6 DISCOVERY REPORTS 



The next expedition to visit the Antarctic was Shackleton's first British Antarctic Expedition of 

 1907-9. A base was established at Cape Royds in McMurdo Sound, South Victoria Land. Mt Erebus 

 (about 4250 m.) was ascended, and both geological and botanical collections were made. These included 

 thirteen lichens, of which a list, including one new species, was published by Darbishire (1923). I have 

 not been able to trace this interesting collection. 



Charcot's second French Antarctic Expedition of 1908-10 was organized with very complete pro- 

 vision for scientific research. Numerous landings were made along the western coast of the Graham 

 Land peninsula, and rich biological collections brought in. The lichens were subsequently examined by 

 Hue, whose report on them (1915) enumerates 112 species, of which no less than ninety were sup- 

 posedly new to science. This apparent preponderance of endemic species has since been found to be to 

 a large extent illusory, being due to Hue's inelastic conception of the species concept and his failure to 

 allow for ecologically conditioned variation. The material, for the most part brought back in situ on 

 large blocks, unfortunately appears to have been lost; a search for them at the Museum d'Histoire 

 Naturelle, Paris, in 1936 brought to light only a few of the smaller specimens which had been incor- 

 porated in the general lichen herbarium. 



It is known that botanical specimens were collected in King Edward VH Land by Lieut. Prestrud 

 of the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition of 1910-12, but apparently no account of the lichens has ever 

 been published. 



Scott's last British Antarctic Expedition of 1910-13 brought back seventeen species of lichen from 

 Cape Adare and Evans Coves in South Victoria Land. They were treated by Darbishire (1923 a) who 

 found eight of them to be new to science. They are preserved at the British Museum, partly in the 

 herbarium and partly in the box collection. 



Mawson's Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911-14 carried out biological investigations in 

 Adelie Land and Queen Mary Land. According to Dodge and Baker (1938), the report on the lichens 

 still awaits publication. 



In the years 19 14-17 Shackleton undertook his second, or Transantarctic Expedition. The party was 

 marooned on Elephant Island in the South Shetlands, and two lichens collected from there were named 

 by Darbishire (1923). 



The Shackleton-Rowett Expedition of 1920-2 again visited Elephant Island, and a lichen was noted 

 on some of the rocks (Wild, 1923, p. 335). The specimen, now in the British Museum, is a Neiiropogon. 



Mention should be made here of several small collections of lichens made in the South Orkneys and 

 Shetlands by A. G. Bennett on various occasions between 1913 and 1925, and presented by him to the 

 British Museum. 



A series of Norwegian expeditions were made in the years 1926-37 under the direction of Consul 

 Lars Christensen, and the Antarctic coast was visited in various sectors. The scientific material 

 collected will, it is understood, be published by the Norwegian Academy of Science. 



Adm. Byrd's first American Expedition of 1928-30 visited King Edward VII Land and South 

 Victoria Land. According to Dodge and Baker (1938), no report on the lichens has yet been published. 



The British Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition of 1929-31 worked mainly 

 on the subantarctic islands of the Southern Ocean, but landings were also made on the Antarctic 

 continent in Adelie Land and MacRobertson Land and some lichens collected there. The material is 

 being identified by Prof. Carroll W. Dodge. 



Rich collections of lichens from the South Orkneys and Shetlands were made during three of the 

 expeditions of the R.R.S. 'Discovery II' in the years 193 1-3, 1933-5, and 1935-7, and were presented 

 to the British Museum. Some of them are dealt with in the present paper. 



The second American Antarctic Expedition of 1933-5 visited Marie Byrd Land, King Edward VII 



