Vou. 2] Ritter—Introduction. vu 
curve is only 65 miles away. Within the area is a wide range of 
depth and great variety of bottom. A basin 40 miles off Point 
Loma has a depth of over 1,000 fathoms. On the other hand, 
the Cortes Banks, just beyond the southern boundary, carry but 
15 feet of water at low tide. 
There can be no doubt that deep sea and ’longshore investiga- 
tions have not yet been brought together to the extent they ought 
to be. 
3.—-The Initial Step. 
The first step in such a survey would obviously be to find 
out what plants and animals inhabit the area; to establish a 
speaking acquaintance, as one may say, with the organisms that 
are later to be more intimately known. So far this has absorbed 
most of the effort, and it will of necessity demand the continu- 
ance of much effort for a long time in the future. The ideal 
being kept always in view, the mere description of the new spe- 
cies for the exclusive use of expert taxonomists in the several 
groups, would not be sufficient. The entire fauna and flora must 
be recorded in such a way as to make the records a good founda- 
tion for the broader and deeper studies to follow. These consid- 
erations have determined the character of the faunistic papers 
now published, and that will come hereafter. The present vo!- 
ume contains the following contributions to a knowledge of the 
fauna: 
No.1.—The Hydroids of the San Diego Region, by Professor 
iE Bs lorrey. 
No. 2.—The Ctenophores of the San Diego Region, by Pro- 
fessor H. B. Torrey. 
No.3.—The Pelagic Tunicata of the San Diego Region, except- 
ing the Larvacea, by Professor Wm. E. Ritter. 
No. 4.—The Pelagic Copepoda of the San Diego Region, by 
C. O. Esterly. 
No. 5.—The Nonencrusting cheilostomatous Bryozoa of the 
West Coast of North America, by Dr. Alice Robertson. 
No. 6.—The Dinoflagellata of the San Diego Region, by Pro- 
fessor C. A. Kofoid. 
