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The Hydroids collected by the "Huxley" 



from the North Side of the 



Bay of Biscay in August, 1906. 



By 

 Edward T. Browne. 



(University College, London.) 



With Plates I. and II. and one Ficrure in the Text. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The Hydroids collected on tlie northern edge of the Bay of Biscay 

 during a five days' cruise in August, 1906, by Dr. E. J. Allen, were 

 entrusted to me for examination. I thank my friend Dr. Allen for 

 giving me the opportunity of working through the collection, which 

 contained thirty-seven species, including two new species {Bimeria 

 arhorca and Bimeria hiscayana) and several rare deep-sea forms. 



Our knowledge of the area occupied by the British Hydroids has 

 been increased by this cruise. All the species taken at six out of the 

 eight stations have been previously recorded for the British area. It 

 was only at the two stations over 400 fathoms that foreign species 

 occurred. Bathymetrical distribution has also made an advance, as 

 several species were taken at a depth considerably greater than that 

 hitherto recorded for them. 



I have followed Hincks's nomenclature very closely, because the 

 names are so familiar to us, though I foresee that a day is not far dis- 

 tant when other generic names, which at present are only known to 

 specialists, will have to be introduced into our faunistic lists. 



The geographical distribution of nearly all the British species 

 mentioned in this report has already been given by Dr. Allen in his 

 paper on the " Fauna of the Eddystone Grounds," published in this 

 journal in 1899, so that it is scarcely necessary to repeat the same 

 records again. But since that date several important works on 

 Hydroids have been published, and from these I have selected such 

 records as are of geographical and bathymetrical importance. 



