THE ANNALS 



AND 



MAGAZINE OF NATURAL HISTORY. 



[THIRD SERIES.] 

 No. 48. DECEMBER 1861. 



XLII. — On the Division, of the European Seas into Provinces, 

 with reference to the Distribution of Mollusca. F»y Robert 

 M'Andrew, F.R.S. 



Of the many services rendered to natural-history students by 

 the late Edward Forbes, I have been used to regard as among 

 the most important his observations upon the distribution of 

 marine Mollusca and other Invertebrata, both geographically 

 and vertically, and the consequent division of those seas which 

 formed the field of his researches into zones of depth and into 

 geographical areas marked out by the particular forms or species 

 of Mollusca which had their principal development in each. 



I believe that the existence of such natural divisions has been 

 generally admitted by naturalists ; but finding, in the abstract 

 of a paper read by my friend Mr. Jeffreys at the last meeting of 

 the British Association, and published in the ' Annals of Natural 

 History ' for October last, a statement that, in his opinion, such 

 division into provinces is erroneous, I feel called upon to give 

 my testimony in its support, on account of the importance of 

 the question, both in a natural-history point of view and in its 

 bearing on geology. And as I have made rather extensive re- 

 searches within the area referred to (the seas of Europe and 

 North Africa), with the main object of being enabled to throw 

 light upon the distribution of Mollusca, I hope that I may not be 

 considered over-presurnptuous in thinking it probable that no 

 one has had better opportunity of appreciating the correctness 

 of Mr. Forbes's views. 



In the first place, it should be clearly understood that the 

 question is one of fact, and not to be affected by speculations, 

 however ingenious. 



It may be true that naturalists, or, as Mr. Jeffreys terms them, 

 " systcmatists," are not agreed as to the limits and extent of the 



Ann, $ Mag, N, Hist, Ser, 3. Vol, vhi. 28 



