ON THE ZOOLOGICAL STATION AT NAPLES. 85 



II. Beport on the Occupation of the Tulle, hij the Rev. Dr. Norman. 



It had long been my desire to pay a visit to the Zoological Station at 

 Naples, and during the past spring an opportunity having presented 

 itself, five weeks in the months of March and April were spent there. 

 The British Association Table was at this time occupied, but on the appli- 

 cation of your Committee Dr. Dohrn placed a second table at my dis- 

 posal. I should be most ungrateful if I did not testify to the great 

 kindness and attention which I received from the whole staff of the 

 Station during my most pleasant and profitable stay at Naples. The 

 management of the establishment seems to have been brought to perfec- 

 tion. The admirable tone, good nature, and courtesy which pervade the 

 entire staff; the smooth, quiet, and efficient working of the establishment 

 — these, combined with the extreme richness of the sea around Naples in 

 representatives of almost every section of marine animals, and pre- 

 eminently of the surface fauna, the calmness of the Mediterranean waters 

 which renders dredging at almost all times practicable, form a combina- 

 tion of essentials to the success of a Zoological Station which perhaps 

 can never be equalled and certainly not excelled elsewhere. Pleasure 

 was anticipated from my visit, but my anticipations were much more 

 than realised. 



My object in visiting the Station was, first, to see in life certain groups 

 of animals which are unknown in North European seas ; secondly, to 

 take a general review of the fauna as compared with that of the North 

 Atlantic ; and, lastly, to study more especially, so far as the very limited 

 time at my disposal would allow, certain groups of the great class 

 Crustacea, which had not been worked out by South European carcino- 

 logists. I had in view such orders as the Mysidea, Cumacea, Ostracoda, 

 &c. ; but after a few days I was surprised to find how much remained to 

 be done in every order of the Crustacea. Dr. Dohrn kindly placed at 

 my disposal from the museum unexamined material of several groups 

 which it seemed well to study ; while the fishermen daily supplied me 

 with far more animals than it was possible to work out. Time sufl&ced 

 for little more than the collecting, roughly examining, and preserving 

 for more close investigation hereafter the things of interest which passed 

 through my hands. Since my return my time has been so fully occupied 

 with other matters that there has not been opportunity so much as to 

 open the bottles which contain the product of the trip. This report, 

 however, is of course not supposed to be exhaustive. In almost every 

 section of the Crustacea, — -Bi-achyura, Anomura, Macrura, Mysidea, 

 Isopoda, Amphipoda, Ostracoda, Copepoda, and Cirripedia — forms were 

 detected either altogether new or interesting as not hitherto recognised 

 in the Mediterranean at large or at Naples in particular. Even among 

 the Brachyura results were important. An Inachus, very abundant in 

 the bay close to the Station, and often taken in company with I. dorset- 

 tensis, though nearly related to, is manifestly distinct from, the latter 

 species, and is either still undescribed or possibly the I. mauritanicus of 

 Lucas, which authors have synonymised with dorsettensis. From the 

 deep water were two species, which have recently been figured by Milne- 

 Edwards from the ' Travailleur ' Expedition, Ergasticus Glouei, Milne- 

 Edwards, and Heterocrypta Marionis, Milne-Edwards ; together with a 



