August 30, 1907] 



SCIENCE 



285 



nellid, forty-three species; and Calcarea, 

 twenty-four species. There are no horny 

 sponges, but some of the forms found were 

 represented by a very large number of indi- 

 viduals. Of Hexactinellids there are ten 

 species, all belonging to the Eossellidse. 



The niimber of marine algae collected is but 

 small, yet among them are some interesting 

 novelties. The authors of the report upon 

 them regard it as too early to attempt a 

 comparison between the algoid floras of the 

 Arctic and Antarctic. Some of the species 

 are, however, certainly identical. A single 

 species of Lithothamnion collected proves 

 new. Seven species of mosses were found, 

 bringing up to the number of fifty-one, the 

 total of Antarctic species. 



These volumes form an admirable addition 

 to our knowledge of Antarctica, and will 

 prove a lasting monument to the energy and 

 devotion of those who constituted the little 

 band of explorers in this, the most dreary 

 and inhospitable region of the entire globe. 



W. H. Dall 



SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS AND ARTICLES 

 Undversity of California Publications in 

 Zoology^ Vol. 3, is made up in large part of 

 " Contributions from the San Diego Marine 

 Laboratory." It includes several papers of a 

 faunistic nature with descriptions of many 

 new species from the pelagic fauna of the San 

 Diego Region; on the littoral and pelagic 

 Ostraeoda and on the Cladocera by Chancey 

 Juday, on the Copepoda by C. O. Esterly and 

 on the DinoflageUata by C. A. Kofoid. A list 

 of " The Marine Fishes of Southern Cali- 

 fornia," by E. C. Starts and E. L. Morris 

 contains notes on the (ecology and distribu- 

 tion of 246 species. A paper by H. B. Torrey 

 on the California Shore Anemone (Bunodactis 

 xantlw gram-mica) discusses the synonymy and 

 occurrence of a widely distributed anemone. 

 Mr. 0. 0. Esterly in " Some Observations on 

 the Nervous System of Copepoda " describes 

 the innervation of the sesthetasks of Copepod 

 antennae and ascribes a sensory function to 

 the rostral prongs of Diaptomus and to cer- 

 tain furcal bristles of Cyclops, but finds no 



sensory nerve supply to the so-called tactile 

 bristles of the antennae. " A Discussion of 

 Species Characters in Triposolenia," a group 

 of bizarre organisms belonging to the Dino- 

 flagellates, by C. A. Kofoid, calls attention to 

 the " unit " nature of specific characters, to 

 their non-adaptive significance, to the coin- 

 cident distribution of related species and to 

 the support which these facts lend to the Muta- 

 tion Theory. The same author finds in a 

 second paper on " The Significance of the 

 Asymmetry of Triposolenia" that this is an 

 adaptive structure which presents against the 

 action of gravity the maximum vertical pro- 

 jection of the body on sinking and therefore 

 delays descent from the illuminated upper 

 strata of water to abyssal regions. In a paper 

 by H. B. Torrey and Ann Martin on " Sexual 

 Dimorphism in Aglaophenia" definite struc- 

 tural differences are shown to exist between 

 the corbulse of male and female colonies in the 

 four California species. In each species, the 

 leaflets of the male corbulae are less com- 

 pletely fused than in the female, leading to 

 a readily recognizable dimorphism. The pur- 

 pose of " Biological Studies on Corymorpha, 

 II., The Development of C. palma from the 

 Egg " by H. B. Torrey was to discover (1) 

 to what extent the form of the species might 

 be determined by its activities, and (2) to 

 compare the normal embryonic processes with 

 those which appear in the regenerative develop- 

 ment. The embryonic development is char- 

 acterized by the plasticity of the tissues. The 

 regions of the body, the tentacles, frustules, 

 peripheral canals, axial endoderm, are molded 

 largely out of more or less differentiated 

 epithelial tissues without recourse to residual 

 cells. These plastic processes are accomplished 

 by various mechanical factors, including ab- 

 sorption of water, osmotic pressure, and 

 amoeboid movement. 



Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospheric 

 Electricity for March contains a portrait of 

 Eoald Amundsen, and the following articles: 

 " Concerning Pulsations of Short Period in 

 the Strength of the Earth's Magnetic Field," 

 by H. Ebert; "Contribution to the Study of 

 the Effects produced on the Magnetic Declina- 



