68 KJELLMAN, THE ALG^ OF THE ARCTIC SEA. 



most species, as far as can be decided, are of arctic origin, or, at least, that the ge- 

 neral character of the vegetation is marked by arctic elements. This is true, as has 

 been shown by Gobi '), of the Flora of the White Sea and the waters immediately 

 adjacent to it, and still more with respect to the Flora of those regions of the Arctic 

 Sea that are situated farther northwards and eastwards. A more considerable immi- 

 gration of southern forms has apparently taken place into Baffin Bay on the west 

 coast of Greenland, but even here these forms are inferior to the arctic ones, with 

 regard to the number both of species and of individuals, and with respect to their 

 influence on the general character of the vegetation. On this account, these parts of 

 the Polar Sea and of the northern Atlantic ought to be considered as a whole with 

 regard to the marine vegetation, and may be denominated the region of the arctic 

 marine Flora. This region accordingly comprises those parts of the Ocean which lie along 

 the coasts of the countries occupied by the arctic land-flora, in other words, the whole 

 Polar Sea, except the Norwegian Polar Sea, and besides, the northern Atlantic on the 

 coast of Greenland, and the southern part of Baffin Bay. Possibly there ought to be 

 added to it the sea on the north-eastern coast of America along Labrador, New- 

 Foundland, and the coast southwards to the latitude of Boston. But it is more correct 

 perhaps to consider this part as a transitional region between the arctic Flora and that 

 of the northern Atlantic. It is reserved for future investigations to decide this question. 

 For the present, the latitude of Cape Farewell may be regarded as the southern boun- 

 dary of the arctic region in the western part of the Atlantic. 



The arctic region has accordingly a very large extent, stretching round the 

 Pole and reaching southwards at least down to Lat. N. 60. It might have been 

 expected that within so extensive a region differences in the hydrographical and 

 purely geographical conditions as well as in development, should have produced di- 

 stinct differences of vegetation, so as to form in the course of time a rather con- 

 siderable number of narrower regions with dissimilar Floras. There exist indeed such 

 narrower regions distinguishable from one another, but they are fewer than might be 

 supposed a priori. In my description of the vegetation of the Murman Sea, I have 

 shown it to agree so essentially with the Flora of the Greenland Sea on the coasts of 

 Spitzbergen, that these two parts of the Arctic Sea must be regarded as belonging to 

 the same province of the arctic Flora ^). Gobi has afterwards demonstrated that the 

 Flora of the White Sea and the contiguous parts of the Murman Sea is very closely 

 related to that on the coasts of Spitzbergen and Novaya Zemlya ^). From the Kara 

 Sea only two species are known that have not been found hitherto in either of the 

 last-mentioned Seas, which it resembles otherwise in the general aspect and characteristic 

 species of the Flora') The scanty notices that we possess on the marine vegetation on 

 the east coast of Greenland, point to its being like that of Spitzbergen. As far as I 

 know, no algae have been as yet collected in the Spitzbergen Sea, but probably its 



[) Cp. Gobi, Algenfl. Weiss. Meer, p. 13 and foil. 



■) Cp. Kjellman, Algenv. Murm. Meer. p. 72 and foil. 



') Cp. Kjellman, Kariska hafvets Algv., p. 9 — 10. 



