18 KJELLMAN, THE ALG^ OF THE ARCTIC SEA. 



almost the same. Though certainly common at several places in the Arctic Sea, it is 

 not known to grow anywhere in any considerable number. But it was found lying 

 loose on the bottom in large masses richly overgrown with the otherwise scarce Anti- 

 thamnion boreale, at Musselbay on the north coast of Spitzbergen. 



Monotony of the vegetation of the Arctic Sea. It will be clear already from 

 the preceding pages, that the vegetation of at least the greater part of the Arctic Sea 

 has a very monotonous character. Its main mass is distributed over the sublitoral zone; 

 in the other zones it has almost completely vanished, or at least, on account of its poorness, 

 is thrown almost altogether into the shade by that of the sublitoral zone. This sublitoral 

 vegetation certainly varies in composition and aspect on different parts of the bottom, 

 but partly there exist only few formations thus differentiated, partly one of these, the 

 formation of the Laminariacese, occupies the largest space, and on this account as well 

 as by its richness and luxuriancy eclipses all the others. Within that formation it is the 

 large-sized Laminariaceae that produce the general effect. By far, the majority of the other 

 elements are comparatively too small and insignificant and too few in number to come 

 out more strongly. The Laminariacese belong certainly to pretty many species, but their 

 types are so few and so little diversified as architectonical elements, that the character 

 of this formation cannot exhibit any richer and more marked variety. The vegetation 

 of the Arctic Sea lacks variety not only in form, but also in colour. The general tone 

 is gloomy, the dark-brown colour of the LarainariaceaB is the prevailing one. The 

 lighter brown shades are almost completely wanting. The red algae are only little 

 apparent, and their red colour is most often of the darker and graver shades. The 

 Chlorophyllophycese are almost altogether suppressed. Those numerous varieties of 

 green, from the most vivid grass-green to the lightest whitish- or yellowish-green, which 

 give such vividness and richness of colour to considerable portions of the vegetation 

 of the Atlantic, are wanting in the Arctic Sea. 



This picture applies to the greatest part of the Arctic Sea. In the Norwegian 

 Polar Sea the physiognomy of the vegetation is more diversified in form and colour, 

 chiefly on account of its powerfully developed litoral division, composed of Fucaceae, 

 more prominent Floridese, and green algae. This is also the case, though in a less degree, 

 with the vegetation on the west coast of Greenland, in the White Sea and in the most 

 westerly part of the Murman Sea. 



The luxuriancy of the vegetation. No inconsiderable number of the algas of the 

 Arctic Sea are developed to a very high degree of luxuriancy. Referring the reader 

 for particulars to the special part of my work, I only enumerate here the following 

 species: Lithoth amnion soriferum, L. glaciale and L. polymorphum, Odonthalia dentata, 

 Polysiphonia arctica, Delesseria sinuosa, Rhodymenia palmata, Hydrolapathum sanguineum, 

 Sarcophyllis arctica, Halosaccion ramentaceum, Fhyllophora interrupta, Kallymenia rosacea, 

 Ptilota plumosa and Pt. pectinata, Bhodochorton Eothii, Porphyra laciniata, Diploderma 

 amplissimum, several species of Fucus, Ilea fascia, Scytosiphon lomentarius, Desmarestia 

 aculeata, Dichloria viridis, Phloeospora tortilis, Dictyosiphon corymbosus, Chcetopteris plu- 

 mosa, Sphacelaria arctica, Enteromorp)ha intestinnlis, Diplonema percursum, Monostroma 

 angicava, M. cylindraceum, M. fuscum and M. Blyttii, Spongomorpha spinescens and S. 



