NOTE 
The present work is the first of the New York Aquarium 
Nature Series. It is designed chiefly as an aid to the study of 
the marine invertebrates of the region about New York, but on 
account of the wide distribution of the species found along our 
shores it is applicable to the Atlantic coast generally. While it 
is primarily a book for the seaside, it will be found a valuable 
reference book for visitors studying the collections of the 
Aquarium, as the species herein considered are very largely those 
which may be seen there alive from time to time. 
Although the work will be accepted as authoritative from a 
scientific point of view, having been prepared by a professional 
zoologist of the highest standing, it is thoroughly popular in 
character. It presents the facts of modern zoological investiga- 
tion so clearly that it will be attractive to the general reader as 
well as to the nature student and teacher. The illustrations are 
mostly from photographs taken by the author of living specimens 
in the New York Aquarium and elsewhere. 
The book is a gift of the author to the New York Zoological 
Society, and the proceeds from its sale are devoted to the im- 
provement of the Aquarium. 
C. H. TOWNSEND, 
Director of the Aquarium. 
