308 Transactions.—Z oology. 
preserve the specimen and so cannot now speak confidently as to its genus. 
Dead shells of Spirula levis, and also of the well-known “sea snails,” 
Ianthina exigua and I. communis, are frequently cast up after north-east 
gales; but as these species live in tke open sea only, we have no right to 
claim them as inhabitants. 
The subjoined catalogue contains the names of 175 species, arranged as 
follows :— Cephalopoda, 2; Heteropoda, 2; Gasteropoda, 120; Lamelli- 
branchiata, 50; Brachiopoda,1. Several of these are not mentioned in our 
catalogues, and are probably new to the New Zealand Fauna. I must here 
mention my obligations to Captain F. W. Hutton, of the Otago Museum, 
who has most kindly assisted me in determining several of the species, 
and who will probably soon describe some of the new forms. 
Before concluding this sketch, I may perhaps be allowed to draw the 
attention of such of our members who have a taste for Natural History 
to the wide field still remaining for research in the invertebrata of our seas. 
In no other branch of the New Zealand Fauna does so much remain to be 
bedone. Of the lower classes, as for instance: the Sponges, Zoophytes, and 
Annelids, hardly anything is known ; in fact only a few conspicuous species 
appear to have been collected. It is probable that not one-half the Crus- 
tacea have been obtained. We are better acquainted with the Echino- 
derms, thanks to the excellent little catalogue issued by the Geological 
Survey ; but in this class it is obvious that many additions will be made. 
The Mollusca have undoubtedly received the most attention, but even here 
large families have been almost entirely neglected. In confirmation of this 
I need only point to the Nudibranchs, which in Britain alone, number 
about 112 species, whilst here only three have as yet been described. There 
is no reason, so far as I am aware, for supposing that this order is less abun- 
dant here than at home; and certainly at least a dozen forms can be 
observed in Auckland Harbour, a locality which cannot be said to be pro- 
ductive in species as compared with other portions of the coast. It must 
also be remembered that no attempt at dredging worthy of the name has 
as yet been made ; and yet it would be difficult to estimate the number of 
entirely new species, of all orders, and the valuable information as to the 
habits and distribution of those already known which will be obtained by 
the systematic use of the dredge at even moderate depths. Deep sea dredg- 
ing, say at a greater depth than 100 fathoms, is too laborious and expensive 
an undertaking for private individuals, but in the comparatively shallow 
water near the shore a great deal might be done. 
There are other questions, too, that require attention besides that of 
“species hunting,” and perhaps of more importance. The geographical 
distribution and relative abundance of the species is one that has hardly 
