ON THE OCCURRENCE OF CALYCOPHORAE (SIPHONOPHORA) IN THE SOUTHERN ADRIATIC AND TYRRHENIAN SEA - A COMPARISON OF THE ANNUAL CYCLES OFF DUBROVNIK AND NAPLES

The 1965/66 samples taken monthly at three stations in the Bay of Naples and in the south of Dubrovnik were used to compare the calycophore fauna of the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Adriatic. Nearly identical calycophore fauna were found, except for three rare Atlantic forms registered only by the deep-sea station in the Tyrrhenian Sea. Of numerical importance were the neritic species Muggiaea kochi, Lensia subtilis, Sphaeronectes gracilis and S. irregularis, and the characteristic open-sea species Eudoxoides spiralis and the deep-sea species Lensia meteori. The annual numerical abundance maxima in both areas were noted in spring. However, in the Tyrrhenian Sea, the values were two times higher, which agrees with the productivity patterns.