[None. Introduction starts as:]
This paper is based on the polychaetous annelids obtained by the Alaska King Crab Investigation, which was sponsored by the United States Fisheries Commission. The annelids were taken almost entirely from southern and southwestern Alaska, from Port Ashton west to the western end of the Alaska Peninsula (Map I). In addition, some were obtained from scattered stations eastward to Icy Straits, near Pleasant Island, and to the north and west in the Bering Sea, north of St. Lawrence Island (Map II). The studies were conducted from September to November, 1940, and from February to August, 1941. Bathymetric ranges were largely limited to shallow depths, including shore to 60 fathoms, but three stations represented by polychaetes were in depths of 100 to 150 fathoms. A general report of the investigation has been published (Investigation Staff, 1942).
The intertidal areas of Alaska have heretofore been little explored for the annelid fauna. Except for the vast collections of the U.S.S. "Albatross" made by the Alaskan Salmon Commission during the summer of 1903 (of which much was dredged from deep water), the published records are quite limited, although they extend over many years (1821 to 1943).
The collections of the present investigation comprise 99 species, including six new to science. There are 45 new records for Alaska including three species from material in the author's collection. These, together with 168 species (and seven questionable names) previously recorded, bring the total number for Alaska to 213 species plus the seven questionable names. These results are discussed in detail below.
The various stations are listed and the known ecological data of each are given at the end of the systematic treatment.
The bibliographic citations in the systematic section include the original description and such others as aid in the ready identification of the species. For most of the species originally described from the eastern Pacific the citations are complete unless they are synonymized elsewhere. In all cases it is possible to consult all references for Alaska and environs from the data given.
OCEAN-UKRAINE is a project Supported by