591.2(82) 172 



III. 



A Zoologist in Tierra del Fuego . 



SOME ACCOUNT OF THE SWEDISH EXPEDITION , 



1895-6. 



THIS article is merely a short account of excursions made during 

 this expedition, with a few remarks concerning the geographical 

 distribution of some South American animals. Since all our collec- 

 tions are not yet in Sweden, it is impossible to make more than a 

 rough classification, so that the results at present are only of a general 

 nature. 



The expedition — consisting of Dr. O. Nordenskiold, as geologist 

 and leader of the party, P. Dusen, civil engineer, as botanist, and 

 myself as zoologist — was organised, mainly at the expense of Baron 

 Oscar Dickson, to obtain, from an easily accessible country near the 

 true Antarctic region, collections to be compared with those in the 

 Riksmuseum at Stockholm, brought from the Arctic Seas, Spitzbergen, 

 Greenland, and Siberia by other Swedish parties. As was to be 

 expected, the original intention of working together had to be given 

 up even at Buenos Ayres, where, in October of last year, Mr. Dusen, 

 Mr. Akerman (engaged as assistant zoologist), and I went on board 

 the Argentine torpedo cruiser " Patria," bound for Tierra del Fuego, 

 leaving Dr. Nordenskiold and the pioneers to wait for another 

 opportunity. 



At the end of October we left La Plata. My expectations of being 

 able to make some zoological investigations along the little-known 

 east coast of Patagonia were not realised, as the vessel stopped only 

 at Puerto Nuevo, harbour of Chubut, lat. 42° 45' S., long. 64° 59' W. ; 

 at Santa Cruz, lat. 50° S., long. 68° 32' W. ; and at Rio Gallegos, 

 lat. 51° 40' S., long. 69° 18' W. The "Patria" stayed at Puerto 

 Nuevo a week, so that I had opportunities to dredge and to collect 

 some terrestrial animals ; at the other two places I only picked up a 

 few invertebrates from the beach and the land. However, though 

 my collections are so small, I hope they will add somewhat to our 

 scanty knowledge of the fauna of the Atlantic coast of Patagonia. 



It is evident that great differences must exist among the marine 

 faunas of these two countries, owing to the ocean currents — the cold 



