8 Vallentin, Notes on the Falkland Islands. 



collecting, I only preserved such specimens as I could not 

 identify, but always entered in my note-book on the spot 

 all the forms seen. I am satisfied that my notes, together 

 with the specimens collected, would give a fairly repre- 

 sentative list of the invertebrate fauna to be found on that 

 section of the Falklands. I may here mention that in 

 spite of a most diligent search I never saw a single 

 medusa in the sea from the day I left Stanley till I 

 returned. Taken as a whole, I was not astonished to find 

 the littoral fauna on this portion of the Falkland archi- 

 pelago a poor one. This fact is in a great measure due to 

 the heavy seas from which no inlet or cove, however 

 sheltered it may appear to be, is protected. Under such 

 conditions only the strongest forms are able to hold their 

 own. Besides, all the creeks receive the surface drainage 

 from the surrounding country, so the amount of fresh- 

 water flowing through them to the sea must, during the 

 winter season, be very great. 



The common shore mollusks, such as Siphonaria 

 lessonii, Patella cenea, Mytellus edulis, and M. niagellanicus 

 were abundant everywhere. Crepidiilata dilatata, EtitJiuria 

 antaictica, and Photinula expansa were scarce. The 

 'whelk' {Trophdon geverszanus) was not found alive along 

 any of the foreshores, specimens of these were only to be 

 found after gales of wind. Fisiirella picta and F.polygonia 

 were both scarce. Acmcsa ccscUiana, Chiton setiger, and 

 C. atrata were all very scarce indeed. Teredo palmulata 

 was present in all the submerged timber. In Crustacea, 

 Halicarcinus plana tus was very scarce indeed all along the 

 the southern shore of this promontory. Ectospheromia 

 gigas abounded everywhere, especially in Whaler Bay, 

 where it occurred in swarms. I found one &^^ capsule of 

 a species of Elasniobranch on the beach near Roy Cove. 



Annelids of various species were very numerous in the 



