April 25, 1902.] 



SCIENCE. 



659 



The introductory monograpli by Professor 

 Max Weber, director of the expedition, gives 

 a clear outline of the proposed work, a his- 

 torical summary of the researches relating to 

 this region and a condensed journal of the 

 cruise during its year of collecting. 



Great interest in the biology of their East 

 Indies has always been shown by the Dutch, 

 and the rich tropical fauna and flora of this 

 region have already been examined at first 

 hand, although in but a preliminary way, by 

 many of their best observers. The present 

 expedition can, therefore, be looked upon as 

 the logical outcome of a cumulative interest. 

 Not long since a society was formed for the 

 ''Encouragement of Explorations in the Co- 

 lonial Possessions of the Netherlands,' and it 

 was at the instance of this society, through 

 the efforts of Professor Hubrecht, of Utrecht, 

 and other leading zoologists, that the Dutch 

 government lent its aid to the undertaking. 

 This materialized in the loan of an admirably 

 equipped war vessel, the Siboga, for the pur- 

 pose of a general exploration of the marine 

 fauna of the Dutch East Indies. Among 

 zoologists generally, it is well known that the 

 S'lboga started on its cruise UJider exception- 

 ally favorable auspices ; no vessel was 

 better equipped for zoological collecting, 

 and its naval personnel, from Captain Tyde- 

 man down, was selected with extreme care— - 

 the latter feature almost as important to 

 the staff of naturalists as the former. 

 The vessel started on its cruise in March, 

 1899, returning to Java without mishap 

 just a year later. Over three hundred dredg- 

 ing stations were recorded at points well 

 scattered throughout the archipelago. The 

 itinerary was a long one; the vessel passed 

 first along the southern row of islands as far 

 as Timor, thence northerly through the Strait 

 ■of Makassar, as far as the Sulu group in the 

 Philippines; thence back to Celebes, then 

 again northerly to the neighborhood of the 

 Philippine Island, Mindanao; thence south- 

 erly through the Molucca passage, and among 

 the islands of the sea of Ceram, as far as the 

 coast of New Guinea; thence through the sea 

 of Panda, and among the southern group, 

 Timor, Flores, Lombok, back to Java. The 



present monograph gives, although in a con- 

 cise form, an idea of the fauna of the little- 

 studied deep and shallow waters of the archi- 

 pelago, and of the wealth of material which 

 now has been distributed among the specialists 

 who are to report upon the collections. Hardly 

 of less interest are the extensive researches 

 undertaken by Captain Tydeman and the party 

 in the hydrography of this region. 



It is a difficult task for the reviewer to 

 select the most important of the points 

 brought out in the first monograph. One may 

 pick out at random these: There is evidence 

 that the famous 'Wallace's line' between Bor- 

 neo and Celebes, is far less distinct than for- 

 merly believed, and indeed of minor impor- 

 tance in the matter of the distribution of 

 marine forms ; in this regard we note that the 

 narrow strait between Bali and Lombok 

 through which this line passes is much shal- 

 lower than heretofore believed, practically 

 within the one hundred fathom mark. 



Important too is the discovery of actual 

 barriers separating the deep waters, or seas 

 of the archipelago from the neighboring 

 oceans, barriers which had long been con- 

 jectured to account for the fact that the 

 deep waters of the archipelago, i. e., those 

 greater than 1,600 meters, are of uniform tem- 

 perature (about 3 degrees C), while those of 

 adjacent oceans become colder as the depth 

 increases. The present memoir contains many 

 interesting biological notes. We may cite, as 

 examples, the reference to the Palolo worm, 

 whose extraordinarily regular and sudden 

 mode of occurrence has so long puzzled zoolo- 

 gists; the method of sailing by the sword fish, 

 Histiophorus; the relations of LUhotham- 

 nion colonies; curious aboriginal methods of 

 fishing ; notes on shallow water phosphorescent 

 fishes ; measurement (in candle power) 

 of the flashes of the phosphorescent fish, 

 Photohlepharon; living conditions of glass 

 sponges; notes on Coccosplimra, much dis- 

 cussed of deep-sea expeditions — these are 

 shown to be plants, their chromatophores and 

 division having been studied in living mate- 

 rial by Mme. Weber. 



Among geological notes we find that Meso- 

 zoic deposits, hitherto known only in and near 



