136 Proceedings of the Royal Physical Society. 



" Triton," it occurred to me that a list with such additions 

 as were made by these expeditions, or could be found in 

 the recent literature of the subject, might not be without use 

 to my fellow- workers in this field. 



The meaning of the word " British " used in the title of 

 this paper perhaps requires a little definition. Since the 

 channel between Scotland and the Faroe Islands, besides 

 lying within a short distance of our shores, has been mainly 

 explored by British vessels, it has appeared desirable to in- 

 clude it. I have thought it well similarly to include forms 

 from off the west coast of Ireland and Scotland down to the 

 500 fathom line, but only very few have come under my 

 notice from that locality. 



For remarks on the relations between the British Ophiu- 

 roidea and those of other seas, I may refer to the Eeport on 

 the " Triton " Ophiuroidea.^ 



The authors to whom I have had occasion to refer will be 

 found noted in the body of the paper, but I cannot here 

 refrain from alluding to the great obligation under which all, 

 who are interested in this group of animals, stand to Professor 

 Theodore Lyman, for his Eeport upon the '' Challenger " 

 Ophiuroidea, which is indeed a complete monograph of the 

 order. I have, with very few exceptions, adopted his nomen- 

 clature, and the number of times his name occurs in this 

 paper will prove my indebtedness to his great work; in 

 addition to which I must acknowledge his courtesy in 

 answering certain questions which I put to him. 



Professor Lyman has adopted the system often followed 

 by American naturalists, but not generally adopted in this 

 country, of quoting as the authority for each species the 

 name of the observer by whom the combined name (generic 

 and specific) was first used, often to the exclusion of the 

 earliest describer of the species. This plan seems to me to 

 present certain advantages, but, to prevent any difficulty 

 which it might cause to British naturalists, I have placed 

 the name of the authority for the species within brackets 

 when the generic name has been changed. 



In conclusion, I have to express my thanks to Professor 



1 Hoyle, Proc. Roy. Soc, Edinb., June 16, 1884. 



