138 BULLETIN OF THE 



In closing this preliminary report the attention of the reader is called 

 to the fact that nearly as many forms remain to be enumerated as have 

 here been mentioned ; but so far as the Agassiz-Sigsbee collection is 

 concerned, they are mostly from comparatively shallow water. The 

 Agassiz-Bartlett collection still remains to be administered upon, and 

 will certainly afford a number of novelties. 



It may be noted that the West Indian marine fauna is in a par- 

 ticularly muddled state. Many species have been described from, but 

 not attributed to the West Indies ; many others have been so attrib- 

 uted wrongly. There are few catalogues ; of which that of Guadaloupe 

 is most praiseworthy, but all are more or less imperfect and discre- 

 pant in nomenclature. There is, perhaps, no other part of the seas 

 commonly traversed by commerce of which so little is actually known 

 and accessible in convenient form for reference. This renders the task 

 of describing species from this fauna both irksome and tedious, since 

 one can never tell what unfigured species, described with a wrong habi- 

 tat, or without habitat, may not demand investigation, and after all be 

 left in doubt. 



I can hardly hope to have entirely escaped the error of redcscribing 

 some species under the circumstances. I beg that any one, who may 

 possibly be able to offer some corrections or emendations, will communi- 

 cate the same to me in order that the final report shall be as complete 

 and perfect as possible. 



Since the species could not be taken up in zoological or any other 

 definite order an Index has been prepared in which the newly described 

 forms appear in Italic letters ; those not new, or mentioned for purposes 

 of illustration, in Roman. 



For the benefit of purists I will add that the names applied to new 

 species and groups in this report make no pretence to any more Latinity 

 than that of form, and are intended merely as euphonic combinations of 

 vowels and consonants in the majority of cases. 



Washington, Dec 5, issi. 



