PALAU — BAYER AND HARRY-ROFEN 505 



the northern end of Babelthuap to Peleliu. Phylogenetically, the 

 collections contain animals ranging from the Protozoa to the verte- 

 brates, as well as many specimens of marine plants. The largest 

 collections are those of fishes, crustaceans, and sponges, but the smaller 

 collections are no less significant. Taken together, they represent a 

 contribution toward a more complete faunistic and zoogeographic 

 knowledge of the Palaus, an especially significant one in view of the 

 fact that the collections made in the same territory by Japanese 

 scholars prior to World War II are either widely scattered over Japan 

 or were destroyed during the war. In addition to their systematic and 

 zoogeographic value, these collections include information on reef 

 communities and biological associations, which forms the framework 

 of reef ecology. In spite of its encouraging success, the first field 

 season of Project Coral Fish did not accomplish all there was to be 

 done in Palau. Neither will the 1956 season. Some of the smaller 

 component projects will certainly see early completion, but they bring 

 into bold relief many other problems, not a few of which demand 

 an experimental approach that can succeed only at a place like Palau. 



CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PALAUAN MARINE FAUNA 



The large collection of marine animals assembled in Palau during 

 the summer and fall of 1955 is only now being studied in detail, 

 so it is not yet possible to analyze the fauna from a zoogeographic 

 standpoint. However, some impressions of both its richness and its 

 affinities were inescapable during the course of observing, collecting, 

 and preserving the many specimens handled. These impressions, 

 superimposed upon what we already know from the literature, enable 

 us to reaffirm the East Indian relationships of the Palauan marine 

 fauna. 



Many East Indian fish groups not common in the oceanic islands 

 were found to be abundant in the Palaus. Especially noticeable is 

 the archerfish (Toxotes), which travels in large schools along the 

 lagoon shores, particularly in mangrove regions, where it penetrates 

 the narrow waterways and ascends a considerable distance up streams 

 and rivers. Glassfishes (Arribassis) and spotted scats (Scatophagus) 

 are abundant in the mangrove swamps and lower reaches of streams 

 but are not found in the limestone islands of the southern Palaus. 

 Fresh-water eels {Anguilla) grow up to 5 feet long in even the 

 smallest streams. Some groups of fishes, such as the snappers {Plecto- 

 rhynchus, Caesio, Lethrinus, and others) are represented by many more 

 species than are known from the multitudes of oceanic islands in the 

 Marshalls, Marianas, and Carolines. 



Among the invertebrates, the only two shallow-water gorgonaceans 

 (Octocorallia) to extend an appreciable distance eastward into Micro- 



