4IO 



NA TURE 



{Feb. 28, 1889 



have priority; Anthemodes articulata, Hi<l., Bathyphysa 

 gigantea, Hkl. 



Numerous are the species named from living or preserved 

 specimens, for the descriptions of which the readers of this 

 " monograph " are referred to the forthcoming " Morpho- 

 logy," such as Strobalia cupola, Hkl. " This beautiful 

 species was observed living by me in the Indian Ocean, 

 and will be described in my ' Morphology of the Siphono- 

 phorae ' ; a fragment of a similar species, S. conifera, was 

 collected by the Challenger in the South Pacific (Station 

 288)" (p. 243) ; and again, ^^ Auralia pro/unda,\h& single 

 species of this genus which I have examined, was taken in 

 the depths of the tropical Atlantic, and will be described 

 in my ' Morphology,' &c." (p. 301). 



We have probably quoted enough to show the very 

 uneven treatment that has been meted out to the species 

 of this class. Two hundred and forty of them are referred 

 to by name, but only a small percentage of these are 

 diagnosed ; of those that are, some of them were found 

 during the voyage of the Challenger, some of them were 

 found by Prof. Haeckel during his own memorable and 

 fruitful sojourns at Madeira and Ceylon, but for many of 

 them we have nothing more than names. There is no 

 doubt that to have made this Report a " monograph " a 

 larger volume, perhaps another volume, would have been 

 needed ; but had it been kept within the limits of a Report 

 on the Challenger species, it would not have occupied the 

 space it at present does. 



The volume contains 380 pages, and is illustrated by 50 

 plates, several of which are beautifully printed in colours. 

 The plates were in some instances printed off before the 

 text was printed ; and of those coloured, all but one are 

 after original coloured drawings of the author's. Amidst 

 the number of strange, beautiful, and interesting forms de- 

 scribed and figured, it is hard to make a selection ; perhaps 

 the greatest interest will be taken in the forms belonging 

 to the new order of the Auronectae. In this order there 

 is present a peculiar and most remarkable organ, called 

 the air-bell or aurophore : " it seems to be the modified 

 umbrella of a medusome, and is adapted for the production 

 and emission of the 'gas' contained in the large pneu- 

 matophore ; the trunk of the siphosome is also thickened 

 and bulbous, and traversed by a network of anastomosing 

 canals, similar to the fleshy or cartilaginous coenosome of 

 the Alcyonidae." There are two families, Stephalidae and 

 Rhodalidae. The family Stephalidae has two genera, 

 Stephalia and Stephonalia. Of the formergenus, the single 

 species S. corona was found by Dr. Murray during the 

 Triton Expedition, in the Faroe Channel ; and of the 

 second genus the single species ^\ bathyphysa was found 

 by the Challenger in the South Pacific. The family 

 Rhodalidce also contains two genera, Auralia and Rho- 

 dalia. Of the first of these, A. profunda, as before 

 mentioned, " the single species of this genus which I have 

 examined was taken in the depths of the tropical Atlantic, 

 and will be described afterwards in my ' Morphology of the 

 Siphonophorae.' Its external appearance is similar to that 

 of Stephalia corona; but the nectophores of the simple 

 corona are more numerous and the tentacles are of the 

 same shape as in Rhodalia." As this is all we are told 

 about the species, we cannot be certain whether it was a 

 Challenger form or not. Rhodalia likewise has but one 

 species, R. 7niranda. This wonderful form is described 



from specimens taken at Station 320, south-east of Buenos 

 Ayres, and is figured on Plates 1-5. 



Prof. Haeckel thinks that these Auronectc-e are per- 

 manent deep-sea Siphonophorae, which may move up and 

 down within certain limits of depth, but never come to the 

 surface. He regards their discovery as one of the most 

 splendid made during the cruise of the Challenger ; yet 

 for a knowledge of what is known about them we must 

 look beyond the pages of this Report. 



A species of Anthophysa, taken at Station 334., has been 

 called -(4. darwinii. Several other species are alluded to 

 by name ; it seems possible that Merten's manuscript name 

 Anthophysa, published by Brandt, in 1835, is preoccupied 

 by Bory de Saint Vincent for a genus of flagellate 

 Infusoria. 



In addition to the author's preface, and the general 

 introduction, there is the usual description of the 

 families, genera, and species, the deficiencies in which 

 we have sufficiently alluded to. This is followed by a 

 bibliography of the Siphonophorae ; a list of the families, 

 genera, and species ; a very useful glossary of the terms 

 used in Latin, English, and German ; and lastly, a statis- 

 tical synopsis, from which we learn that 85 genera are 

 enumerated, these containing 240 species. The diagnoses 

 of 47 new species are given in this Report, of which 27 

 were found by the Challenger. 



The characteristics of the orders and families are given 

 in most satisfactory detail, and this portion of the Report 

 would in itself constitute a most important and valuable 

 general history of the group, and must serve for the 

 ground-work of all future writings on the subject. 



If too much has been claimed for this meritorious con- 

 tribution to natural science from a monographical point 

 of view, such a claim in no way takes from its merits as 

 a profoundly important contribution to natural science. 



THE ENCYCLOPAEDIC DICTIONARY. 

 The Encyclopcsdic Dictionary. Vol, VII., Part II. 

 (London: Cassell and Co., 1888.) 



ALL concerned in the production of this work may be 

 congratulated on the completion of their under- 

 taking. It is a work of more than ephemeral interest, 

 and well deserves the favourable reception which has 

 already been accorded to it. It was planned seventeen 

 years ago, and the first divisional volume appeared in 

 1879. The intention at that time was that the Dictionary 

 should consist of twelve divisional volumes, but, as the 

 execution of the scheme went on, it became obvious that, 

 unless the contents of the concluding volumes were to be 

 presented in a very inadequate form, two additional divi- 

 sional volumes would be necessary. It was arranged that 

 these volumes should be supplied, and thus ample oppor- 

 tunity was provided for the maintenance, to the end, of a 

 high standard of excellence. 



The scale on which the work has been done may be 

 seen from the fact that in round numbers it contains 

 some 180,000 words or headings. This is a great advance 

 on earlier dictionaries. The new edition of the Imperial 

 Dictionary, which stands next, has 130,000 headings; 

 the latest edition of Webster's Dictionary, with supple- 

 ment, has 118,000; the early edition of Webster had 



