In the case of nomenclature we have endeavoured to follow 

 as much as possible the international rules, without falling 

 into excesses, and without demolishing every bridge to the 

 known past. 



It may be expected of a faunistical work, that it gives the 

 distribution of the species as accurately and as extensively as 

 possible. Therefore all localities in the Archipelago, where we 

 knew a certain species to occur, were included. We followed 

 the botanists by putting a(!) after those localities, from which 

 we have seen specimens. When the range of a species extends 

 outside our region, this wider distribution has also been recorded 

 under "Habitat". 



We are well aware that the last word in matters of distri- 

 bution has not yet been spoken, nor do we doubt that in 

 future still many a new species will have to be added to the 

 Indo-Australian fauna. This being still possible in a fishfauna 

 from as small a sea as the North Sea, which has been studied 

 so much and is situated within reach of ichthyologists of 

 different civilised nations, how much greater is the chance in 

 a far off region such as ours, which is so much larger and of 

 such a diversity of conditions of life. It is clear that only a 

 part of its fauna though it be by far the most important 

 one can be known. 



Although this is a weak point in a faunistical work like 

 ours, it would be useless to defer publishing it till the fauna 

 is better known. This would be a removal ad calendas graecas. 

 Besides, a work such as this, can be a help to increase the 

 knowledge of the fauna and to stimulate further research. 



Even after the extensive work of P. BLEEKER, to which we 

 have so to say erected a monument in our first volume, a 

 work on the fishes of the Indo-Australian Archipelago is still 

 wanted. BLEEKER'S Atlas ichthyologique remained incomplete. 

 His other writings can only partially supply the missing parts. 



Moreover, since BLEEKER'S death in 1878 our knowledge 

 has greatly increased, many new species having been described. 

 The deep-sea fauna was totally unknown to him, as well as 

 the freshwater fauna of New Guinea und the neighbouring 

 islands of Waigeu, Aru and Kei. Expeditions to unknown 

 parts of Borneo, Sumatra, Celebes, to the Lesser Sunda Islands, 

 Ceram, etc. in the last 20 years, have added much to our 

 knowledge of the fishfauna. 



