NA TURE 



217 



THURSDAY, JANUARY 9, 1850. 



THE ZOOLOGICAL RESULTS OF THE 

 ''CHALLENGER" EXPEDITION. 



Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H.M.S. 

 " Challenger'^ during the Years 1873-76, under the 

 comtnand of Captain George S. Nares, R.N., F.R.S., 

 and the late Captain Frank T. Thomson, R.N Pre- 

 pared under the superintendence of the late Sir C. 

 Wyville Thomson, Knt., F.R.S., &c., Director of the 

 Civilian Staff on board, and now of John Murray, 

 LL.D., Ph.D., &c., one of the Naturalists of the 

 Expedition. Zoology— Vols. XXXI. and XXXII. 

 (Published by Order of Her Majesty's Government. 

 London : Printed for Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 

 and sold by Eyre and Spottisvvoode, 1889.) 



WITH these recently published volumes, the series 

 of Reports on the zoological results of the Chal- 

 lenger Expedition, comes to a close. Volume XXXI. 

 contains three Reports, the first of which is on the 

 " Alcyonaria," by Profs. E. Perceval Wright and Th. 

 Studer. It would appear that on the first distribution of 

 the zoological treasures of the Expedition, the Alcyonaria 

 were given to Prof, von Kolliker to describe, and the first 

 part of his Report on the Pennatulid?e, forms the Second 

 i Report published in 1880. From a note of the editor, 

 I ,^ we learn that Prof. Kolliker being unwilling to under- 

 take the remainder of the group, the fixed forms were 

 committed to Dr. E. P. Wright for description. After the 

 appearcince of the " Narrative of the Expedition " in 

 which a few of the more remarkable of the new species 

 were described by this author. Prof. Studer consented to 

 join Dr. Wright in preparing the Report, and all the details 

 were worked out in unison. 



The Report opens with a brief introduction, in which 

 an attempt is made to present a more or less complete 

 list of the orders, families, and genera, of the recent 

 Alcyonaria ; short diagnoses and references to the 

 bibliography are given. While this introduction might 

 with advantage have been greatly expanded, yet we think 

 its value will be appreciated by all those working at this 

 group. This is followed by the description of the genera 

 and species in the Challenger collection. In the earlier 

 pages an attempt has been made to include brief notices of 

 all the known forms, but it was soon found that this would 

 occupy too much space, as the forms from large portions 

 of the Indian Ocean and the very rich Alcyonarian fauna 

 of the western shores of North America were not repre- 

 sented in the collection. 



One hundred and eighty-nine species are described as 

 found during the voyage of the Challenger and of this 

 number no less than one hundred and thirty-three are 

 described as new. Of the more interesting of these, the 

 following may be mentioned, Callozostron mirabilis, a 

 most extraordinary species taken in the Antarctic Sea, in 

 the most southerly dredging made during the voyage. 

 While there can be no doubt as to its affinities yet this 

 form presents many puzzling features. Another remark- 

 able species from the Fiji's, Calypterinus «//;/?««?, although 

 it has a rigid axis, in the arrangement of its polyps shows 

 Vol. xli. — No. 1054. 



some relationship to the previously mentioned species 

 A great number of new species are added to a genus 

 quite recently described by Verrill, and which is made 

 the type of the family Dasygorgidae. The new genus 

 Acanthoisis, which is nearly related to the well known 

 genus Isis, exhibits an unique condition of its axis, which 

 consists of alternate horny and calcareous joints, the 

 latter being very beautifully grooved and spined. Keroeides 

 /core?ii, with a sclerogorgic axis, from Japan, is also a 

 curious species, with massive spicules. 



Under the heading of " Geographical Distribution," a 

 brief history is given of the distribution of the species of 

 most of the well established genera ; while this subject is 

 necessarily very incomplete, yet it would seem as if the 

 West Indian Islands, the Californian shores of America, 

 the Australian seas and especially those of Japan were 

 the chief centres of the group. But it cannot be overlooked 

 that the record is very imperfect and that the recent 

 researches of Danielssen have proved that immense num- 

 bers of species exist in the seas of Norway. 



This Report extends to 386 pages and is illustrated by 

 49 lithographic plates, the figures in which have been 

 drawn by Mr. George West, Jun., and Mr. Armbruster of 

 Berne. 



The second Report is by Dr. Giinther, on the pelagic 

 fishes, and comprises an account of the specimens which 

 were obtained in the open ocean by means, chiefly, of the 

 surface net. 



The specimens were as numerous as those of either 

 the shore or deep-sea fishes, described in the author's 

 first and second Reports on the Challenger fishes, and 

 by far the greater number were of small size ; some, indeed, 

 had been taken at so early a stage in their development 

 as to make it impossible to refer them to their family or 

 even order. The pelagic fish fauna, as defined by the 

 author, consists, first, of the truly pelagic fish — those 

 which habitually live on the surface of the ocean, acci- 

 dentally and rarely approaching the shore ; the majority 

 breed in the open sea and pass through all their phases 

 of growth without coming into the vicinity of land ; 

 numerous representatives of these were in the collections. 

 Secondly, there are a number of fishes inhabiting the depth 

 of the ocean, from a hundred fathoms downwards, which 

 seem periodically to ascend to the surface, possibly in 

 connection with their propagation ; most of these are 

 found at the surface, only during the early stages of their 

 growth, but they connect the truly surface fishes with the 

 deep-sea fishes, and were fairly well represented in the 

 collection. Thirdly, the pelagic fauna receives a very 

 considerable contingent from the littoral fauna ; some 

 shore fishes, when in a young state, are, while floating on 

 the surface, driven to sea to great distances by currents 

 and winds ; many such immature forms were found. And, 

 lastly, fully developed specimens of littoral species some- 

 times stray or are accidentally driven out to the open sea, 

 and several such were in the collection. 



Sixty-seven species are indicated, and several new 

 genera and species are described. A new species of 

 Branchiostoma is described from the Pacific ; it was 

 either from the surface or from a depth of 1000 fathoms ; 

 the perfect condition of its delicate fin-fringe seemed to 

 militate against the latter idea, and yet it would be even 

 more extraordinary to find a lancelet living at the surface 



