LINNEAN SOCIETY OF LONDON. 47 



and novel fauna may be inferred. An exploration of the Persian 

 Gulf on the lines followed by Agassiz in the Gulf of California 

 would be a matter of intense interest. If these suggestions 

 should come under the notice of the Trustees of the ludinn 

 Museum, I venture to hope that they may see fit to take the 

 initiative in this matter, and try to move the India Office, which 

 has always been ready to lend a helping hand for scientific 

 enquiries. 



The Southern Indian Ocean. 



Under this heading I include the sea between the 30th and 

 50th parallels, which was crossed by the ' Challenger ' on her 

 way from the Cape of Good Hope to the Antarctic, and from 

 there to Melbourne. The results of eleven deep-sea dredgings 

 are recorded, those midway between the Cape and Kerguelen, in 

 about 1500 fathoms, yielding an abundance of repi*esentatives of 

 all classes except the higher Crustaceans. Large forms of 

 Pycnogonids of various genera flourish, as in similar northern 

 latitudes. The shallow and deep waters round Kerguelen were 

 thoroughly examined, and large collecl/ions were made. A haul 

 made in 2600 fathoms, about 500 miles S.W. of Melbourne, 

 besides being most productive in zoological specimens, brought 

 up a quantity of those manganese nodules, cetacean ear-bones, 

 and sharks' teeth which were found in such great abundance 

 when the ' Challenger ' reached the South-eastern Pacific. 



The Antarctic. 



Sir James C. Eoss, who of course was well acquainted with all 

 the achievements of his uncle in the Arctic regions, lost no 

 opportunity of making natural history observations and collec- 

 tions when he led the ' Erebus ' and ' Terror ' into the Antarctic 

 regions in the years 1839-43. He dredged six times in from 95 

 to 320 fathoms off the South Victorian ice-barrier, twice in 

 South Shetland, and once oiF Staten Island, the highest latitude 

 at which he dredged being the 72nd parallel. His dredge brought 

 up a sufficient variety of animals to convince him " that, from 

 however great a depth we may be able to bring up the mud and 

 stones of the bed of the ocean, we shall find them teeming with 

 animal life." He " recognized among his captures several that 

 he had been in the habit of taking in equally high northern 

 latitudes." Unfortunately the collections made by him were lost, 

 and with them, for many years to come, the recollection of his 

 discovery and the remarkable words in which he announced it. 



He had also preserved specimens of deposit from his soundings 

 and surface gleanings, which probably would have shared the 

 fate of the collections but for his companion. Sir (then Dr.) J. 

 Hooker, who had secured them, and who understood not only their 

 scientific importance but also the value of their timely exami- 

 nation. He sent forty packages and three bottles of sea-water 

 to Ehrenberg, and published the result of the exauiiaatiou in 

 Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 1844, xiv. p. 170. 



