COAST FISHES 



PART II. THE PATAGONIAN REGION 1 



(INCLUDING THE STRAITS OF MAGELLAN AND THE 

 FALKLAND ISLANDS) 



By J. R. Norman 



Department of Zoology, British Museum (Natural History) 



(Plates I-V; Text-figs. 1-76) 

 INTRODUCTION 



THE collections dealt with in this part of the report on the coast fishes include more 

 than 3000 specimens, representing 84 species: of these 14 species prove to be new 

 to science and 15 others were previously unrepresented in the National collection. The 

 great majority of the specimens were obtained by the R.R.S. ' William Scoresby' during 

 the trawling surveys of 1927-8 and 193 1-2, the detailed reports of which are to be 

 prepared by Mr E. R. Gunther. A certain number of specimens collected by the 

 R.R.S. 'Discovery' in the neighbourhood of the Falkland Islands, and some others 

 obtained by the ' William Scoresby ' during her investigation of the Peru Current in 

 193 1 are also included. The expedition has also received a fine series of littoral fishes 

 from the Falkland Islands collected by Mr A. G. Bennett, with the assistance of 

 Mr J. E. Hamilton. Mr Bennett's collection is accompanied by detailed notes on the 

 occurrence and habits of the fishes, which have proved of great value, and many of 

 which are included in this report. I take this opportunity of offering him my sincere 

 thanks for his interest and assistance. 



In order to compare the fish fauna of the Patagonian Region with that of the coasts of 

 Argentina and Chile respectively it became necessary to obtain further collections from 

 these countries, as the material in the British Museum, especially from the Chilean 

 coast, was far from adequate. Dr Tomas L. Marini, Jefe Division Piscicultura, 

 Ministerio de Agricultura, Buenos Aires, has sent me a certain number of specimens 

 taken off the coast of Buenos Aires; Mr E. J. MacDonagh, Jefe del Departamento de 

 Zoologia, Museo de la Plata, has sent examples of several species from northern 

 Patagonia described by him, including several paratypes; and I have received as an 

 exchange from the United States National Museum a small collection of fishes from 

 Patagonia and Chile, being a part of that obtained by the 'Albatross' during her 

 voyage through the Straits of Magellan in 1888. With regard to the Chilean coast, 

 through the kind interest of Mr V. Cavendish Bentinck, of the British Embassy at 

 Santiago, I have received several very interesting collections of marine fishes, which 



1 For details as to the limits of this region see p. 137. 



