PREFACE TO VOLUME II. 



THE chief part of the present volume is Dr. Wilson's beautifully illustrated report 

 on the Birds and Mammals, giving his personal experiences during the Expedition, 

 as well as the results of subsequent study of the collections. This Expedition was 

 the first to discover a nesting colony of the Emperor Penguin. 



All the other collections of vertebrates made during the Expedition are here 

 reported on, with the exception of the embryos of seals and the pelagic fishes, 

 which will be dealt with later. The investigation into the development of the feathers 

 of the penguin raises several points of great morphological significance. The collection 

 of fishes is small, but interesting. 



The discovery of two new species of Cephalodiscus, the presence of which in the 

 collection was first noticed by Prof. Ray Lankester, has been made the basis of an 

 important contribution to our knowledge of the small group to which it belongs. 



All the Mollusca collected by the ' Discovery,' except the " Pteropoda," are reported 

 on ; the Brachiopoda were but poorly represented. As Dr. Caiman's reports on two 

 divisions of Crustacea have been a very long time in type, it was decided to publish 

 them as soon as possible. Several reports have already been printed for the third 

 volume, which will probably appear early next year. 



F. JEFFREY BELL. 



December 3, 1906. 



