .gov

(310)648-5544 cam@san.ci.la.ca.us

President

Vice-President

Secretary

Treasurer

Ron Velarde
Don Cadien
Megan Lilly
Ann Dalkey

Back issues of the newsletter are available. Prices are as follows:

Volumes 1-4 (compilation).$ 30.00

Volumes 5-7 (compilation).$ 15.00

Volumes 8- 15. $ 20.00/vol.

Single back issues are also available at cost.

Southern California Association of
Marine Invertebrate Taxonomists

3720 Stephen White Drive
San Pedro, California 90731

March, 1999

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17, No. 11

SUBJECT:

Non-polychaete problem animals from B’98 sampling.

Part II

GUEST SPEAKER:

None - Megan Lilly, Discussion Leader

DATE:

19 April 1999

TIME:

9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p. m.

LOCATION:

City of San Diego Marine Biololgy Lab
4918 North Harbor Drive #201

San Diego, CA

We will continue with our consideration of
problem taxa encountered in the Bight’98
infaunal sampling exclusive of the annelids.
Our last meeting merely scratched the surface.
We may not finish at this meeting either.
Planned topics are the isopod Caecianiropsis,
crabs of the genus Deilocerus, the application
of Dean Pasko’s new Photis key, the sand
dollar genus Dendraster, crabs of the

genus Cancer, Astropecten seastar species,
oedicerotid amphipods, the amphipod genus
Byblis, leucothoid amphipods in solitary
ascidians...and more. Bring problem or
demonstration specimens. Please save
cnidarian problem animals for the May
meeting.

Rudilemboides stenopropodus
Photo by Dean Pasko (CSDMWWD)

FUNDS FOR THIS PUBLICATION PROVIDED, IN PART BY
THE ARCO FOUNDATION, CHEVRON, USA, AND TEXACO INC.

SCAMIT Newsletter in not deemed to be valid publication for formal taxonomic purposes.

March, 1999

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.ll

METHODOLOGY ON THE WEB

Member Tom Parker directs our attention to an
interesting website which contains discussions
of and information on preservation of
biological materials. The site is run by the
American Society of Ichthyologists and
Herpetologists, and despite their vertebrate
subjects, we share an area of interest.

gopher: //kaw.keil .ukans .edu: 70/hh/curation/
ichs_herps/newsletterl 1

This is an archival site, and the information is
not hot off the presses, but it is still very
valuable, and worthy of your attention. Of
particular interest is the preservation method
which allows very good to excellent retention
of color in preserved materials.

Another useful information source on
preservation and handling of biological
specimens is provided at

http: //www.nmnh.si .edu/iz/usap/

usapspec.html#top_of _page

This is a set of instructions originally designed
for use with the Polar research programs. It
lays out a series of methods for preservation of
various invertebrate phyla. I doubt if there is
anything new here for most people, but this is a
useful compact presentation on the subject.

MEETINGS

Coastal Zone 99 will be meeting in San Diego
this July 24-29th. As usual, a broad spectrum
of topics will be addressed. A number of
workshops will be held including ones on the
role of marine protected areas in coastal
management, and one on volunteerism.
Questions concerning wastewater discharge,
recovery of affected areas, habitat restoration,
regional monitoring, and other subjects of
typical SCAMIT concern will be discussed at
numerous sessions. A number of present and
past SCAMIT members will be presenting
talks. On-line registration and information is
available at

http://omega.cc.umb.edu/~cz99.

A bit further away is the 14-16 July conference
on Interrelationships of the Platyhelminthes to
be held in London. The conference is organized
by the Linnean Society of London in
association with the Systematics Association,
and the British Society for Parasitology. Those
interested in this phylum should find the
scheduled talks stimulating at least. Those
wishing to present, or stage a poster still have
time. Poster titles and abstracts must be in to
Dr. Tim Littlewood, Department of Zoology,
The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road,
London SW7 5BD [e-mail: dtl@nhm.ac.uk]
prior to 30 April 1999.

NEW LITERATURE

In a continuing series of papers presenting
various aspects of their multi-year monitoring
results Mauer et al (1998) discuss the
distributions of Spiophanes missionensis [now
S. duplex] and Prionospio sp A [now P. jubata]
in the area around the discharge of the Orange
County Sanitation Districts. They found the
two species to be negative and positive
(respectively) indicators of the organic
enrichment of domestic wastewater discharge.
They suggest that the two species in tandem are
a more sensitive indicator of effect than either
separately, regardless of whether the effect was
of human or natural origin.

Unfortunately we here in southern California
do not encounter gastropods in the genus
Trichotropis, which are commonly found in
boreal waters north of us. I say unfortunately
both because the animals are quite attractive,
and now are shown to have interesting habits.
Pernet & Kohn (1998) demonstrate that T.
cancellata functions not only as a regular
suspension feeder catching particles from the
water column, but also as a kleptoparasite
stealing particles from its neighbors. Their
experiments indicate that parasitism is the main
energy source for the snails, who make do with
suspension feeding while hosts are unavailable.

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Several different types of polychaetes were
victimized, including sabellids and sabellariids.
The snail inserts it’s pseudoproboscis into the
worm’s mouth, and intercepts the incoming
string of food particles streaming down from
the radioles. This can go on for hours without
the worm seeming to be upset about working
for no gain.

Sponges do not flee, nor do they fight.
Gandhi-like they pursue the path of passive
resistance. They also subscribe to the theory
that the best defense is a good defense. Most
use some form of structural deterrent to
predation, usually sharp spicules in various
shapes and densities. Many others opt for
chemical warfare, and sponges are very
sophisticated chemical factories. Sampling of
sponges for unique new bio- active compounds
has preoccupied the pharmaceutical industry
for several decades. Basic ecological research
has also benefitted. Becerro et al (1998) report
on the interactions between two different types
of predators, grazing nudibranchs and nipping
fishes, with the branching sponge Cacospongia
sp. The sponge controls the distribution and
concentration of several secondary metabolites
which deter or prevent feeding by one of the
two predators. Even the lower levels of
secondary metabolites measured were
sufficient to prevent fish nipping of the sponge.
The problem of best dealing with the
nudibranchs, who utilize the secondary
metabolites to make themselves unpalatable to
potential predators, is more complex. ‘At what
concentration of secondary metabolites can I
minimize nudibranch grazing and also
minimize nudibranch survivorship derived
from my accumulated deterrent chemicals?’
Tough being a sponge!

Nudibranch taxonomy has always been a bit
soft. It got softer when Schulze & Wagele
(1998) investigated morphological variability
in Flabellina afftnis. They found many of the
traditional morphological characters quite
variable in this species. Surprisingly the living
coloration and color pattern seemed less

variable than most other characters. Their
detailed investigation of the morphology and
histology of this animal is helpful for anyone
dealing with flabellinid taxonomy.

Beare & Moore (1998) present information on
the life history of two oedicerotid amphipods,
one of which occurs in California. At least for
now: Bousfield indicated that we probably
didn’t have the same species of Westwoodilla
that occurs in the north Atlantic. We are,
however, still considering our local species to
be W. caecula, until new information is
provided in a further publication. The authors
found reproductive females in the W. caecula
population throughout the year, although
reproductive effort seemed concentrated from
midsummer to early autumn. Westwoodilla
females had smaller broods, but suffered less
brood mortality, than Monoculodes packardi
(the other species investigated).

An interesting reproductive pattern for a small
group of syllid polychaetes is described by
Kuper & Westheide (1998). This involves
external brooding with eggs attached to the
parent by special modified chaetae which differ
from those epitokous swimming setae often
associated with reproduction in polychaetes.

Cancer magister juveniles have in the past been
considered to be carnivorous. Jensen & Asplen
(1998) present observations documenting use
of diatoms as food in the field by juvenile
crabs. They also present the results of rearing
experiments using a variety of food substrates,
including diatoms.

Introduced species have usually been
considered a nuisance (sometimes a damn
nuisance in the areas of their greatest impact),
but seldom has the economic consequence of
their presence been calculated. Pimentel et al
(1999) do so. Preliminary calculations are
offered for a number of different types of non-
indigenous species in both terrestrial and
aquatic habitats in the U.S.. The authors point
out that there have been positive, intentional,
introductions of non-indigenous species. Food

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crops which originated in other parts of the
world now account for 98% of the agricultural
production in this country. Estimated negative
impacts tote up to about $122 billion per year
currently, an amount that continued efforts to
control non-indigenous species should reduce
in future. The trend over the past 30 years or
so has been one of increase, however.

Competition with introduced species is not the
only cause of distress to native populations.
Frequently problems can be laid to other
human influences. In a fairly exhaustive
consideration of crustacean fisheries in the
Gulf of Alaska, Orensanz et al (1998) discuss
the collapse of a broad spectrum of exploited
populations. A combination of over fishing and
management approach seems involved. The
authors make some suggestions aimed at
preventing such economic catastrophes in the
future.

An instructive example from the freshwater
literature considers another alternative to
competition with an invader; habitat
modification. Beckett et al (1998) document
the history of disappearance of one amphipod
taxon in the Ohio River, and its replacement by
another. This was originally undertaken with
the idea that either there had been a
competitive displacement by an introduced
animal, or that there had been taxonomic drift
in the identification of the samples. Neither
proved to be the case. The identifications had
been correct and verified, and the original
species Crangonyx pseudo gracilis, had died
out over a year before the first occurrence of
the replacement species in the sampling area.
Based on the pattern of retreat of Crangonyx in
the years before its local extinction, the authors
hypothesize that the change was caused by the
construction of dams on the river, which
changed the flowrate to one disfavoring this
amphipod.

OLD LITERATURE

Don Cadien is happy to report that he
purchased the Jan Stock/Universiteits Museum
van Amsterdam duplicate reprint collection.
This collection, which resulted from integration
of Jan Stock’s reprints with those of the
Universiteits Museum (Dr. Stock died early in
1998), was offered by Dr. Dirk Platvoet on the
CrustL listserver late in January. The majority
of the collection arrived on a plane early in
March. A set of Dr. Stock’s currently available
reprints and the duplicates from his
pycnogonid literature are still to arrive. The
collection was estimated to be over 7000 items,
nearly all dealing with crustacean taxonomy or
ecology. No list of what was contained in the
collection was available at time of purchase, so
arrival of the material itself was anxiously
awaited. A listing of the titles represented
(although not of the material still to arrive) has
now been prepared in ProCite® format. Many
of the individual titles were duplicated. These
duplicates will be made available in the near
future. Areas particularly well represented were
those on which Dr. Stock himself concentrated;
copepod parasites of invertebrates, freshwater
amphipods of Europe, and the troglobitic,
cavernicolous, anchialine, and interstitial fauna
of the tropical west Atlantic. To this will be
added the pycnogonids, when those boxes
arrive.

Discoveries among this material will be
gradually appearing in these pages as Don has
a chance to read them and determine their
relevance to SCAMIT. There are many novel
items, including drafts and page proofs, as Dr.
Stock served as editor, member of the editorial
board, or reviewer for several journals.

22 MARCH MINUTES

The meeting was called to order by soon-to-be-
outgoing Vice-President Don Cadien
(CSDLAC) at approximately 9:45 am. Don
reminded members present of the upcoming
Channel Islands Conference at the Santa
Barbara Museum of Natural History. This
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conference is relatively unique in that
attendance is free. Costs are borne by the
MMS. The Species 2000 workshop was also
mentioned. See the February NL for details.

A request for pinnotherid/worm commensals
was discovered on the Annelida List Server.
Scott Harrison at Texas A&M is researching
pinnotherids and is particularly interested in
their association with polychaetes. He would
prefer specimens fixed in 100% ethanol, but
will take any he can get. Scott is willing to
cover the costs of shipping and handling.
Contact him at scott@bio.tamu.edu, or by
mail at Department of Biology, Texas A&M
University, College Station, TX 77843-3258, or
telephone at 409-845-0168.

Don then brought our attention to the funding
crisis at the Bishop Museum in Hawaii and
encouraged all to write letters in support of the
Museum. Many institutions are having their
public funding restricted, reduced, or
eliminated. This is just a particularly severe
case. More information and means of
contacting them were listed in the February
NL.

The upcoming election was discussed, and it
was then reiterated that we still did not have a
vice presidential candidate for SCAMIT
(fortunately we now do, please see the
attatched ballot). There was a call for further
nominations without much success. Candidate
statements were circulated in the February NL,
and the ballots are attached to this newsletter.
All voting is by printed ballot only, e-mail and
other on-line voting is not permitted. We urge
you all to express yourself fully on the ballot,
although -once again-, it’s a small universe of
candidates. If you have suggestions for the
officers include them on the ballots. All of you
please consider running yourself next time out,
or write yourself in on the present ballots.
SCAMIT needs your involvement in as many

ways as possible for its continuation and
growth. If you have ideas about how we can
change for the better; get elected and
implement them!

With the business aspect of the meeting
concluded we dove into the taxonomy of the
B’98 infauna. Don started with the sponges
stating that their ID level will stay at Porifera,
unless it is a readily identifiable species. Most
of the sponges encountered in the Bight’98
sampling came from either San Diego Bay, or
the Channel Islands. As Don Cadien examined
the samples from both the Wrigley Institute and
the Northern Channel Island National Marine
Sanctuary, he met with Dean Pasko and Megan
Lilly (CSDMWWD) earlier, and went over the
sponges. Level of identification was not as
much a concern as preventing the use of more
than one name for any given species in the
database. Many of the species encountered
were only provisionally identified, although
some were taken to species. These taxa can be
retained in the final data analysis, since quality
assurance measures were applied prior to data
submission.

As for the Cnidarians, the Anthozoa -
Edwardsiidae and Ceriantharia are to be pulled
and set aside for member John Ljubenkov to
ID. Unfortunately, all other families, orders,
etc are to be handled in-house by participating
agencies. We are hoping the May meeting will
have the authors of the Cnidarian section of the
MMS Atlas in attendance. The meeting will
cover not only species which are in the Atlas,
but also those species which are not. It was
felt by some members present that many of the
anthozoa identifications will end up at
Actinaria sp. This is a difficult group at best,
and the varied success of labs in working them
up generally dictates that the data must be
reduced to lowest common denominator prior
to analysis.

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A call for difficult Platyhelminthes ( well, all
of them are difficult, but some more so) was
then put forth. Dean Pasko showed an
interesting flat worm from San Diego Bay
which was heavily pigmented and bore nuchal
tentacles. At this point it is still unnamed, as
no one present instantly recognized it as
occurring in their samples. No other different
flatworms had been found among the Bight’98
infaunal samples to date.

Nemerteans were next on the list. There is still
some discussion as to what level of
identification one should strive to take the
nemerteans. There was some problem with this
during the 1994 SCBPP and attempts are being
made not to duplicate it this time around. Dean
Pasko had a strange/new nemertean which at
this point will remain at Lineidae. Dean is
working on an ID sheet for this animal.

Nothing unusual was noted for Sipunculids at
this time from Bight’98 benthic samples, but
both San Diego and LA County have newly
encountered species in their regular
monitoring.

An alert concerning echiurans. Don Cadien
asked us all to be on the look out for
Listriolobus hexamyotus. It is usually found in
the mouths of bays and estuaries and looks
similar to our common offshore L.pelodes.
Separation of the two is quite simple, and can
be done externally. It depends on the count of
longitudinal muscle bands; six in hexamyotus,
and eight in pelodes. With sampling in
shallower waters, and areas around
rivermouths, our likelihood of encountering
this species is increased. Under normal
circumstances L. pelodes is so easily
recognizable that we seldom confirm it’s
identity. Listriolobus hexamyotus looks just
about the same as its congener, but differs in
longitudinal muscle band count, and in
nephridia number.

Molluscs were next on the agenda. Kelvin
Barwick had brought three different animals to
be considered. One of them was the new
species of Daphnella which graced the cover of
the January NL. This species is to be described
by Dr. Jim McLean in his long anticipated
California mollusk monograph. The second
animal considered had been very common in
San Diego Bay samples. It was a small
juvenile of Saxidomus nuttallii. Juveniles of
this species look nothing like the adult, having
only the finest concentric microsculpture, and
bearing distinctive rows of dark brown chevron
marks descending from the umbos on both the
anterior and posterior slopes. The shape of the
juvenile also differs from that of the adult;
small juveniles are nearly circular, with central
umbos. As the juveniles grow, the umbos move
progressively forward as the posterior portion
of the valves grows allometrically relative to
the rest of the clam.

The third questionable animal was a tiny
juvenile Chione sp., also from San Diego Bay.
A discussion then ensued regarding the size at
which young Chione can be confidently
identified to species. Don recommended that
animals below 10-12 mm be kept at Chione sp.
Juvenile Chione fluctifraga may be identifiable
to species at slightly smaller sizes, due to their
unique sculpture. Difficulty in separating very
small Chione from tiny Protothaca spp. was
also discussed. The only method mentioned to
accomplish this separation was relative shape.
Very small Chione tend to be nearly circular,
with central umbos. Very small Protothaca are
more oval, and often nearly rectangular.

Two small clams from Northern Channel
Islands samples were mentioned. The first was
Nutricola [previously Psephidia] lordi, and the
second is as yet unidentified. The Nutricola
were mentioned only because they seem to be
quite common in the coarse island-shelf
sediments. The other tiny clam was represented
by two specimens, one only 2mm, the other
nearly twice that size. Both are characterized
by their sculpture of flattened concentric

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ridges. The smaller animal had been removed
from it’s shell, and the hinge and pallial sinus
examined. They were still not fully formed,
and almost surely differ from those in the adult.
Both were suggestive of the white surf clam,
Amiantis callosa. Without a growth series to
connect the juveniles with the adult, no
identification at this size can be more than an
educated guess. Inquiries of Paul Valentich
Scott at the Santa Barbara Natural History
Museum found that the smallest animal they
have in their collection identified as Amiantis is
10mm long. Not close enough. At present this
species is retained as Veneridae unidentified.
Perhaps more material will allow the dots to be
connected. Kelvin Barwick (CSDMWWD) was
kind enough to digitize several shots of these
tiny clams. The result presented the concentric
sculpture and overall shape nicely.

Don mentioned encountering a seldom seen (in
our area) tusk-shell species in the coarse
sediments of the northern Channel Islands,
Antalis pretiosum. He gave a brief review of
the characters which he uses to separate the
scaphopods, particularly the dentaliids. He
stressed the importance of shell curvature, shell
microsculpture, cross-sectional shape, shell
thickness, and (where present) terminal slits.
Since slits are often decollated with juvenile
portions of the shell, their absence is not
informative. When present, however, they can
assist in separating otherwise similar species.
The species keyed out properly in Shimek’s
new key (Shimek 1998).

It was then time for a brief, but enjoyable
lunch. Upon our return the crustaceans were
delved into with fervor.

Don Cadien brought specimens of Photis
elephantis for Dean to review. He had not seen
the species before, and will have to modify his
key slightly to accommodate the male/female
differences in P. elephantis.

We next considered the problem of
Rudilemboides stenopropodus vs
Rudilemboides sp A. Dean Pasko had only
seen sp A offshore, but Bight’98 has provided
him with plenty of material from San Diego
Bay referable to R. stenopropodus. He has yet
to find a way to distinguish females of the two
taxa, but males can be separated on the basis of
the structure of the gnathopod 1. Don Cadien
indicated that the only species taken off Palos
Verdes was R. stenopropodus, and that he had
not encountered R. sp A in CSDLAC sampling.

Synchelidium spp were next discussed. There
are problems with the SCAMIT sheet
description of S. rectipalmum varying from the
original description in terms of the condition of
the 2"^ pleonal epimeron and lobe on article 2
of the 7* leg which were pointed out by Dean
Pasko. This species is the only local species
whos ID is fairly straight-forward and simple;
it shouldn’t be problematic.

Don Cadien pointed out the difficulty of
determining transverse vs. moderately oblique
palm. How do we define the orientation? This
question has considerable importance
throughout this family, and really throughout
the Amphipoda. No concrete definitions were
proposed, and we are going to think about the
problem, and hopefully answer it at the next
meeting.

We examined the S. rectipalmum specimen to
see what characters were present on the
uropods. Don is attempting to evaluate the use
of number, location, and orientation of stout
setae (spines in traditional parlance) and cuticle
serrations on the uropodal rami. While these
details require examination at 400x on a
compound scope, they are generally visible in a
whole-mount preparation, and consequently
demand little manipulation of these small
animals. Many specimens of both sexes of as
many different “species” as possible must be

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examined before these character states can be
either accepted as useful or dismissed as
invariant between taxa or too variable within a
taxon.

Those whose sampling areas do not normally
include coarse substrates may be encountering
the amphipod genus Tiron for the first time.
There are two species locally, both of which
are turning up in the Bight’98 samples from the
northern Channel Islands. The two can be told
apart easily on the basis of the dactyls of the
legs. They are normal and slightly curved in T.
biocellata; and reduced, stubby, nearly sub¬
chelate in T. tropakis. The two also differ in
telson setation, with T. biocellata bearing only
one or so small stout setae near its distal end,
and T. tropakis with two rows of stout setae
extending most of the length of the telson in
the female. The male T. tropakis has much the
same telsonic setation as T. biocellata. Both
species are included in Barnard’s 1972 key ,
but full illustrations of T. biocellata are only in
Barnard 1962. Both species share the arresting
characteristic of having a pair of ommatidea
sitting side by side near the bottom of the
cephalon, far removed from the majority of the
eye. These must serve some special purpose,
but no explanation has yet been offered.

Tim Stebbins preliminarily reported on his
examination of the species in the genus
Paracerceis, whose females are generally
considered to be inseparable. Tim has
borrowed material of P. sculpta, P. gilliana, and
P. cordata from the Natural History Museum of
Los Angeles County, and is reviewing this
material to improve our ability to distinguish
these widely occurring animals. Although their
presence in samples from San Diego Bay in
Bight’98 provided the impetus for this review,
they also occur offshore in a number of
situations. Tim also examined the specimens
of Paracerceis sp A SCAMIT which Don
Cadien brought down. He doubted that the
specimens from southern California were the
same as those reported by Brusca from the

Gulf of California. Tim seemed to think that
characters could be found for accurate
separation of females, but it will take some
work.

A specimen of presumed to be Caecianiropsis
was examined. It also came from a sample at
95m off the West end of San Miguel Id. A
single individual was found. Problem -
although the presumptive genus is blind (as in
the Caec of the name), this animal has eyespots
quite visible through the cephalon. It is also
pretty large. Don Cadien will attempt to
retrieve other specimens identified as
Caecianiropsis from CSDLAC and from
collections made at offshore dumpsites in
1982. He will bring this material to the next
meeting, where the question of what this thing
is can be addressed. He doubts that it is the
same as the intertidal form described from
beach interstitia in Tomales Bay, but that
remains a possibility. In the past it has been
recorded as that species, Caecianiropsis
psammophila, or as either C. nr. psammophila
or C. sp. when taken offshore.

We reviewed differences between the two
species of Deilocerus, and examined a lot
from off San Miguel which has both species
represented. Normally the two are found in
different depth horizons, with D. planus
inshore on coarse bottoms, and D. decorus
offshore. Their co- occurrence in a single
sample from 95 m is interesting, and provides
the rare opportunity to review their differences
without worrying about either geographic or
ecophenotypic variability. Both sexes were
represented at several sizes, so growth related
differences were also available for study. Don
Cadien thinks he has a different set of
characters to separate the two species which
can be used for all but the smallest individuals
of both sexes. Unfortunately we ran out of
time, and will continue at the next meeting.

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[You may have noted that a few names were
repeated over and over in the minutes of the
last meeting. Well, we could only report what
was said by attendees. If your name should
have been there, and your comments reported,
why weren’t you there? We should be reporting
comments by a number of participants at each
of these meetings. Diversity of experience and
opinion serves us all. I hope more of you can
make meetings in future. Those of you too
distant to attend should realize the newsletter is
as close as your computer (or your writing
desk). We value your input, and solicit it. - the
Editor.]

My Life as a Biologist

Donald J. Reish

Chapter 13: Conclusion of my SC and
Hancock days

I had a pollution grant from the US Public
Health Service with a 3 year initial period and
a 2 year continuation. The total for the 5 years
was $35,000 which included SC’s overhead.
My salary was $5000 a year which ended up as
$6500 at the beginning of my 5th year. I
conducted 3 benthic surveys in LA-LB Harbors
in 1954 and one in 1955. Many people helped
me take the samples including Jerry Barnard,
Keith Woodwick, and my brother. They helped
without pay. Results of the 1954 surveys were
published in the Hancock Occasional Paper
series in 1959. I divided the harbors into 5
ecological zones based on species composition.
These divisions were based on my
understanding of the animals and their
environment, and not on any statistical
analysis. The uniqueness of the publication is
that I was able to include all the raw data.

Years later Don Boesch used my data for his
EPA—US Army Corps publication on cluster
analysis. My results and his cluster analysis
agreed almost 100%. I have often expressed
my opinion that a person knowledgeable of the
environment does not really need statistics. I

do, however, realize that statistics have become
a necessity today. I think back to my
dissertation days when I had to use a slide rule
to do chi square analyses.

Bob Menzies had gone to Scripps on soft
money after completion of his doctorate. He
told me that Bob Parker was conducting a
survey around the mouth of the Mississippi
River and needed help in identifying
polychaetes. It was my first consulting job; I
was paid $3.00 per hour. I was still in
Hartman’s lab and I didn’t tell her what I was
doing since she did not believe in getting paid
to identify worms. You should do it for the
love of the worms! In that collection I found a
new species, Cossura delta, which I described.
Hartman never commented about the species
nor questioned the source of the material. It
was the first new species that I had done on my
own. Chuck Horvath had a consulting job in
the West Basin of LA harbor where a creosote
company stored its pilings. He turned the job
over to me when he went to the Arctic.

Wooden blocks were suspended in the water
and checked monthly for wood borers. He had
used weights, but when I needed additional
ones, I used a gallon jar. In late 1953 I looked
at the mud which had accumulated in the jar
and discovered Neanthes caudata which later
became known as N. arenaceodentata. Herpin
had published on the earlier stages of the worm
and I completed the life cycle and published in
Pacific Science. I then placed gallon jars all
around the harbor and studied polychaete
settlement and related it to areas of pollution. I
published the findings in California Pish &
Game. Many of my ideas for the use of gallon
jars came from the monograph of Gunnar
Thorson. I met him on 3 or 4 occasions; he
was a very dynamic person and one who would
talk with any and all.

During one of these talks he wondered why
polychaetes were so numerous in the benthos
of southern California but not in the Danish
seas. I had read some of Petersen’s benthic
studies of the early 1900s, and, believe it or

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March, 1999

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Vol. 17,No.ll

not, one morning while taking a shower, the
answer came to me. The Danes used a large
screen to wash their sediments and we used a
finer one. I then loaded up my car with gallon
jars, formalin, and an orange peel bucket and
headed down to Alamitos Bay (Basin lhad just
been dredged from land a few months earlier).

I washed the sediment through a series of Tyler
sieves, and identified and counted the animals
retained on each sieve. I published the results
in Ecology and this paper is still being cited.

No one had ever thought of the importance of
the mesh size before. Maybe I should take
showers more often!!!

The 5 years I was on the US Public Health
Service grant afforded me many opportunities
to do exploratory research. I cultured many
different polychaetes including Capitella,

Ophryotrocha, and Ctenodrilus. As I had
written earlier, I realized something was
strange about Capitella, but I really didn’t
grasp the picture. I was also able to publish
many papers during this time, and I believe that

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BARNARD,!. LAURENS. 1962. Benthic marine Amphipoda of southern California: families
Tironidae to Gammaridae. Pacific Naturalist 3(2):73-115.

—. 1972. A review of the family Synopiidae (=Tironidae), mainly distributed in the deep sea
(Crustacea: Amphipoda. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 124:1-94.

BLARE, D. J. & P. G. Moore. 1998. The life histories of the offshore oedicerotids Westwoodilla
caecula and Monoculodes packardi (Crustacea: Amphipoda) from Loch Fyne, Scotland.
Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 78:835-852.
BECERRO, MIKEL A., Valerie J. Paul & John Starmer. 1998. Intracolonial variation in

chemical defenses of the sponge Cacospongia sp. and its consequences on generalist fish
predators and the specialist nudibranch predator Glossodoris pallida. Marine Ecology
Progress Series 168:187-196.

BECKETT, DAVID C., Philip A. Lewis & James H. Green. 1998. Where have all the Crangonyx
gone? The disappearance of the amphipod Crangonyx pseudo gracilis, and subsequent
appearance of Gammarus m.fasciatus, in the Ohio River. American Midland Naturalist
139:201-209.

JENSEN, GREGORY C. & Mark K. Asplen. 1998. Omnivory in the diet of juvenile dungeness
crab. Cancer magister Dana. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology
226:175-182.

KUPER, MICHAEL & Wilfried Westheide. 1998. External gestation in exogonine syllids
(Annelida: Polychaeta): dorsal egg attachment by means of epitokous chaetae.
Invertebrate Biology 117(4):299-306.

it gave me the opportunity to develop a
“publication” habit which has resulted in my
publishing at least one paper per year since my
first one in 1950.

Jerry Barnard and I ate lunch together for
several years including our post-doctoral
period. We talked about many things and
thought it would be great to do a “Light’s
Manual” for southern California. We discussed
how we would do this; of course we never did,
but it was always on my mind and was the seed
for my “Marine Life of Southern California.”
More on this at a later chapter.

Next: I accept a position at Long Beach State.

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March, 1999

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Vol. 17,No.ll

MAUER, DON, Tom gerlinger, & Hai Nguyen. 1998. The response of two spionid polychaetes
to natural processes and anthropogenic activities on the San Pedro shelf, California.
Ophelia 48(3): 185-206.

ORENSANZ, J. M., Janet Armstrong, David Armstrong, & Ray Hilborn. 1998. Crustacean

resources are vulnerable to serial depletion - the multifaceted decline of crab and shrimp
fisheries in the greater Gulf of Alaska. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 8:117-176.

PERNET, BRUNO & Alan J. Kohn. 1998. Size-related obligate and facultative parasitism in the
marine gastropod Trichotropis cancellata. Biological Bulletin 195:349-356.

PIMENTEL, DAVID, Lori Each, Rudolfo Zuniga & Doug Morrison. 1999. Environmental and
Economic costs associated with non-indigenous species in the United States. Cornell
University News Service Jan 1999 Releases: 12pp. [available through http://
www.news.cornell.edu].

SCHULZE, ANJA & Heike Wagele. 1998. Morphology, anatomy and histology of Flabellina

afftnis (Gmelin, 1791)(Nudibranchia, Aeolidoidea, Flabellinidae) and its relation to other
Mediterranean Flabellina species. Journal of Molluscan Studies 64:195-214.

SHIMEK, RONALD L. 1998. Chapter 4. Class Scaphopoda. Pp. 75-96 IN: Valentich Scott, Paul
& James A. Blake (eds.). Taxonomic Atlas of the Benthic Fauna of the Santa Maria
Basin and the Western Santa Barbara Channel. Volume 8, The Mollusca Part 1 - The
Aplacophora, Polyplacophora, Scaphopoda, Bivalvia, and Cephalopoda. Santa Barbara
Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara, Ca. 250pp.

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March, 1999

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17, No.11

Please visit the SCAMIT Website at: http://www.scamit.org

SCAMIT OFFICERS:

If you need any other information concerning SCAMIT please feel free to contact any of the
officers e-mail address

(619)692-4903 rgv @ mwharbor.sannet.gov

(310)830-2400 ext. 403 dcadien@lacsd.org

(619)692-4901 msl @ mwharbor.sannet .gov

(310)648-5544 cam@san.ci.la.ca.us

President

Vice-President

Secretary

Treasurer

Ron Velarde
Don Cadien
Megan Lilly
Ann Dalkey

Back issues of the newsletter are available. Prices are as follows:

Volumes 1-4 (compilation).$ 30.00

Volumes 5-7 (compilation).$ 15.00

Volumes 8- 15. $ 20.00/vol.

Single back issues are also available at cost.

Southern California Association of
Marine Invertebrate Taxonomists

3720 Stephen White Drive
San Pedro, California 90731

April, 1999 SCAMIT Newsletter Vol. 17, No. 12

SUBJECT:

Non-polychaete taxonomic problems in B’98 samples.

Part III

GUEST SPEAKER:

None: Discussion leaders Don Cadien (CSDLAC)

& Megan Lilly (CSDMWWD)

DATE:

24 May 99

TIME:

9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p. m.

LOCATION:

Marine Biology Lab, City of San Diego

4918 N. Harbor Dr. suite 201

Scheduling conflicts have again postponed our
Cnidarian meeting, which is now scheduled at
Dancing Coyote Ranch on Friday, 18 June. The
agenda of that meeting remains as previously
discussed. The May meeting will continue our
unfinished considerations of a number of taxa
and groups from the April meeting. Attendees
should bring material for examination,
questions, objections, assertions, and hopefully
answers. It is anticipated that we will be
dealing with flatworms, nemerteans,
hemichordates, ascidians, echinoderms,
sipunculids, crustaceans, and perhaps some
more mollusks as well.

Thyasiridae sp LA 1, B’98 station 2491,
95m, off San Miguel Id.

FUNDS FOR THIS PUBLICATION PROVIDED, IN PART BY
THE ARCO FOUNDATION, CHEVRON, USA, AND TEXACO INC.

SCAMIT Newsletter in not deemed to be valid publication for formal taxonomic purposes.

April, 1999

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17, No.12

NEW LIT

At CSDLAC questids were the only interesting
polychaetes that we didn’t see; until several
were encountered during the B’98 sampling.
Fortuitously the family was just reviewed
(Giere & Erseus 1998), with all known species
covered. Our local species, Questa caudicirra
Hartman 1966, was not prominently treated,
but this review paper serves as a good starting
place for someone confronted with a questid
bearing sample.

It has been a number of years since Wicksten &
Butler erected Eualus lineatus as the name for
what had previously been referred to in
southern California as Eualus herdmani. They
showed that E. herdmani was actually a
Heptacarpus, and erected E. lineatus for the
now nameless Eualus species. Now we must
again consider shifting gears. Jensen &

Johnson (1999) remove Eualus subtilis from
the synonymy of E. lineatus, and provide
distribution information that suggests we may
commonly take this species in our area. They
examined the type series of E. lineatus, and
found both species represented there, but the
holotype allows fixation of the name to one of
the forms. Rather than summarize the evidence
for this change I urge you to read the paper,
and apply it’s findings to your own material.

Most of us do not work on the species of
Metacrangon, which live on the lower parts of
the continental shelf and upper slope. These are
extremely spiny shrimp with carinae on the
carapace and abdominal somites. One species,
previously known as Crago lomae Schmitt,
1921, has been found off San Diego and San
Miguel Island, California. In a recent paper,
Komai (1997) synonymizes the species with
Metacrangon procax (Faxon, 1893). As now
interpreted, M. procax ranges from San Miguel
Island, California to Peru. - Mary K. Wicksten
(TAMU).

Cnidarians, especially anemones, can be
difficult to identify because of their variability,
contractility, and frequent lack of distinctive
external characters. One of the characters
which has often been used in their description
and identification is their cnidom - the
complement of cnidae found in the tentacles,
and other body regions. This is determined by
microscopic examination of squash mounts of
tissue; a single mount usually providing ample
material for determination of the sizes, identity
and relative abundance of the different types.
Williams (1998) recently tested assumptions
about variability in nematocyst size he had
previously questioned, and again found that
size alone is not a reliable taxonomic character
for sea anemones. He provides
recommendations for the use and interpretation
of nematocyst size data in anemone taxonomy
which should be reviewed by anyone using
cnidom examination as a method of speciating
their anemones.

The status of the erstwhile indicator polychaete
Capitella capitata has been confused for some
time. It seemed to be resolving into a complex
of sibling species which were separated by
minor morphological characters and major
ecological ones, frequently dealing with
reproductive pattern. Willcox & Nickell (1998)
now produce evidence that Capitella capitata
may be one of those rare species which engage
in poecilogony. Although claims of
poecilogony have been raised for many
species, few have been substantiated.
Poecilogony is the ability of a species to vary
it’s developmental mode in response to
external factors (changing from production of
large lecithotrophic larvae to small direct
development larvae, for instance, in response
to changes in food availability or predation
pressure). The authors report on collection of a
single animal off the west coast of Scotland
which bore both Type 1 and Type 2 eggs,
providing field evidence of poecilogony in
Capitella, and casting doubt on sibling species
which involve only reproductive mode
differences.

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April, 1999

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Vol. 17,No.l2

Cassai & Prevedelli (1998a) investigated
reproductive effort and energetic requirements
of reproduction in Marphysa sanguinea. They
found that the amount of energy allocated to
reproduction was not dependent on the
animal’s age, remaining relatively constant in
younger and older worms. Using jaw length as
an indication of animal size they found no
linear relationship between size and fecundity,
with egg production varying by a factor of 3
between different individuals. Similar analyses
were also performed for Perinereis cultrifera
(Cassai & Prevedelli 1998b), while Prevedelli
& Zumarelli Vandini (1998) examined the
effect of diet on reproduction in Ophryotrocha
labronica.

Behavioral aspects of decapod/rhizocephalan
symbioses were discussed by Innocenti et al
(1998). The nature of the relationship between
the crab and it’s parasite is complex and
fascinating. The authors found observable
behavioral modifications were related to the
presence of externae of the parasite, rather than
to the parasitism itself. Infected crabs lacking
externae showed no behavioral changes, while
those bearing externae had the typical suite of
activity modifications designed to benefit the
barnacle parasite. The crab normally buries
itself in surface sediments, so modifications of
burying behavior are of potential impact on the
hosts susceptibility to predation. In these tests
crabs with externae continued digging at the
same rate as other parasitized and unparisitized
crabs, but had difficulty burying.

With many crustaceans, the shedding of the
female cuticle is the signal for reproduction to
begin. Only during the period when the
females exoskeleton is soft and flexible can
sperm be lodged in her body for later use in
egg fertilization. In some cases the eggs can
only be laid during soft-shelled periods as the
female gonopores are too small to allow their
exit once the carapace is calcified. In other
cases this is not required. Lobsters deposit
sperm masses externally on the carapace for
instance. For many crustaceans the brief

period of female reproductive receptivity leads
to a male strategy involving mate guarding, a
precopulatory behavior designed to increase
the likelihood of successful reproduction.
Jormalainen (1998) provides a broad scale
review of this strategy, and it’s consequences
[including intersexual conflict].

The reexamination of higher level taxonomy in
the light of new morphological and molecular
taxonomic data using cladistic methodology
continues in nearly all groups. The insights
generated are particularly necessary in groups
such as the platyhelminths, where large groups
of species are strongly modified as parasites.
Agreeing that these widely divergent groups
were all members of a single phylum took
time, and their evolutionary relationships were
largely speculative. Such speculation is placed
on firmer ground by the analyses of Littlewood
et al (1999). They used a combination of
morphological and 18S rDNA derived
molecular characters in a cladistic analysis of
the entire phylum in an attempt to elicit the
higher level connections between constituent
flatworm groups. They were ultimately not to
fully succeed, due in large part to a lack of data
on a broad spectrum of species. They
connected the dots, but there were too few for
the pattern to emerge clearly. The effort is
instructive, none-the-less.

The higher relationships in the arthropods
remain in dispute, even with all the new
morphological and molecular data available for
analysis. One reason for this is the timing of
the “Cambrian Explosion” when the group
diversified massively, establishing the main
evolutionary lines still seen today. This
problem is explored by Regier & Schultz
(1998). Even if we can agree on the internal
relationships (and mono- or polyphyly) of the
group, we have further puzzles in placing the
arthropods among the remaining invertebrate
phyla. Giribet & Ribera (1998) comment on
the problem of finding reliable outgroups for
cladistic analysis. These two papers are among
the latest in what has become somewhat of a

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April, 1999

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Vol. 17, No.12

cottage industry - phylogenetic analysis of the
arthropods. The subject has intrinsic interest as
a considerable portion of the worlds biotic
diversity is included in this phylum. Increased
understanding of its evolutionary history and
interrelationships is a worthwhile goal, and is
pursued by many investigators. More reports
will undoubtedly follow, but the “final” word
on the subject will probably never be spoken.

The relationships within the mollusks are both
less confused and less contentious than with
the arthropods, but disagreements still exist in
a number of areas. The scaphopods are one
such, and we have mentioned several papers
discussing scaphopod cladistic reanalysis in
earlier Newsletters. Steiner (1998) modifies his
earlier views slightly on reanalysis using
additional characters, and after consideration of
criticism of his earlier efforts by Reynolds.
Much of the scaphopod picture now seems
relatively stable, although there are still
concerns about the polarity of some possibly
important characters which may eventually
require changes to the current arrangement.

OLD LIT

There has been controversy over the correct
usage for the “cosmopolitan” tanaid
Leptochelia dubia. SCAMIT lists it under that
name currently, on the basis of the usage by
Dojiri and Sieg 1997. It is, however, treated as
Leptochelia savignyi by both Holdich & Jones
(1983) and Ishimaru (1985). The latter work
was just recently encountered, and provides a
detailed redescription of the species, as well as
a history of its nomenclature. There is also a
question of previously established synonymy,
and a suggestion that the form is actually a
complex of sibling species, one of which is
described as new in the paper. These comments
are pertinent to local occurrences of the
species, where two differing male forms have
been noted, one pigmented and one
unpigmented. Although we have never been

able to find morphological support for
separating these two differently colored forms,
we may have not been examining the right
characters.

Ishimaru (loc. cit.) also takes issue with
Lang’s (1973) examination of character
variability within the group, correctly pointing
out that we cannot automatically extend his
results with one species to all others in the
genus. Additional work seems to be called for
on this (or these) species. Perhaps our
nomenclatural usage problem will eventually
become moot if L. dubia and L. savignyi can be
demonstrated to be different forms rather than
synonyms. Ishimaru’s comments must,
however, be taken with caution as he was
dealing not with type material, or even
topotypic material from the north Atlantic, but
with material commonly identified as L. dubia
in the northeastern Pacific.

Any consideration of this group must keep in
mind it’s complex sexual patterns. In the genus
Heterotanais, a related genus in the
Paratanaidae, Buckle-Ramirez (1965) found a
very elaborate pattern with both primary and
secondary males which differ morphologically.
The secondary males are sex-reversed females,
and can be one of three types depending on
which female molt was the last prior to the sex-
reversal. It is likely that a similar (although
perhaps not identical) pattern exists for
Leptochelia, and Ishimaru describes both
primary and secondary males for his new
species.

It is unfortunate that Dojiri and Sieg did not
choose to revisit the rationale for usage of L.
dubia over L. savignyi, which has page priority,
in their recent treatment of our tanaid fauna.
Although their usage was deliberate, and based
on opinion, they avoided the issue of
synonymy and usage history entirely, and did
not remark on the name in their comments on
the species. Enquiries of Mas Dojiri
concerning the rationale led nowhere, as he had
accepted Jurgen Sieg’s usage during the

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April, 1999

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.l2

preparation of the section. Now that Dr. Sieg is
no longer with us, it will be hard to reconstruct.
Perhaps the answer is given in one of his
numerous papers on the world tanaid fauna, but
I have not, as yet, found it.

19 APR MINUTES

Ron Velarde opened the meeting with reference
to the upcoming Coastal Zone 99 conference
which is in San Diego. Pamphlets containing
information about the meeting were passed
around for those interested. Ron also circulated
a flyer from Scripps Institution of
Oceanography listing weekly scheduled talks
on various marine subjects.

A review of the Channel Islands Symposium
was then provided by Ron, who was in
attendance. The talks were evenly spaced
among all aspects of the Channel Islands -
geography, terrestrial biology, marine ecology,
etc.. Ron noted that there were no
presentations dealing with “offshore” benthic
sampling around the islands. He suggested that
the Bight’98 data concerning the Channel
Islands would be an excellent addition to the
next Symposium scheduled for 2004.

There were talks dealing with the question of
offshore oil platforms. Should they be
removed now that they’ve established
communities existing around their structures?
Are they indeed representative of a stable
community or are they just an artificial
attraction which if removed would not harm
the community? It was noted that this question
was not answered at the meeting.

According to the talks attended by Ron, the
abalone and echinoderm populations of the
Channel Islands have been hit hard during this
last El Nino. As we all know, the abalone were
already declining due to the spread of
“withering foot” syndrome. However, the
surprise was the echinoderm decline. What
some scientists are calling “wasting disease”
seems to have taken a great toll on the Asterina
and Pisaster populations. Of great interest as

well is evidence of this disease being noted in
populations of ophiuroids and holothuroids.
This occurrence was less of a surprise to old-
timers who remember the “black spot” disease
in echinoderms, particularly asteroids, in
previous warm-water years. The most likely
explanation for this syndrome was Vibrio
infection, although the agent was never
definitively isolated.

Everyone was then reminded that the Santa
Barbara Museum of Natural History’s
bibliography of Channel Islands literature is
available on line through their web site (the
SCAMIT homepage has a link to this site). A
flyer was circulated for the much anticipated
bivalve book of Scott, Coan and Bernard. The
book will be a great tool for those working on
Eastern Pacific Bivalves. The approximate
cost of the publication will be $100. It is now
expected to be ready some time this summer; a
boon to those who have long awaited it’s
availability.

The Australasian Nudibranch Newsletter is free
to those wishing to access it on the web. Like
the SCAMIT NL, The Australasian Nudibranch
News comes in PDF format, and can be
downloaded off the site. Steve Long has
archives of all of the issues so far on his
slugsite (available as a link on the SCAMIT
Website). Don brought to our attention the
posting of a flyer on this site which announced
the closing of a few harbors up in the Darwin
area of Australia, due to a heavy infestation of
the introduced bivalve Congeria sallei. It
seems the United States is not the only country
dealing with severe problems caused by
introduced bivalves.

Tony Phillips then took the floor and told those
present that he was reviewing the Terebellid
chapter of Vol. 7 of the MMS Atlas. The target
date for completion of this volume is June or
July of this year. This will be the final
polychaete volume, and the final volume in the
series.

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April, 1999

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17, No.12

The first problem animals to be tackled were
bivalves, specifically Lyonsia vs. Entodesma.
Kelvin Barwick had labored long and hard to
create a growth series of Lyonsia which he then
digitized. This image and the animals were
then shown to the group as a whole and a
discussion ensued as to whether it was possible
to separate juvenile Lyonsia from juvenile
Entodesma. The following decision was
reached after much discussion: Where the two
animals can co-occur, animals less than 6 mm
should be recorded as Lyonsiidae. There are
areas where the occurrence of Entodesma is
extremely unlikely, as in San Diego Bay
stations which are composed of soft mud.

Large numbers of Lyonsia californica are
found in these stations and range from as small
as 3 mm, but are all identified to L. californica
due to location sampled.

Don Cadien then introduced us to his latest
“find” - Thyasiridae sp LA 1. At present only a
single specimen has been taken in coarse
sediments off the west end of San Miguel Id. at
95m. It is inflated, taller than long, with only
incremental sculpture, and has a very slight
fold, and thus will key to genus Thyasira. It
looks very much like an Adontorhina cyclia,
but is more inflated (ala A. sphaericosa, but not
quite as much). Unfortunately the hinge
precludes it belonging to that genus: no
pustules, or for that matter, teeth. There is a
pseudotooth in the left valve, and a small knob
in the right valve which fits into a dorsal
excavation on the pseudotooth. Ligament
seems fully internal. No pallial sinus, and the
pallial line is broad and ragged. Adductor scars
are fairly elongate, the anterior one with a
semi-detached dorsal member which is
separated from the main body by a thin shelly
ridge. Anterior adductor scars well impressed,
posterior scars less so. Shell height is 3.2mm,
shell length is 3.0mm, shell width is 2.0mm.
Conversations with Paul Scott at the Santa
Barbara Museum of Natural History seem to
indicated that this is a new species of Thyasira,
and there are several in offshore areas of the
southern California Bight. We are currently

referring to this item as Thyasiridae sp LAI.
Anyone else seen it? If you’re not paying close
attention this guy can be viewed as a tweeked
Parvilucina tenuisculpta }UYem\e with
particularly reduced sculpture, but only from
the outside. Once inside the differences
become glaring.

Two small opisthobranchs from San Diego Bay
were brought forth for further ID. One was
identified as Aplysiopsis enteromorphae. This
species, even small preserved specimens such
as the one reviewed, can be identified by the
pattern of conservative black pigment on the
head, back and sides of the body. It was
known previously as A. smithi, but the current
name is A. enteromorphae (Cockerell and Eliot
1905). It will be an addition to the next edition
of the SCAMIT List. The second animal was a
juvenile aeolid and left at Aeolidioida. Even if
the radula was successfully removed from the
tiny animal it is likely that the radular formula
would not match that for the adult of whatever
species it belongs to. Consequently the tiny
juvenile was left at much higher level.

Echinoderms were up next. Don passed
around his strange Astropecten ornatissimus,
which proudly and oddly bore spines on the
distal superomarginal plates. A count of 3
paxillae rows between superomarginal plates
(characteristic of A. ornatissimus) was
confirmed. We shall be on the look out for this
animal. Those who had not yet seen both
species of Dendraster were rewarded for their
attendance. The two species, D. terminalis and
D. excentricus were shown in comparison and
the differences between the two were apparent.
The City of San Diego’s Ocean Monitoring
Program encounters (to date) only D.
terminalis, although there are healthy
populations of D. excentricus in the area, they
just seem to be missed by our program.

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April, 1999

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.l2

A few odds and ends molluscs brought by
Megan Lilly (CSDMWWD) were examined
and identified by Don Cadien and Tony
Phillips. Among them was a very small
Crossata californica which was not recognized
by Megan due to its juvenile state.

In the afternoon crustaceans were the focus.

We continued our examination of crabs in the
two local species of Deilocerus started at the
last meeting. In the past the separation of the
two has continued along the lines suggested by
Rathbun in her original description of D.
decorus: placement of the first lateral spine
either closer to the orbital tooth (D. planus) or
closer to the second lateral spine (D. decorus).
This distinction is clear in most specimens, but
in very small individuals the first spine may
look nearly equidistant. Examining one lot
where both species were represented it was
possible to find the following additional
characters: I.) more prominent transverse
sulcus across the top of the carapace anteriorly
in D. decorus [courtesy of Dave Montague]; 2.)
in males, the lateral granule fields of the
second abdominal segment are resolved into
oblique rows of granules (one on each side) in
D. decorus, rather than into more circular
granular pads (in D.planus)-, and 3.) in
females, the anterior lateral portion of the
carapace bears a field of pustules on each side
in D. decorus which is absent in D. planus. In
previous samples the two species have not co¬
occurred. In the Northern Channel Islands
samples for B’98, the combination of low
supply of fine particles and strong currents blur
the bathymetric distinctions seen previously.
The inshore D. planus and the offshore D.
decorus both coexist at mid depths. You should
assume your sample contains both until you
have carefully examined all the specimens, and
can demonstrate that it does not. Some D. sp
juvenile records are probably inevitable as the
genus is very distinctive, and can be identified
down to tiny individuals which do not yet bear
any of the distinguishing specific characters.

We spent some time discussing Dean Pasko’s
Photis key, and examined a few specimens, but
we will continue the discussion later, when
more samples have been analyzed by more
people. One of the species examined was
Photis elephantis. Don Cadien provided Dean
with a collection of these tiny animals from the
Gulf of California, where they are extremely
common. We next reviewed two bodotriid
cumaceans, Glyphocuma sp A and Glyphocuma
sp LAI. At present only the female of the later
species is known. Only one character serves to
distinguish Glyphocuma sp A from it’s
allopatric congener G. sp LAI - that of the
dorsal crest dentition in the female. In this
character G. sp LAI is very atypical of the
genus, having only a single very poorly
expressed tooth at the beginning of the dorsal
crest just behind the ocular lobe in the only
available specimen.

Three additional characters true of both sexes
serve to separate of G. sp A from G. sp LAI. In
G. sp A (these statements are not true of G. sp
LAI): the anterior ventral portion of the
carapace is serrate or denticulate; the ‘tooth’
defining the ventral edge of the antennal sinus
is tipped by a strong spine-like denticle larger
than the denticles below it on the anteroventral
margin; and the anteroventral margin of the
basis of the 3rd maxilliped bears a series of
strong spines (or stout setae according to Les
Watling’s classification), largest anteriorly and
declining evenly in size posteriorly (these are
interspersed with plumose setae, and require
moderately close examination).

The main new item seen did not actually come
from B’98 samples. While searching for more
specimens of the janirid genus Caecianiropsis
to compare with existing specimens of C. sp
LAI and C. sp LA2,1 came across a vial of
material forwarded from Tony Chess (now
retired, formerly of U.S. Fish & Wildlife
service). He had collected it as part of a fish

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food-habit study at Isthmus Cove on Catalina
Island. He had tentatively identified the tiny
animals as Caecianiropsis ? psammophila, and
passed them on to your editor for examination.

On mounting the animals for examination
under the compound scope it became apparent
that most of the 25+ specimens were not
complete, and that either the antennae, the
uropods, or both were missing. Careful
selection found a number of animals with intact
appendages. The most striking thing about
these small blind isopods is the nature of the
uropodal peduncle; it is as long as, and half as
broad as the pleotelson, and bears small
separated rami - the inner ramus is terminal,
and the outer ramus is lateral, and about 25%
of its length back from the end of the peduncle.
More importantly, however, the animal has an
antennal scale. This is lacking in janirids, but is
present in microparasellids.

The Microparasellidae is a family of interstitial
isopods found in fresh or anchihaline
groundwaters, in brackish and fully marine
beach sands, and in off-shore gravels. It
consists of four genera: Microparasellus,
Angeliera, Microcharon, and Paracharon.

None of these were previously known from the
Eastern Pacific. The family has a Tethyan
distribution, with known members occurring in
areas that were coastal in the Oligocene (Stock
1977). They are all quite similar in general
aspect; elongate, tiny, blind - and also in
behavior. They are generally characterized as
adherant and thigmotactic, clinging tightly to
the grains amongst which they live. According
to Stock (1985) they cannot swim, and are k-
strategists, with small and infrequent broods.
While separated from the Janiridae, the
microparasellids are janiroids of uncertain
affinities (Wilson 1987). The microparasellid
genera can be separated from genera of janirids
using the key provided by Wilson & Wagele
(1994).

The genus Microcharon, to which our form
belongs, contains 65 taxa, 2 of which are
nomina nuda, 8 of which are at subspecific
level, and two of which remain unnamed. The
current species is very similar to a species from
the Caribbean, Microcharon sabulum Kensley
1984. After examining and discussing this
animal, we adjourned the meeting with plenty
of material left over for further discussions
later.

CALIFORNIA CERAPUS

Several years ago, Jim Thomas accompanied
Jerry Barnard at the last amphipod workshop
SCAMIT held. During that visit we attempted
to examine our local species of the amphipod
genus Cerapus, represented by two
undescribed species. These had been referred
to as Cerapus tubularis of Say, an east coast
species, by Barnard in 1962. Most local records
of the animal went by that name, without
critical reexamination. The genus came under
review, however, and the type species was
redescribed based on neotype material (the
original type material being lost) by Lowry and
Barents in 1989. At that time Jim Thomas was
coordinating with Jim Lowry in Australia on a
cooperative re-do of the genus worldwide.
Material of two local species was given to him
for inclusion. These materials have yet to be
published on, although a number of other
publications deal with the review and
reworking of the genus (Lowry 1981,1985;
Thomas & Heard 1979). Well, we got one of
the species in Bight’98 samples from Santa
Monica Bay, and need to proceed. In the 3*^^
Edition of the SCAMIT Taxonomic Listing we
retain this species as a part of Cerapus
tubularis CMPLX. I will now remove it from
that mixture of species, and define it as
Cerapus sp A SCAMIT (Voucher Sheet in
preparation). We will not need to retain the
CMPLX in the next version, since the second
known undescribed species has not been taken

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April, 1999

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17,No.l2

in sampling which would be included in the
list. There may be yet more species to come,
but the most common form (by far) is the one
referred to here as Cerapus sp A.

Most specimens have come from shallow
water sampling at 20-40 ft. off exposed or
semi-exposed sandy beaches in southern
California. Although they are tubicolous, they
are also quite mobile, and accumulate around
surface structure like worm tubes on current
swept shallow bottoms. It is probable that they
can move themselves during low current
periods as has been observed by Barnard et al
(1991), with Cerapus species in Florida, but
under normal strong current conditions they
probably are moved against their will and
without control into current vortices behind
protruding structures, where the drop in current
velocity allows them to grab hold again. Off
Huntington Beach clusters of these animals
have been seen in situ on Diopatra tubes on
fine sand bottoms. The tube is distinctive in the
field, and in benthic samples; a relatively short
(approx. 5-6x diameter) straight tube open at
both ends. It is flexible, but quite robust and
durable. The color is light to dark brown, or
black, with a tendency to banding. It is
constructed using only fine particles, if any, so
that there is no shell component to the tube.
Such tubes should be investigated while
sorting, since the animal can be completely
withdrawn, and doesn’t necessarily leave it
during handling. - Don Cadien (CSDLAC)

My Life as a Biologist

Donald J. Reish

Chapter 14: I accept a position at Long Beach
State

In the mid-1950s University of Hawaii
received a grant from AEC to determine what
plants and animals were present on Eniwetok
Atoll, Marshall Islands, the site of the A and H
bomb tests. Dr. Robert Hiatt was the director
of the project and he had offered me a graduate
assistantship for my doctors years earlier. I

was asked to collect and identify the
polychaetes and leave a voucher specimen of
each species for the museum at Eniwetok.
(Years later Alan Miller had used these species
to verify his species in connection with his
ecological studies.). Yale Dawson and John
Garth also participated in the study. I made 2
trips of one month each in 1956 and 1957.

This opportunity introduced me to another
strikingly different environment much like the
Arctic experience had done earlier. I also
collected polychaetes at Bikini and Majuro
Atolls. The beauty of the coral reefs is
unsurpassed, especially in the lagoon. You can
see so much more there and you do not have to
worry about the surf. I have since seen coral
reefs from other areas but none of them
compare with the lagoons in the Marshall
Islands. My study resulted in 2 papers in
Pacific Science including 5 new species (2
nereids, 2 sabellids, 1 serpulid).

On my first day at Eniwetok they flew me
around the atoll. The first bomb crater I saw
was caused by an A bomb; the second one by
an H bomb which completely destroyed a coral
rock island of about 1 square mile in size. It
wasn’t until the second year that I saw a
conventional bomb crater from WWII; I then
could appreciate the magnitude of the impact
of atomic bombs. [I have since visited the 2
bomb sites in Japan.]

Here is another example of a seemingly small
thing becoming important in determining my
future direction. In April 1956, shortly after
my daughter Lisa was born, John Mohr and I
went to Cincinnati to attend a week long fresh
water pollution meeting. They found time for
me to speak, giving the last paper on the last
day. I met, among others, C. M. Tarzwell, who
arranged the meeting, and B. Anderson who
did the first toxicity studies with Daphnia in
the 1920s. Tarzy worked for the U.S. Public
Health Service (no EPA then). He later came
to visit me while I was still at USC. I
introduced him to LA-LB Harbors and
discussed the possibility of setting up a marine

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April, 1999

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17, No.12

pollution lab in southern California. A few
years later he became the Director of the EPA
lab in Rhode Island and he offered me a job.
My roots were now deep in southern
California, and I didn’t take it. Still later, he
funded a grant with me to culture polychaetes.
Many of my students benefitted from this
grant. He also had me write the annelid section
of Standard Methods. It pays to go to scientific
meetings.

After my return from the 2nd trip to the
Marshall Islands, I decided not to apply for an
additional US Public Health Grant. After 9
years of research at USC, I wanted to teach.
Positions in academic institutions were not
abundant in 1958. I applied at UCLA, Cal
State Northridge (just starting), and San Jose
State without success. In January 1958 Jerry
Barnard was on the Velero IV and Dale Arvey,
an ornithologist from Long Beach State, was
also aboard. He told Jerry that a position was
opening up at Long Beach State. Jerry had
applied there a year earlier, but President Pete
(Peterson) informed him that they did not
welcome anyone who wished to do research.
However, another thing occurred which
affected my life in addition to Jerry’s trip on
the Velero IV that January 1958; the Russians
had successfully launched Sputnik. Research
was no longer a dirty word at the State
Colleges of California.

I applied for a position at Long Beach State in
Lebruary 1958. I went to the campus for an
interview and that day they happened to be
laying the concrete in the basement of PH2 (the
science building) where my worm culture lab
exists today. I had not received any news by
June, and finally I called Dale Arvey (the
Chair) as to my status. They had not granted
tenure to a person in science education because
he did not get his doctors; Dale asked if I
would like to teach science to elementary
teachers and supervise student teachers in
science. [Remember I had taught high school
biology]. Since I didn’t have a position for the
fall, I said that I would be glad to! I was given

1 year credit as a high school teacher but none
for 6 years of post-doctoral research. My first
semester in the fall of 1958 I taught science to
elementary teachers at night and 3 General
Biology labs during the day. I ran into Dick
Lincoln and after looking at each other for
some time, we realized that we were at Oregon
State at the same time. I taught science to
elementary teachers for several years. I
continued my student teaching supervision
until 5 years after my retirement.

Next: I establish a research program at Long
Beach State.

ASCIDIOLOGICAL ADVENTURES

by Gretchen Lambert

We’re loving Seattle... when we’re there!
“Retirement” is busier than ever. We moved
from Lullerton in June and spent the summer
getting organized, which included creating a
small lab space for me in our garage where I
keep my dissecting scope set up for ascidian
identifications. In August we started surveying
a few local marinas, then in Sept, were part of
the big Puget Sound Expedition organized by
Claudia Mills, Andy Cohen and Helen Berry
and sponsored mostly by the Washington State
Dept, of Natural Resources. About 14 of us,
specialists in various marine taxa, surveyed the
major marinas from Olympia to the Canadian
border (including the San Juan Islands) for
introduced species. There were many! In terms
of biomass, the ascidians “won”! Charley and I
recorded 5 introduced ascidian species, many
of which were present in huge numbers. Three
are new records for the state: Ciona savignyi,
Molgula manhattensis, and Stye la clava.
Botrylloides violaceus was present in the “70’s
(Jim Carlton’s records) but was unidentified at
that time. It is even more widespread now.
Botryllus schlosseri was recorded from a San
Juan Island oyster farm in the early ’80s.
Claudia presented all of this data in January at

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April, 1999

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Vol. 17,No.l2

the National Conference on Marine
Bioinvasions at MIT. If you would like to
receive a copy of the full report, the necessary
information is on Claudia’s website:

http: //weber.u .washin gton .edu/~cemills/

PSX.html

In October we put on our second ascidian
workshop of the year (similar to the one we did
in May at Cal State Fullerton for SCAMIT),
this time for NAMIT, at a small marine station
in Poulsbo, Washington, a short ferry ride
across Puget Sound from Seattle. Participants
came from Olympia, Tacoma, Seattle, and even
Vancouver Island! Charley and I provided a
number of live local species both indigenous
and introduced. We spent the month of
November in Honolulu. I was awarded a small
grant to identify tunicates for the Bishop
Museum, and Charley worked on fertilization
research with Ascidia {=Phallusia) nigra and
A. sydneiensis at the University of Hawaii’s
Kewalo Lab. In addition to working through
the Bishop collection, I prepared a permanent
voucher collection of freshly prepared
specimens for the museum. We held yet
another ascidian workshop at the Kewalo Lab
for a number of students and others doing field
work who wanted to know the local ascidian
species. Charley and I provided about 20 live
species for the participants to observe. Now
we’re in Guam for six weeks, for me to do the
same thing for the University of Guam! My
work is part of a Sea Grant study on introduced
species, but because there are no publications
on the ascidians of Guam it will of necessity be
a kind of baseline study. No one here knows
the ascidian fauna, so there is a great deal of
interest in what we are collecting. Charley is
continuing his fertilization research while I am
busy with taxonomy. As of this writing I have
identified 26 species, with many more to go.
These species will be preserved as a permanent
voucher collection for the marine lab. The
results will be published, along with color
underwater photos, in the Univ. of Guam’s
journal Micronesica. Since there is so much

interest, Charley and I plan to do an ascidian
workshop before we leave. It’s great to be
travelling around the world doing ascidian
taxonomy, and getting paid for it!

Best wishes from Gretchen and Charley
Lambert

GOT JOB?

The following announcement of a position
opening was initially located at TAXACOM
(TAXACOM@cmsa.Berkeley.EDU) and is
being reprinted from that source. There is still
time to submit your resume should you wish to.

THE ACADEMY OE NATURAL
SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA

JOB TITLE: Collection Manager

CLOSING DATE: June 1,1999

GROUP: Biodiversity

DEPARTMENT: Malacology

ANNOUNCEMENT: No. 700

The Academy of Natural Sciences seeks a
manager for the oldest and second largest
collection of mollusks in the United States. The
collection includes 12-14 million specimens in
400,000 dry and 40,000 ethanol preserved lots,
and a small but rapidly growing frozen tissue
collection. About forty percent of the collection
is computerized; with current NSF funding,
computerization will be completed in about
three years. The collection manager for
malacology also oversees the collection of non-
entomological recent invertebrates.

DUTIES

Responsibility for all aspects of curation of
collection, including processing and cataloging
incoming material, data entry, maintenance of
systematic order, identification of specimens,
routine care and conservation, and tracking
statistics on collection use and growth.
Interaction with national and international

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April, 1999

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17, No.12

scientific community, including management
of specimen loans, responding to inquiries,
hosting visitors and maximizing utilization of
the collections. Supervision of three curatorial
assistants and several volunteers. Working
with department’s information manager to
ensure integrity of database and efficiency of
data-entry procedures. Participation in public
education, museum programs and other
Academy service. Participation in fieldwork to
collect mollusks and associated fauna and
flora.

QUALIFICATIONS

Education: College degree in biology or
geology; Master’s degree preferred.

Experience: minimum 2 years working with
museum collections; knowledge of molluscan
taxonomy and world geography; familiarity
with computers and database programs; field
experience collecting mollusks.

TRAWL INTERCALIBRATION

For an announcement on this summer’s trawl
intercalibration exercise please see the flyer on
the SCAMIT website.

APPLICATIONS should include a cover letter,
a resume, and contact information for three
references and should be sent to me at the
address in the footer of this message. I will be
happy to answer inquiries about the position,
however, I will be in field in Jamaica from
April 22 to May 12.

The Academy of Natural Sciences is an Equal
Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

Gary Rosenberg, Ph.D. -
rosenberg @ acnatsci .org

Malacology & Invertebrate Paleontology,
gopher: //erato .acnatsci .org

Academy of Natural Sciences, http://
www.acnatsci .org

1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway

Phone 215-299-1033, Fax 215-299-1170

Philadelphia, PA 19103-1195 USA

BIBLIOIGRAPHY

BARNARD, J. LAURENS. 1962. Benthic marine Amphipoda of southern California: families
Aoridae, Photidae, Ischyroceridae, Corophiidae, Podoceridae. Pacific Naturalist 3(1): 1-
72.

BARNARD, J. LAURENS, Kjell Sandved, & James Darwin Thomas. 1991. Tube-building

behavior in Grandidierella, and two species of Cerapus. Hydrobiologia 223:239-254.

BUCKLE-RAMIREZ, L. F. 1965. Untersuchungen iiber die Biologic von Heterotanais oerstedi
Kr0yer (Crustacea, Tanaidacea). Zeitschrift ftir Morphologic und Oecologie der Tiere
55:714-728.

CASSAI, CARLOTTA & Daniela Prevedelli. 1998a. Reproductive effort, fecundity and energy
allocation in Marphysa sanguinea (Polychaeta : Eunicidae). Invertebrate Reproduction
& Development 34(2-3): 133-138.

—. 1998b. Reproductive effort, fecundity and energy allocation in two species of the genus

Perinereis (Polychaeta :Nereididae). Invertebrate Reproduction & Development 34(2-
3):125-131.

GIERE, OLAV, Christer Erseus. 1998. A systematic account of the Questidae (Annelida,
Polychaeta), with description of a new taxa. Zoologica Scripta (27) 345-360.

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GIRIBET, GONZALO & Carles Ribera. June 1998. The position of arthropods in the animal
kingdom: A search for a reliable outgroup for internal arthropod phytogeny. Molecular
Phylogenetics and Evolution 9(3):481-488.

HOLDICH, D. M. & J. A. Jones. 1983. Tanaids; Keys and notes for the identification of the

species. Synopses of the British Fauna No. 27. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

98pp.

INNOCENTI, G., M. Vannini, & B. S. Galil. 1998. Notes on the behaviour of the portunid crab
Charybdis longicollis Leene parasitized by the rhizocephalan Heterosaccus dollfusi
Boschma. Journal of Natural History 32(10-11): 1577-1585.

JENSEN, GREGORY C. & Rachel C. Johnson. 1999. Reinstatement and further description of
Eualus subtilis Carvacho & Olson, and comparison with E. lineatus Wicksten & Butler
(Crustacea: Decapoda: Hippolytidae). Proceedings of the Biological Society of
Washington 112(1): 133-140.

JORMALAINEN, VEIJO. 1998. Precopulatory mate guarding in crustaceans: male competitive
strategy and intersexual conflict. Quarterly Review of Biology 73(3):275-304.

KOMAI, TOMOYUKI. 1997. A review of the Metacrangon jacqueti group, with descriptions
of two new species (Decapoda, Caridea, Crangonidae). Zoosystema 19(4): 651-681.

LANG, KARL. 1973. Taxonomische und phylogenetische Untersuchungen iiber die

Tanaidaceen, 8. Die Gattungen Leptochelia Dana, Paratanais Dana, Heterotanais G. O.
Sars und Neotanais Richardson. Dazu einige Bemerkungen iiber die Monokonophora
und ein Nachtrag. Zoologica Scripta 2:197-229.

LITTLEWOOD, D. T. J., K. Rohde, & K. A. Clough. 1999. The interrelationships of all major
groups of Platyhelminthes: phylogenetic evidence from morphology and molecules.
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 66(1):75-114.

LOWRY, JAMES K. 1981. The amphipod genus Cerapus in New Zealand and subantarctic
waters (Corophioidea, Ischyroceridae). Journal of Natural History 15:183-211.

—. 1985. Two new species of Cerapus from Samoa and Fiji (Crustacea: Amphipoda:
Ischyroceridae). Records of the Australian Museum 36(4): 157-168.

LOWRY, JAMES K. & Penny B. Berents. 1989. A redescription of Cerapus tubularis Say, 1817,
based on material of the first reviewer, S. I. Smith, 1880, (Crustacea: Amphipoda:
Corophioidea). Journal of Natural History 23:1341-1352.

REVEDELLI, DANIELA & R. Z. Vandini. 1998. Effect of diet on reproductive characteristics
of Ophryotrocha labronica (Polychaeta: Dorvilleidae). Marine Biology 132(1): 163-170.

REGIER, JEROME C. & Jeffrey W. Shultz. 1998. Molecular phylogeny of arthropods and the
significance of the Cambrian ‘’explosion” for molecular systematics. American
Zoologist 38(6):918-928.

STEINER, GERHARD. 1998. Phylogeny of Scaphopoda (Mollusca) in the light of new

anatomical data on the Gadilinidae and some Problematica, and a reply to Reynolds.
Zoologica Scripta 27(l):73-82.

STOCK, JAN H. 1977. Microparasellidae (Isopoda, Asellota) from Bonaire. Studies on the
Fauna of Cura 9 ao and other Caribbean Islands 51:68-91.

—. 1985. Discovery of interstitial Isopoda of the family Microparasellidae in inland waters of
Australia. Stygologia 1(1): 93-100.

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THOMAS, JAMES DARWIN & Richard W. Heard. 1979. A new species of Cerapus Say, 1817
(Crustacea: Amphipoda) from the northern Gulf of Mexico, with notes on its ecology.
Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 92(1):98-105.

WILLCOX, MARK S. & Thom D. Nickell. 1998. Field evidence of poecilogony in Capitella
capitata. Ophelia 49(2): 141-145.

WILLIAMS, R. B. 1998. Measurements of cnidae from sea anemones (Cnidaria: Actiniaria), II:
further studies of differences amongst sample means and their taxonomic relevance.
Scientia Marina 62(4):361-372.

WILSON, GEORGE D. F. 1987. The road to the Janiroidea: comparative morphology and

evolution of the asellote isopod crustaceans. Zeitschrift fiir zoologisches Systematik und
Evolutionsforschung 25(4): 257-280.

— and Wolfgang Wagele. 1994. A systematic review of the family Janiridae (Isopoda, Asellota).
Invertebrate Taxonomy 8:683-747.

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Vol. 17,No.l2

SCAMIT TREASURY SUMMARY
1998-99

During the past fiscal year, April 1998 through
March 1999, expenses totaled $4,491.60. The
major expenses covered publishing costs for
producing the newsletter, $2,451.84, (including
printing, postage, and supplies), for online
publishing, $369.40, and for producing and
distributing the 3rd Edition of the Taxonomic
Listing, $ 1119.69. Publication Grant #98-1
was awarded to Ann Dalkey for her
Lepidepecreum serraculum description,
SCAMIT Contribution #13, $460.00. Grants
and workshops will continue to be funded from
the money collected for creating the
Taxonomic Listing for SCCWRP during the
1994-95 fiscal year.

The erection of two general membership
categories, hard-copy and e-mail, resulted in
increased income from the hard-copy members
and decreased costs for the e-mail members.

At the end of the fiscal year, 48 of 100
members were e-mail members. At this level
of e-mail membership, SCAMIT will gain at
least $316 in postage savings annually
(calculated at $0.55/newsletter) plus additional
savings incurred through printing paper costs.
When only printing and postage costs are
compared from this year ($1842.02) to last
year ($1854.37), it appears that net savings
were not incurred with implementation of the
e-mail membership category. However, the
size of the newsletters varies by edition making
comparisons of this sort difficult to make
unless actual page counts are made. Since your
Treasurer is not inclined to make such a
comparison, at least you can be assured that the
officers are attempting to streamline costs
while continuing to provide more than one
option for receiving the newsletter.

The following is a summary of the expenses
and income:

EXPENSES

Newsletter $2,451.84

Online publishing 369.40

Publications (Taxonomic Listing Ed 3)
1,119.69

Grant 460.00

Miscellaneous 90.67

Total $4,491.60

INCOME

Dues $1,650.00

Interest 239.96

T-Shirts and miscellaneous 65.00
Donations 20.00

Total $1,974.96

ACCOUNT BALANCES (March 31,1999)
Checking $701.34

Savings $ 12,423.23

TOTAL $13,124.57

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April, 1999

SCAMIT Newsletter

Vol. 17, No.12

Please visit the SCAMIT Website at: tittp://www.scamit.org

SCAMIT OFFICERS:

If you need any other information concerning SCAMIT please feel free to contact any of the
officers e-mail address

(619)692-4903 rgv@mwharbor.sannet.gov

(213)763-3234 lhharris@bcf.usc.edu

(619)692-4901 msl @ mwharbor.sannet .gov

(310)648-5544 cam@san.ci.la.ca.us

President

Vice-President

Secretary

Treasurer

Ron Velarde
Leslie Harris
Megan Lilly
Ann Dalkey

Back issues of the newsletter are available. Prices are as follows:

Volumes 1-4 (compilation).$ 30.00

Volumes 5-7 (compilation).$ 15.00

Volumes 8- 15. $ 20.00/vol.

Single back issues are also available at cost.