1881.] THE SURVEY OF H.M.S. 'aLERT.' 3 



tremity of the American continent, and transmitted to the British 

 Museum by command of the Lords Commissioners of the Ad- 

 miralty. 



The collections arrived in two consignments — the first in September 

 1879, and the second in July 1880. With regard to the former, 

 Dr. Coppinger writes : — " The specimens were obtained, with few 

 exceptions, in the western portion of the Magellan region, and in 

 the immediate neighbourhood of the Madre-de-Dios archipelago, 

 off the west coast of Patagonia. They will be found duly labelled 

 as to the localities in which they were obtained ; and 'I may add that 

 all of the specimens which are not otherwise noted were found in 

 the living state." The second consignment consisted of specimens 

 partly collected in the same district, partly more northwards, as far 

 as Coquimbo. It contained also some dredgings and pelagic animals 

 from the Atlantic, which do not come within the scope of this 

 Report : and a series of fossils from Sandy Point and Quiriquina 

 Island, which were delivered to the Department of Geology. 



Dr. Coppinger was fully aware of tlie special interest attached to 

 the marine fauna of these coasts. Essentially antarctic in its char- 

 acter, it comprises a number of forms closely allied to, nay, even 

 identical with, arctic animals, such as he himself had observed 

 and assisted to collect during the voyage to the Polar Seas, under 

 the command of Capt. Sir G. Nares. He directed his attention 

 especially to the marine Invertebrata ; and consequently the majority 

 of novelties will be found in those classes ; yet also the series of 

 marine Vertebrates, small as it is, contains forms of no small interest 

 which had escaped the notice of his immediate predecessors the 

 naturahstsofH.M.SS. 'Nassau' and 'Challenger.' The best thanks 

 of zoologists are due to the Lords of the Admiralty, from whom Dr. 

 Coppinger has received every encouragement in making this valu- 

 able contribution to our knowledge of the Antarctic fauna. 



The various parts of the collection have been examined and de- 

 scribed by the staff of the Zoological Department ; and for the con- 

 venience of the studentof this fauna it seems desirable to give the 

 results of these examinations in a connected form and systematic 

 order. 



I. :mammalia. 



By Oldfield Thomas. 



The Mammalia collected by Dr. Coppinger are few in number ; 

 but they include specimens of a new and handsome species of 

 Hesperomys, which I propose to name after the collector, and a 

 series of skulls of some of the Magellan Seals. The species are as 

 follows : — 



1. LUTRA FELINA, Mol. 



Two skulls, a skeleton, and two skins from Magellan Straits and 

 the west coast of Patagonia. 



1* 



