I03 



"Our knowledge of the Alcyonaria as a whole is far too incomplete to warrant us in 

 being dogmatic in our conclusions regarding their distribution, either geographic or bathymetric. 

 When we consider how little of the ocean bottom has been explored with any thoroughness, 

 the vast extent of practically unknown regions, and the host of species yet to be discovered, 

 it becomes evident that our conclusions are tentative at best, and very likely to be rendered 

 valueless by further exploration and study. The ocean floor has been but scratched here and 

 there by the dredge and trawl, and the absence of species from our collections will by no 

 means warrant us in saying that they are really absent from the regions explored". 



The writer, then, feels that he is doing the best service by simply recording the facts 

 regarding the distribution of species in the Siboga collection, without a general di-scussion of 

 the distribution of all of the so-called species of the Muriceidae. 



