A new species of Australonuphis Paxton, 1979 from the Ecuadorian coast, eastern Pacific, is described. The new species is characterized by seven modified parapodia, cirriform ventral cirri on the anterior 16 to 19 chaetigers, subacicular hooks beginning from chaetigers 43 to 57, and cirriform interramal processes on chaetigers 7–10 to 16–18 transformed back in a rounded lobe. This species belongs to the species group with unidentate pseudocompound hooks. Other species of this group are A. beltrani de León-González & Góngora-Garza, 1993, A. hartmanae (Friedrich, 1956), A. parateres Paxton, 1979 and A. teres (Ehlers, 1868).

An area in the English Channel of 20 × 40 nautical miles, centred on the Plymouth routine stations L, L and E, was sampled at almost monthly intervals from August 1969 to November 1970, using an improved version of the 1 m net towed at 4 knots on an oblique path. The area includes an inshore region where depths are about 20 fm (37 m) and salinities 35·0‰ or less, and an offshore region with depths over 40 fm (74 m), where salinities can exceed 35·3·. During the first year the offshore region was characterized by water of south-western origin, and temperatures were higher than in the following year when north-western plankton was more in evidence.

1. Frequent treatment with cutch is injurious, but Olie's method (cutch and ammoniacal copper sulphate) applied every four months preserved cotton netting for six years and eight months in Aquarium sea-water.

2. Varieties of cutch tested showed differences which were quite insignificant in comparison with the improvement effected by adopting One's method, which was effective with all on cotton.

3. A single treatment by Olie's method preserved trawl twines of Benares sann hemp, New Zealand Phormium fibre and of sisal (E. African) for 34, 34 and more than 48 months respectively under conditions suchthat the untreated twines perished in less than five months.

4. Cotton treated with cutch alone is but little improved by a dip in crude phenols, but a neutral tar oil obtained from the “Coalite” low temperature distillation process was found useful.

A summary of the trematode parasites which have been recorded from the cockle is given.

A furcocercous, Gymnophallus larva, Cercaria fulbrighti n.sp., from the marine bivalve Cardium edule L., is described from Plymouth, England. The tail of this larva may degenerate completely while the cercaria is still within the sporocyst.

Simultaneous development of more than one species of cercaria has been recorded in four out of 420 specimens of C. edule L. Two double and two triple infections were found.

Available evidence suggests a phylogenetic relationship between the Gymnophallus group and certain of the Furcocercous cercariae.

Skeletal development of Ophiactis resiliens and Amphiura constricta was examined to determine characters that could be used to identify the juveniles of these species, which co-occur in algal turf habitat. Juvenile O. resiliens recruit to turf after a planktonic larval stage while A. constricta recruit through release from brooding adults. Skeletal development in O. resiliens and A. constricta is typical of most ophiuroids with diagnostic adult characters taking some time to appear. The main characters that can be used to distinguish the two species from an early stage are the number and arrangement of the oral papillae and the presence of disc spines. In O. resiliens diagnostic adult skeletal characters developed at 1.5 mm disc diameter. In A. constricta most identifying adult characters were evident at 700 μm disc diameter. Identification of juvenile O. resiliens is assisted by the presence of disc spines and thorny arm spines, features that disappear as the juveniles grow. Juvenile A. constricta did not develop disc spines or thorns on the arm spines.

No very definite statement has yet been made as to the time when Mytilus edulis spawns at Plymouth. However, in 1911 records of spawning in the Laboratory tanks were made in January, February, and March, and in 1912 two specimens removed from the tanks spawned in early May.

This specimen, obtained from one of the Plymouth trawlers, consisted of a large tumour on the dorsal surface, near the left angle of the fin (see Figs. 1 and 2). Only part of the fish was available for examination, so the presence of metastases and other details could not be determined.

During the trawling work of the past year within and around the bays on the south coast of Devon, my attention was drawn to the peculiar phenomena displayed by the tides and currents in Start Bay, and a subsequent endeavour to trace their connections and consequences led to a wider survey of the region within the line from Start to Portland. The bottom samples brought up by the trawl and lead afforded excellent opportunities of ascertaining the nature and distribution of the different soils, and thus of tracing out their changes during the seasons. My own observations, moreover, were supplemented by those of the friendly Brixham fishermen, who had many years’ experiences behind them. Their theories, it is true, were somewhat numerous and divergent, as becomes such an energetic and independent race, but the phenomena were described with a wonderful definiteness and unanimity. Knowledge of the bottom-soil—its changes through the month and year—and of the tidal phenomena is absolutely essential to the fisherman because his living depends upon it, so that one need not be surprised at, though appreciating, the great accuracy with which they can tell where they are and what they should catch in their trawls from a brief examination of the soil brought up by the lead.

It is generally assumed that there are two species of the genus Podocoryne, in northern waters, in which free swimming medusae are produced, P. carnea M. Sars and P. areolata Alder. Of these, the hydroid of P. carnea is known for certain, and that of P. areolata is thought to be the hydroid described by Alder under that specific name. Recently, I have found that there are two more species of Podocoryne medusae in British waters, P. hartlaubi Neppi & Stiasny and P. minima (Trinci). There are, therefore, two more hydroids to be found and it will be shown that the identity of the hydroid of the so-called medusa P. areolata must remain in doubt.

A new species of the genus Celleporella (Celleporella galaica sp. nov.) is described from material collected in Galicia (north-west Spain).

The present investigation was undertaken at the invitation of H.M. Treasury, in consequence of an application to the government from H.M. Inspectors of Irish Fisheries for a scientific investigation into the life-history of the mackerel. The problem to the solution of which the inspectors attached particular importance was the relation to one another of the spring and autumn schools of mackerel which regularly visit the Irish coasts. In the spring a multitude of large fish approach the south and west coasts of Ireland to breed. In the autumn schools of immature, but usually well-grown, mackerel come around the island. According to one of the inspectors, the Rev. W. S. Green, there is a sharply defined interval between the two visitations of fish.

An analysis has been made of plaice fecundity at four localities in Norway. The fish tended to be larger than those used in other fecundity investigations, and the comparison between localities has been made by considering the average egg number expected in a 50 cm fish. In general the plaice off Norway had more eggs than in the North Sea or round the British Isles. At Arendal in the Skagerrak the fecundity was 355 thousand for 50 cm, which is lower than has been found in the Kattegat, but a little higher than I found at Bergen (317 thousand eggs). At Arendal and Bergen the fecundity was higher than has been found in the North Sea but lower than in localities farther north in Norway. In Trondheim Fjord the plaice fecundity was very high indeed. Among the eleven fish examined it varied from 673 thousand to nearly ½ million eggs, and for an average 50 cm plaice would be 819 thousand. The female fish on the coast outside the fjord were quite different and contained about half the number of eggs (407 thousand for 50 cm). These coast plaice were very similar to those caught in the vicinity of Tromso where a 50 cm fish would have about 400 thousand eggs.

The genus Opaliopsis from Brazil is revised based on three deep-water species. Opaliopsis atlantis (Clench & Turner, 1952) is confirmed as occurring in north-eastern and south-eastern localities. Opaliopsis opalina (Dall, 1927) is reported for the first time in the south-western Atlantic. A new species, Opaliopsis cearense, is described from the north-eastern Brazilian coast, and is distinguished by its large number of fine spiral cords per teleoconch whorl.

In order to determine the changes in the relative importance of different kinds of preys as larval anchoveta Engralis ringens grows, the present study reports information about feeding incidence, type, size, and carbon content estimates of preys, at the beginning of the main spawning season in mid-winter off central Chile. Our results show a mixed diet initially dominated by phytoplankton and later switching to zooplankton in older larvae. While larval anchoveta grows, they feed on preys whose widths do not vary much compared to their body length and volume. These preys might be different taxa or a single species whose body widths vary little among life stages (i.e. nauplii and copepodites). Differences in estimated carbon content were observed among food items and a marked increase in carbon consumption was observed in the larger larval sizes (>9 mm standard length). These ontogenetic changes in feeding are coincident with the increased proportion of larger preys and also with the number of preys consumed by larger larvae.

A total of 75 specimens belonging to four species of thalassinoids were collected in the intertidal and estuarine zones of two localities along the Pacific coast of Mexico. Callianassa tabogensis is recorded for the first time in Mexico, and is transferred to the genus Neotrypaea. Material of Callichirus is assigned to Callichirus seilacheri with some doubts due to taxonomic problems related to this genus in the eastern Pacific. Neocallichirus cf. grandimana, an amphi-American species described for the western Atlantic and previously reported in Ecuador and along the Pacific coast of Panama and Colombia, is reported for the first time in Mexico. Upogebia dawsoni is recorded for the second time from the coast of Jalisco. An updated list of Axiidea and Gebiidea known from the Mexican Pacific is provided, including 35 species.

The features and history of a poikilohaline lagoon near Titchwell, Norfolk, England, are described and its invertebrate fauna (recorded between 1959 and 1970) is listed. The list includes 44 species new to the lagoon since 1959 (26 species new to the Scolt Head region and four species new to Norfolk). It is considered that the fauna is of the relict type, perhaps representing what remained of a former salt-marsh fauna together with some marine species. Notes are included on the biology and geographical ranges of several species which are rare or have imperfectly known distributions in Britain. The records of five particular species are believed to represent the northern limits of these animals on the east coast in 1971, when Titchwell Lagoon was drained, destroying the fauna and flora.

The fine-scale structure of a bloom of the coccolithophorid Emiliania huxleyi has been mapped for the first time with an airborne thematic mapper (ATM) scanner (visible bands at 420–450 nm, 450–520 nm, 520–600 nm, 605–625 nm and 630–690 nm). The airborne results are in close agreement with simultaneous satellite observations from the visible band (580–680 nm) of the advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR

In this research, the feeding guild composition of the polychaete community was described and analysed in the northern Yellow Sea, China. The polychaete feeding guilds also showed a distinct seasonal abundance fluctuation that was similar to that observed for macrofauna. Burrowers were the most predominant feeding guild, whereas filter feeders and herbivores only constituted a negligible proportion of the total abundance. A Spearman rank correlation was performed to analyse the relationships between the feeding guilds and the environmental parameters. Surface deposit feeders and carnivores appeared to be vulnerable to variations of environmental conditions. However, burrowers and filter feeders were not susceptible to the natural or anthropogenic disturbances, with grain size determined to be the only conclusive factor. These results revealed that the feeding guild of polychaetes showed significant spatial and temporal changes, and spatial heterogeneity was a stronger predictor than temporal variation. The feeding guilds of polychaetes can be applied alone to discern the environmental change, which would be faster and more cost-effective with best equilibrium between the precision of the results and a decrease in taxonomic effort. Furthermore, bimonthly sampling was proved to be unessential and reduction of the sampling frequency was necessary to save expense and effort.

In the Mar Piccolo of Taranto (southern Italy, Mediterranean Sea), an enclosed basin with lagoonal features, Acanthophora nayadiformis is one of the major components of the free-living seaweed community to which the related attached population does not contribute consistently. Loose thalli of A. nayadiformis exhibit morphological features very different from those of the attached specimens and possess a peculiar vegetative cycle including an overwintering phase. Free-living morphs are characterized by monopodial stoloniferous growth; in contrast, both determinate and indeterminate branching as well as the typical ramisympodial growth pattern of the species are lacking. In autumn, free-living thalli fragment giving rise to stolon pieces which undergo deep structural changes in their sub-apical parts including both storage of floridean starch and extensive cortical thickening. Soon afterwards the uncorticated parts decay, whilst the modified fragments are able to overwinter and give rise to new fronds during next spring.

The two zoeal and the megalopal stages of Petrolisthes robsonae, are described and illustrated from laboratory-reared larvae. Larval features are compared with those previously described for other species of Petrolisthes in the eastern Pacific. Larvae of P. robsonae exhibit similar but not identical features to those seen in other Petrolisthes species. A number of similarities are found with P. zacae while main differences are found with P. granulosus,P. platymerus and P. laevigatus. Differences with these species are related to the setation of maxilla and maxillule and the rows of denticles in carapace spines.