﻿FOSSIL 
  MAKINE 
  FAUNAS 
  KIKK 
  303 
  

  

  During 
  this 
  period 
  the 
  water 
  temperature 
  dropped 
  to 
  —2° 
  C. 
  

   (28.4° 
  F.). 
  The 
  highest 
  water 
  temperature 
  (at 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  Decem- 
  

   ber) 
  was 
  30° 
  F. 
  The 
  annual 
  range 
  of 
  temperature 
  was 
  thus 
  less 
  

   than 
  2° 
  F. 
  and 
  at 
  all 
  times 
  below 
  the 
  freezing 
  point 
  of 
  fresh 
  water. 
  

   Coupled 
  with 
  these 
  temperatures 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  surface 
  of 
  the 
  

   sea 
  for 
  much 
  of 
  the 
  time 
  was 
  covered 
  with 
  thick 
  ice 
  gives 
  us 
  about 
  

   as 
  uncongenial 
  conditions 
  as 
  one 
  could 
  wish. 
  In 
  spite 
  of 
  these 
  handi- 
  

   caps 
  life 
  is 
  abundant 
  — 
  far 
  more 
  so 
  than 
  in 
  many 
  tropical 
  and 
  sub- 
  

   tropical 
  seas. 
  A 
  fairly 
  careful 
  check 
  of 
  the 
  reports 
  of 
  the 
  National 
  

   Antarctic 
  Expedition 
  gave 
  a 
  count 
  of 
  275 
  genera 
  and 
  455 
  species, 
  

   not 
  counting 
  plants, 
  vertebrates, 
  worms, 
  or 
  minor 
  types. 
  

  

  The 
  following 
  brief 
  summary 
  gives 
  a 
  rough 
  idea 
  of 
  the 
  more 
  

   important 
  types 
  of 
  organisms 
  represented 
  and 
  the 
  relative 
  abund- 
  

   ance 
  in 
  terms 
  of 
  genera. 
  

  

  Coelentera 
  44 
  sjenera. 
  

  

  Tunicata 
  25 
  genera 
  (south 
  of 
  60°). 
  

  

  Porifera 
  17+ 
  Venera. 
  

  

  Echinodei'ma 
  25 
  genera. 
  

  

  Mollusca 
  44+ 
  genera. 
  

  

  Brachiopoda 
  1 
  genus. 
  

  

  Crustacea 
  84+ 
  genera. 
  

  

  The 
  zoological 
  collections 
  of 
  the 
  British 
  Antarctic 
  Expedition 
  

   (Geology, 
  Vol. 
  I, 
  1914) 
  were 
  obtained 
  in 
  part 
  from 
  material 
  dredged 
  

   through 
  the 
  ice 
  in 
  McMurdo 
  Sound 
  and 
  Eoss 
  Sea 
  (about 
  78° 
  S.) 
  

   and 
  in 
  part 
  from 
  the 
  upthrust 
  muds 
  of 
  the 
  shores. 
  A 
  brief 
  sum- 
  

   mary 
  is 
  here 
  given 
  of 
  the 
  fauna 
  as 
  found 
  in 
  this 
  region. 
  

  

  FORAMINIFERA 
  

  

  Twenty-four 
  species 
  were 
  collected, 
  of 
  whicli, 
  12 
  have 
  been 
  found 
  

   on 
  the 
  subantarctic 
  islands 
  of 
  New 
  Zealand. 
  " 
  Foraminifera 
  evi- 
  

   dently 
  abound 
  in 
  Antarctic 
  Seas." 
  " 
  In 
  the 
  case 
  of 
  the 
  raised 
  marine 
  

   deposit 
  near 
  Mount 
  Larsen, 
  the 
  well-known 
  BUoculma 
  are 
  so 
  abund- 
  

   ant 
  as 
  almost 
  to 
  constitute 
  Biloculina 
  clays, 
  like 
  those 
  so 
  well 
  known 
  

   in 
  the 
  neighborhood 
  of 
  the 
  Arctic 
  Circle." 
  

  

  PORIFERA 
  

  

  " 
  Sponges 
  were 
  wonderfully 
  abundant, 
  so 
  much 
  so 
  as 
  to 
  be 
  quite 
  

   important 
  contributors 
  to 
  the 
  muds 
  and 
  oozes 
  forming 
  at 
  present 
  

   at 
  the 
  bottom 
  of 
  McMurdo 
  Sound 
  and 
  Ross 
  Sea." 
  " 
  These 
  siliceous 
  

   sponges 
  frequentl}^ 
  attain 
  a 
  very 
  large 
  size, 
  of 
  from 
  a 
  foot 
  to 
  one 
  and 
  

   a 
  half 
  feet 
  in 
  diameter." 
  

  

  COELENTERA 
  

  

  One 
  calcareous 
  cup 
  coral 
  was 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  upthrust 
  muds. 
  

  

  