FORTALE, 
! 
Neerverende Verk, til hvis Udgivelse Staten 
har bevilget de fornodne Midler, blev paabegyndt 
for mere end et Decennium siden; men forskjellige 
uforudseede Omstendigheder har bevirket, at Ud- 
arbeidelsen af samme i lengere Tid har maattet 
standses, saa at forst nu Verket kan udkomme i 
sin Helhed. Oprindelig var Bevillingen givet til 
den fortsatte Udgivelse af Fauna littoralis Norvegia, 
hvoraf tidligere er udkommet 3° Bind, forfattede 
dels af min Fader alene, dels af ham i Forening 
med nu afdode Overlege Danielssen og Konservator 
‘Koren. Da det forekom mig, at denne Titel paa en 
mindre heldig Maade vilde komme til at begrendse 
Stoffet, tillod jeg mig at foreslaa, at Benzvnelsen 
littoralis udgik og at Verket herefter skulde ud- 
komme under den her anvendte Titel. Det af mig 
til neerverende Bind valgte Stof er ogsaa af den 
Art, at det vanskeligt vilde passe indenfor Rammen 
_af den tidligere Titel, da jo her ikke blot Sadyr, 
men ogsaa en Del wegte Ferskvandsdyr er omhand- 
lede. Idethele syntes mig, at den mere omfattende 
Titel, Fauna Norvegie, bedre maatte kunne svare 
til sin Hensigt, da der herunder vil kunne leveres 
Bidrag til Belysning af hvilkensomhelst Branche af 
vor Fauna, der maatte frembyde en seerlig Interesse. 
I Overensstemmelse med de 3 udkomne Bind af 
Fauna littoralis, tror jeg at nerverende Verk bor 
indeholde Afhandlinger af en mere udforlig ana- 
tomisk-biologisk Character, behandlende visse ud- 
valgte Dele af vor Fauna og udstyrede paa en saa- 
vidt muligt tidsmessig Maade, saavel hvad Text 
som Plancher angaar. I et andet, paa engelsk skre- 
vet Verk har jeg paabegyndt en Bearbeidelse af 
vor Fauna efter et herfra temmelig forskjelligt Prin- 
cip, idet dette Verk er nermest beregnet paa at 
PREFACE. 
The present work, for the publication of which 
the Government has granted the necessary funds, 
was begun more than ten years ago; but various 
unforeseen circumstances having combined to put a 
stop to the preparation of the work for a considerable 
time, it is only now that it can be published in its 
entirety. The grant was originally given for the 
continued publication of Fauna littoralis Norvegia, 
of which three volumes had already been published, 
written partly by my father alone, partly by 
him in conjunction with the late Dr. Danielssen, 
and Curator Koren. As it seemed to me that this 
title would limit the subject-matter somewhat 
infelicitously, I ventured to suggest that the desig- 
nation Jittoralis should be struck out, and that the 
work should hereafter appear under the title here 
employed. The matter chosen by me for the pre- 
sent volume, is also of such a kind, that it could 
hardly be included under the former title, as not 
only marine animals, but also some true fresh-water 
animals are here treated of. Upon the whole, it 
seemed to me that the more comprehensive title, 
Fauna Norvegie, would better answer its purpose, as 
under it, contributions might be made to the infor- 
mation concerning any branch of our fauna that 
might offer special interest. In accordance with the 
3 published volumes of Fauna littoralis, I think that 
the present work should contain treatises of a more 
exhaustive anatomical-biological character, dealing 
with certain parts of our fauna, and got up as 
far as possible in a manner suitable to the times, 
as regards text and plates. In another work, 
written in English, I have begun an account of our 
fauna on a very different principle to this, as it is 
rather calculated to give, as far as possible, a brief, 
