ANTARUTIO BENTHOS
27
Survey ”. Many results are, however, being published in the normal
scientific literature, so that keeping in touch with the literature of the
last few decades is a difficult task. The United States produces an
“Antarctic Bibliography ”, issued first as index cards and later consolidated into bound volumes. One of the most useful general bibliographies of Antarctic and Subantarctic biology is that produced as a
subject bibliography by Amaud, Arnaud and Hureau (1967) arranged
in broad systematic sections. An invaluable bibliography of papers by
Soviet workers has been published by Petrovskaya (1968).
IV. THE FAUNA OF ANTARCTICA
Every major group of marine benthic animals seems to have been
recorded from Antarctic waters, although the representation within
these major groups may be uneven. The occurrence of higher Crustacea
may be used to illustrate this point although it will be demonstrated in
considering many of the animal groups that follow. Benthic decapods
are rare, brachyuran crabs not having been recorded, apart from a
doubtful reference of Halicarcinw to the South Orkneys. Anomurans
are represented by rare lithodid crabs at Scott Island and at South
Georgia. Stomatopods are lacking completely. On the whole it is at
about the level of Orders that occasional gaps appear in Antarctic
checklists, although most of the noteworthy gaps are at the family
level or slightly higher. Groups of animals which are well represented
are those adapted to make use of the great summer bloom of phytoplankton. Many of these animals have thrived under Antarctic conditions, e.g. sponges, bryozoa, ascidians, gorgonian corals, hydroids,
bivalves, cirripedes, sedentate polychaetes, ophiuroids and crinoids.
Many of these are sedentary, anchored to the substrate, some are
colonial.
Especially in shallow water a surprising number, often the most
common animals, practice either facultative or obligatory necrophagy
(Arnaud, 1970).
Some groups seem particularly well represented in Antarctic
waters. Outstanding examples are siliceous sponges, pycnogonids and
isopods. Some individual species occur in very high numbers, e.g. the
nemertean Lineus corrugatus, the amphipods of the genus Orchomenella,
small gastropods of the genera Subonoba and Ovirissoa, and the
ophiuroid, Ophiacantha antarcticu. The collections of echinoderms from
off Adelie Land from 0 to 60 m contained 1 100 specimens of Sterechinus
neumayeri (85% of all the echinoids collected) and 736 specimens of
Odontaster validus (87% of all the asteroids collected) (Amaud, 1964).
27
Survey ”. Many results are, however, being published in the normal
scientific literature, so that keeping in touch with the literature of the
last few decades is a difficult task. The United States produces an
“Antarctic Bibliography ”, issued first as index cards and later consolidated into bound volumes. One of the most useful general bibliographies of Antarctic and Subantarctic biology is that produced as a
subject bibliography by Amaud, Arnaud and Hureau (1967) arranged
in broad systematic sections. An invaluable bibliography of papers by
Soviet workers has been published by Petrovskaya (1968).
IV. THE FAUNA OF ANTARCTICA
Every major group of marine benthic animals seems to have been
recorded from Antarctic waters, although the representation within
these major groups may be uneven. The occurrence of higher Crustacea
may be used to illustrate this point although it will be demonstrated in
considering many of the animal groups that follow. Benthic decapods
are rare, brachyuran crabs not having been recorded, apart from a
doubtful reference of Halicarcinw to the South Orkneys. Anomurans
are represented by rare lithodid crabs at Scott Island and at South
Georgia. Stomatopods are lacking completely. On the whole it is at
about the level of Orders that occasional gaps appear in Antarctic
checklists, although most of the noteworthy gaps are at the family
level or slightly higher. Groups of animals which are well represented
are those adapted to make use of the great summer bloom of phytoplankton. Many of these animals have thrived under Antarctic conditions, e.g. sponges, bryozoa, ascidians, gorgonian corals, hydroids,
bivalves, cirripedes, sedentate polychaetes, ophiuroids and crinoids.
Many of these are sedentary, anchored to the substrate, some are
colonial.
Especially in shallow water a surprising number, often the most
common animals, practice either facultative or obligatory necrophagy
(Arnaud, 1970).
Some groups seem particularly well represented in Antarctic
waters. Outstanding examples are siliceous sponges, pycnogonids and
isopods. Some individual species occur in very high numbers, e.g. the
nemertean Lineus corrugatus, the amphipods of the genus Orchomenella,
small gastropods of the genera Subonoba and Ovirissoa, and the
ophiuroid, Ophiacantha antarcticu. The collections of echinoderms from
off Adelie Land from 0 to 60 m contained 1 100 specimens of Sterechinus
neumayeri (85% of all the echinoids collected) and 736 specimens of
Odontaster validus (87% of all the asteroids collected) (Amaud, 1964).