[3] 



DISTRIBUTION OF MARINE INVERTEBRATES. 



845 



those which, for other reasons, can be most conveniently distributed at 

 this time, and have been so selected as to give representatives of most 

 of the important groups. It will also be understood that the species 

 included in this list form but a very small proportion (less than one- 

 twelfth) of the total number of species contained in the collections made 

 by the Fish Commission on the ISTew England coast." (Explanatory of 

 Series I.) 



"The species enumerated in the present list were collected by the U. 

 S. Fish Commission, mainly during the past four years, and represent a 

 portion of the duplicate material resulting from their sea-coast explora- 

 tions, and now available for distribution. Several of the species in- 

 cluded in these duplicate sets are recent additions to science, obtained 

 by the U. S. Fish Commission steamer Fish Hawk, from the inner edge 

 of the Gulf Stream slope, south of Martha's Vineyard, during the sum- 

 mers of 1880 and 1881. This region, which was first explored in 1S80, 

 Las proved to be the richest dredging ground yet discovered upon our 

 coast, both as regards variety of life and abundance of specimens. 



" Nearly all the species enumerated are included in each set, but of a 

 few species only enough duplicates were secured to supply a portion of 

 the sets. The sets will number about one hundred. The Crustacea have 

 been identified, for the most part, by Prof. S. I. Smith, and most of the 

 other species by Prof. A. E. Yerrill. The names are mainly those used 

 in the Preliminary Chech-list of the Marine Invertebrata of the Atlantic 

 Coast, by A. E. Verrill, edition of 1879. A considerable number of 

 species that have since been described are, however, here included." 

 (Explanatory of Series II.) 



Five series, containing 360 sets in all, have been prepared, and of 

 these, 247 sets have been distributed to date. The following lists of 

 institutions and individuals supplied are furnished by Mr. Rathbnu, who 

 has had charge of the distribution : 



List of institutions and individuals supplied with sets of duplicate specimens of marine inver- 

 tebrates from the collections of the U. S. Fish Commission to December 31, L886. 



1.— FOREIGN. 



