Species Composition and Distribution of Pelagic Cephalopods from the Pacific Ocean off Oregon

MUCH OF OUR PRESENT KNOWLEDGE about the species composition and distribution of ceph alopods of the Pacific Ocean is derived from collections made on cruises of the "Albatross," steamer of the U.S. Fish Comm ission, dur ing the late nine teenth and early twentieth centuries. "Albatross" collections along the west coast of North America were taken mainly off California and Central America or Alaska, and comparatively few collections were made off Oregon (Townsend, 1901). Neither Berry (1 912 ) nor Hoyle (1 904) lists any cephalopods taken off Oregon. A description of a new species of squid ( Pearcy and Voss, 1963 ) and an abstract ( Pearcy, 1963 ) are the only reports of pelagic cephalopods off Oregon." Clearly, more data are needed before comparisons of fauna and generalization' on zoogeographic distribution can be made.