Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Antarctic Research Series, Volume 49.
The distribution of Siphonophora of the Antarctic, Subantarctic, and adjacent regions of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans is described. Specimens for this study were obtained during the United States Antarctic Research Program from USNS Eltanin cruises 3-5, 8-23, 25-28, 35, and 38 during spring, summer, fall, and winter. Samples were collected from 1962 to 1969, using open-closing and nonclosing plankton nets. Information is compiled on horizontal distributions of siphonophores in the South Atlantic Ocean west of 0°. Illustrations of the species, and maps of distribution at the three bathymetric levels, are also included. In addition, data on Eltanin cruise 30 are presented, covering mainly the Pacific tropical region during the summer, with some stations below the equator (austral winter). Vertical distributions of each species are discussed for the three bathymetric zones: epipelagic (200-0 m), mesopelagic (1000-200 m), and bathypelagic (below 1000 m). Life stages and seasonal variations are also considered. Eighty species of Siphonophora were identified in these collections. Among these, and described elsewhere, were five new species: Lensia eltanin, L. eugenioi, L. landrumae, Heteropyramis alcala, and Thalassophyes ferrarii. The eudoxid stages of L. lelouveteau and L. reticulata were also discovered. In addition, the following rare Siphonophora species were collected: Halistemma cupulifera, Desmophyes annectens, Lilyopsis rosea, Eudoxia macra, Lensia achilles, L. baryi, L. exeter, L. grimaldii, L. hostile, Nectocarmen antonioi, and Clausophyes galeata. The most common species of the Antarctic Subantarctic region during the four seasons was Dimophyes arctica. The eudoxid stages of Chelophyes appendiculata, Diphyes dispar, Diphyopsis mitra, Clausophyes ovata, and Heteropyramis maculata were abundant.
