648 NATURE 
[AUGUST 12, 1915 

FAUNA ANTARCTICA.? 
1)® BRUCE is to be congratulated on the pub- 
lication of the fourth volume of the scientific 
results of the voyage of the Scotia. This stately 
publication contains no fewer than nineteen re- 
ports (all by British investigators) on the verte- 
brate animals collected by the expedition, and 
it seems to us well worthy of the generosity, 
notably on the part of Sir Thomas Glen Coats, 
which has made its publication possible. Many 
of the reports have appeared previously in the 
transactions of scientific societies, as is carefully 
noted in each case, but the utility of having all 
the papers together is obvious. 
Beginning with the mammals, we find a report 
by Dr. Bruce on the dimensions and weights of 
the Antarctic seals captured by the Scotia, and 
the editor also contributes a series of fine photo- 

Fic. 1 —Leftonychotes weddelli (Weddell Seal). From ‘‘ Report on the Scientific Results of 
the Voyage of s.y. Scotia. 
graphs of the Weddell seal, the sea-leopard, the 
crab-eater, the Ross seal, and the Patagonian sea- 
lion. Dr. R. N. Rudmose-Brown gives a very 
interesting account of the habits of four Antarctic 
seals (Weddell, crab-eater, sea-leopard, and 
Ross seal), and the value of his personal observa- 
tions is increased by numerous beautiful photo- 
graphs. Prof. David Hepburn deals with the 
brain, the abdominal viscera, the respiratory 
organs, and the urogenital system of a young 
male Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellt); 
Prof. Robert Thomson with the skeleton of the 
Ross seal (Ommatophoca rossi); and Dr. Harold 
Axel Haig with the structure (macroscopic and 
1 Scottish National Antarctic Expedition. Report on the Scientific 
Results of the Voyage of S.Y. Scotia during the Years 1902, 1903, and 1904, 
under the leadership of W.S. Bruce. Vol. iv., “ Zoology.” Parts ii-xx. 
Vertebrates. Pp. xit+so5+62 plates+2 maps. (Edinburgh: The Scottish 
Oceanographical Laboratory, 1915.) Price 42 ros. net. 
NO. 2389, VOL. 95] 
| microscopic) of a foetal sea-leopard, Stenorhynchus 
leptonyx) and with the minute structure of the 
central nervous system of the Weddell seal. Dr. 
Bruce gives data in regard to seven Antarctic 
| whales, and also discusses an interesting piebald 
| porpoise 

| and again but a single specimen. 
(probably Lagenorhynchus cruciger). 
Mr. Theodore E. Salvesen’s graphic account ot 
the southern whale fisheries has been recently 
reviewed in Nature (vol. xciv., p. 678, February 
18, 1915). 
Turning to the birds, we find a masterly account 
of the birds of the South Orkney Islands, the 
Weddell and adjacent seas, and Gough Island, by 
Mr. Eagle Clarke, of the Royal Scottish Museum. 
The birds observed and collected by the Scotia 
at other places have been dealt with in a number 
of short papers by the late Lieut. Lewis N. G. 
Ramsay, a young zoologist of great promise, who 
was, alas! killed at Neuve Chapelle in March of 
this year. Dr. R. N. Rudmose- 
Brown gives a vivid picture of the 
habits of penguins. Profs. D. 
Waterston and A. Campbell Gaddes 
deal with some anatomical features 
of the Emperor penguin and with the 
development of Gentoo and Adelie 
penguins. The extraordinary curva- 
ture of the cervical region of 
the penguin’s vertebral column 
is carefully discussed, and an 
interesting contrast is made_ be- 
tween the development of the duck’s 
wing and that of the penguin’s 
paddle. 
An important report on the An- 
tarctic fishes comes from the skilful 
hands of Mr. C. Tate Regan, who 
describes seven new -genera and 
twenty-one new species. The first of 
the new genera, Eugnathosaurus, is 
based on a remarkable head taken 
off Coats Land at a depth of 1410 
fathoms. A collection of over a 
hundred species of Atlantic fishes is 
briefly dealt with by Mr. R. S. Clark 
(now acting as zoologist on Sir 
Ernest Shackleton’s expedition), who also re- 
: I : 
ports on half-a-dozen fresh-water fishes from 
Buenos Aires. Prof. W. A. Herdman describes 
the Tunicates, fifteen or sixteen species repre- 
sented by about two hundred specimens. The 
only new species (Fungulus antarcticus) is a very 
remarkable form belonging to the deep-sea genus 
Fungulus, a single specimen of which was ob- 
tained by the Challenger in 1882, between the 
Cape of Good Hope and Kerguelen, from a depth 
of 1600 fathoms. Nearly 3000 miles away, but 
again in the far south and in very deep water 
(2485 fathoms), the Scotia species was obtained, 
The limit of 
the Chordate sub-kingdom is found by many 
zoologists in the remarkable animals known as 
Pterobranchia, and the Scotia explorers were for- 
tunate enough to secure numerous specimens of 

