492 



Barbadoes, Jamaica and Guadeloupe, the West Indian region is 

 still rather poorly investigated and a comparison is therefore not 

 very satisfactory and besides I consider such a local comparison 

 but of minor interest. 



On the other hand, a comparison between the West Indian 

 algal flora on the one side of the Atlantic Ocean and that of the 

 Atlantic-Mediterranean area on the other side of the ocean, and 

 a comparison between the West Indian algal flora on the one 

 side of the American Continent and the flora of the Indo-Pacific 

 Oceans on the other side of the Continent would be of great 

 interest. 



A priori, one would be absolutely inclined to think that 

 the similarity between the two last mentioned floras must be 

 very small or non existent as the American Continent reaches 

 towards the North as well as towards the South into cold seas 

 which makes any mixing of the algal floras from the warm parts 

 of the two oceans impossible. However, we shall soon see that 

 the similarity between these areas is even remarkably great. 



In the table below a survey is given on the distribution of 

 the West Indian algae in the other areas. 



It is seen from this table that of the 327 West Indian species 161 

 'have hitherto been found in the West Indies and on the adjacent 

 American shores of the Atlantic ocean. Of these 161 species 62 

 have hitherto been found at the shores of the former Danish West- 

 Indies, but it is to be expected that most of these species will also 

 be found later in other parts of the West Indian region when this 

 is more thoroughly examined. Several species from these islands 

 have already been found at the Bermudas, according to COLLINS 



