Some Pycnogonids Found Off the Coast of Southern California
Joel W. Hedgpeth
in
American Midland Naturalist, Volume 22: 458-465, 1939:
62 Years Ago

compiled by
Robert 'Roy' J. van de Hoek
Field Biologist & Geographer
Sierra Club and Wetlands Action Network

1939 Excerpts:
"I am also indebted to ... Dr. G.E. MacGinitie, Director of the Kerckhoff Laboratories of the California Institute of Technology at Corona Del Mar, and Mr. E.F. Ricketts of the Pacific Biological Laboratories at Pacific Grove for specimens of Nymphopsis spinosissimus, and Mr. H.V.M. Hall of Berkeley, California, for suggestions concerning the status of this species.... In California Nymphopsis spinosissimus has been collected at Pacific Grove, Carmel, Corona Del Mar, and Laguna Beach. It is probably an inhabitant of the region just beyond the low tide level since it has only been collected at very low tides or by dredging.

Four species, two of them new, have been dredged from moderate depth in the general vicinity of the Santa Barbara Islands and Catalina Island."

"Among the Pycnogonids sent by Dr. G.E. MacGinitie for identification is a specimen of Nympon turritum which establishes an interesting distribution record fo that species, the first record, I believe, outside of Puget Sound, the type locality."
University of California, Berkeley, California

Reflections & Observations
by
Robert 'Roy' J. van de Hoek
Field Biologist and Geographer

The illustrious writing career, both in scientific writing and natural history writing for the general public, has spanned 62 years for Doctor Joel Hedgpeth, Ph.D. His very first article appears to be this article on sea spiders published in 1939. The year of 1939 is also the same year that Edward Ricketts published his book called Between Pacific Tides. It is also the year that John Steinbeck published his best seller book called The Grapes of Wrath.

The excerpt that I quoted were done with the emphasis on "Doc" Ed Ricketts and George MacGinitie to illustrate further the linkages of those two marine bioilogists to Joel Hedgpeth. By the way, since the sea spider quoted is found in the lowest zone of the tide pools at Pacific Grove, Carmel, Laguna Beach, and Corona Del Mar, it qualifies as a wetland species, albeit only at the edge of its range. It is intriguing to think of Edward Ricketts and George MacGinitie as wetlands ecologists and wetland marine biologists.

It is of interest to note that Marine Biologists and other scientists and writers, did not consider Catalina Island and the Santa Barbara Islands together, as one entity of "Channel Islands," which is what we call them today. Furthermore, today in 2001, we refer the eight islands as the northern Channel Islands (Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel) and southern Channel Islands (Catalina, San Clemente, San Nicolas, Santa Barbara). How did this transition from Santa Barbara Islands become Northern Channel Islands?

Lastly, please take note of the address of Joel Hedgpeth at the very end of the article excerpted as Unviersity of California, Berkeley. Dr. Hedgpeth obtained his PhD at Berkeley and resided in Berkeley, before going to Texas for his first professional stint as a newly trained marine biologists and oceanographer.