December 17, 1886.] 



SCIENCHJ. 



573 



those observed or recorded by naturalists being 

 without exception in an invalid condition or cast 

 dead on the shores. With regard to the distribu- 

 tion of the species in depth, there are great diffi- 

 culties in the way of deciding whether the 

 specimens came from a given depth or not. Cir- 

 cumstances seem to indicate that Cirroteuthis, 

 probably Bathyteuthis and Mastigoteuthis, and 

 perhaps one or two species of Octopus, may be 

 reckoned as abyssal forms. But no structural 

 features appear to have been discovered by which 

 a species may be definitely asserted to be a deep 

 or a shallow water aniaial. This agrees well with 

 tlie conclusions drawn by others from a study of 

 the deep-sea mollusks of other classes. A full 

 discussion of the geographical distribution of 

 the class gives completeness to the report. In 

 the discussion of genera and species, Mr. Hoyle 

 has the courage of his opinions, and freel}' criti- 

 cises where the circumstances seem to him to 

 warrant it, but his tone is uniformly courteous. 

 His report may be heartily commended. . 



The Stomatopoda are crustaceans related to the 

 common Squilla of our southern and eastern 

 coasts, and are restricted to shallow waters. Prof. 

 W. K. Brooks remarks that when he examined 

 the Challenger collection, consisting of only fifteen 

 species, his first feeling was of disappointment, 

 since the types seemed all familiar. But after a 

 more thorough examination, this gave way to a 

 lively interest, since it appeared that the material 

 was such as to enable him to trace the ancestry 

 and development of this small and compact order 

 with great completeness. The Squillidae have a 

 very long larval life, and are found at the surface 

 of the sea, where the currents carry them vast 

 distances ; so that some of the species have a 

 nearly world-wide distribution. The larvae are 

 among the most elegant of the immature Crustacea 

 found in the tow-net, and naturally excite great 

 interest among the naturalists who capture them. 

 But the young stages do not thrive in confinement, 

 the eggs seem dependent on the parent for suitable 

 conditions up to the time of hatching, and so the 

 connection of the isolated links in the chain of 

 life of any given species has been a task of great 

 difficulty. The very numerous larvae contained 

 in the Challenger collection, and the indefatigable 

 application of Professor Brooks to the problem, 

 have enabled him to add materially to the knowl- 

 edge of the group, and to smooth away many 

 difficulties for subsequent students. According 

 to the author, the Challenger collections "enable 

 us to determine, with much greater certainty 

 than before, the larval type which pertains to 

 nearly every one of the genera of adult Stoma- 

 topoda, and also to give a pretty complete picture 



of the developmental history of each larval 

 type." 



The collection of reef corals made was a large 

 and important one, there being representatives of 

 two hundred and ninety -three species, referable to 

 sixty-nine genera, and by series large enough in 

 many cases to afford an instructive idea of the 

 very considerable range of variation within a 

 species. Of the whole number, about one-fourth 

 were new. Of the seventy-three new species, 

 seventy-one were obtained in the Pacific, and two 

 in the Atlantic, which illustrates fairly well our 

 comparative knowledge of the two chief coral 

 regions. Of the sixty -nine genera, eight are new, 

 all from the Pacific. The report is confined to a 

 description of the hard parts, the material for 

 anatomical purposes being otherwise disposed of 

 by the authorities. In the generic grouping. Pro- 

 fessor Verrill's revised list of Dana's zoophytes, 

 contained in the ' Corals and Coral Islands,' has 

 been followed, with certain amendments as to 

 species. Much use has been made of Professor 

 Moseley's field notes as to the habitat and environ- 

 ment of the corals. A detailed hst of the species 

 from each locality has been given, which it is 

 hoped may serve as a basis for a knowledge of 

 the distribution of the reef corals. In classifica- 

 tion, Mr. Quelch has mainly followed Duncan for 

 the Madreporaria ; but in the Rugosa the occur- 

 rence of Moseleya latistellata has led the author 

 to apply a new treatment, which he anticii^ates 

 will lead to some discussion. This remarkable 

 species is directly and closely related to the most 

 typical Cyathophyllidae, while at the same time 

 it presents undeniable astraeid characters. It 

 must be looked upon as one of the most remark- 

 able types of structure brought to light by the 

 Challenger. It occurred at Wednesday Island, 

 Torres Strait, in eight fathoms. The discussion of 

 distribution, areal and bathymetric, is very in- 

 teresting. The Atlantic reef coral fauna is 

 sharply separated from that of the Pacific and 

 Indian Oceans. The distribution in depth is 

 greater than formerly supposed, two species reach- 

 ing to seventy fathoms, though it is tolerably 

 certain that the zone of most active growth does 

 not extend much below twenty fathoms. The 

 thermal limit of 68° F., which is doubtless the 

 limit of active reef-building, does not, as formerly 

 was believed, confine the existence of the reef- 

 building species. Manicina areolata was obtained 

 at the Cape in water of the temperature of 65°, 

 and Madrepora borealis is said to inhabit the cold 

 waters of the White Sea near Archangel, Russia. 

 On this point we confess to some scepticism, 

 until at least a second specimen is obtained ; that 

 in the Paris museum, still unique, dating from 



