IV 



Naar man niindes. at hver station kun er et eneste 

 skrabekast, maa station 192 med sine 85 arter, hvoraf 18 

 arter er ny for Norges fauna og 10 arter nj' for viden- 

 skaben, siges at være en ganske mærkelig lokalitet. Sta- 

 tion 173 b er ligeledes meget rig (59 arter). Derimod har 

 station 195 en forholdsvis fattig fauna om end ogsaa denne 

 .station havde et rigt dyreliv (43 arter). Dette bekræfter 

 forøvrigt, hvad professor Sårs i ovennævnte arbeide om 

 dyrelivet j^aa vore havbanker udtaler, at det særlig er af- 

 heldet ud mod det store havdyb, som viser et paafaldende 

 rigt dyreliv. 



En stor del af de paa station 173 b og station 192 

 fundne mollusker var døde skaller og ganske paafaldende 

 er det at se, hvor mange skaller af grundtvandsfornier, 

 der havde samlet sig paa disse forholdsvis store dyb. Bund- 

 proven fra station 192 bestaar ,.væsentlig af uorganiske 

 dyrelevninger, sammenkittede ved brunt ler" (Schmelck)'). 

 Bunden er med andre ord en skjælbanke. Ikke saa faa 

 skalrester har ogsaa et semifossilt udseende. Det er derfor 

 ikke saa usandsj-nligt, at vi her har for os glaciale aflei- 

 ninger. Efter vor formening foregaar der dog fremdeles 

 en stor udskylling af døde skaller fra den ovenliggende, 

 grundei'e del af banken. 



Station 173 b, der havde bjerggrund, gav iudtryk af 

 at være en mere receut skjælbanke. 



Paa vedføiede kartskitse liar vi angivet disse 3 sta- 

 tioner. 



') Xordhavs-Esp.. Kemi, 1882, p. 20. 



When we recollect that each station is only a single 

 east of the drag-net, it raust be said that Station 192, with 

 its 85 species, of which 18 are new to the Norwegian 

 fauna, and 10 new to science, is quite a remarkably rich 

 locality. Station 173 b is also very rich (59 species). 

 Station 195, on the other hand, has a compai-atively poor 

 fauna, although it possessed an abundance of animal life 

 (43 species). This moreover confirms Pi-ofessor Sars's state- 

 ment in his above-mentioned work on the animal life on 

 the Norwegian ocean banks, that it is especially the slope 

 towards the grcat depths that shows a strikingly abundant 

 animal life. 



A large portion of the molluscs found at Stations 

 173 1) and 192 w^ere erapty shells, and it is quite remarkable 

 bow many sliells of sliallow-water forms bad coUected in 

 these comparatively great depths. The bottom-sample from 

 Station 192 consists 'mainly of inorganic animal remains, 

 cemented together with brown clay" (Schraelck)'). In other 

 words, the bottom is a shell-bank. Not a few of the 

 shell-fragments have also a half-fossilised appearance. It 

 is therefore not improljable that we have here glacial de- 

 posits. It is our opinion, however, that a great washing 

 out of empty shells from the upper, shallower part of the 

 bank, is still in progress. 



Station 173 b, which had a rocky bottom, gave the 

 impression of being a more recent shell-bank. 



On the accompanying sketch-map we have indicated 

 these three stations. 



') North Atlantic Espedition; Chemistry, j). 20. 1882. 



