Occurrence of Phyllochaetopterus claparedii McIntosh in the North-east Pacific

Abstract

THE waters near the Friday Harbor Laboratories of the University of Washington have been extensively dredged in recent years. It was of some interest, therefore, that a solitary Phyllochaetopterus of relatively large size was brought up from 22 fathoms over a muddy bottom just south of Orcas Island on August 26, 1960, with Forster's anchor dredge¹. The specimen proved to be identical with the description of Phyllochaetopterus claparedii by McIntosh² found off Kobe, Japan. It has been recorded since only by Fauvel³ from Cam Ranh and Tourane Annam (Vietnam). Treadwell's⁴ specimens from Porto Rico are only doubtfully attributed to this species. The specimen from Friday Harbor had a pale yellow colour when alive apart from the grey-green gut, and was found in a transparent horny tube about 1 m. in length which was only faintly ringed (not jointed) distally and about 4 mm. across, comparable in size with the largest specimens found by Fauvel from Cam Ranh.