MAEINE BIOLOGICAL STATION AT POET EEIN. 41 



average four to six in number, are kept constantly occu- 

 pied, each man at his own work, from the commencement 

 of the first haul till the steamer is turned homewards, and 

 after that the packing and labelling of specimens fill up 

 the time until land is reached. 



Additions to the Fauna. 



As most of the expeditions took place round the Isle of 

 Man, the material was generally brought back to the Port 

 Erin Biological Station, and sorted out into groups in the 

 laboratory there, and then sent to the specialists. Taking 

 the groups in zoological order, the most notable additions 

 as the result of this year's work have been — 



Sponges. — Dr. K. Hanitsch reports that the only actual 

 additions to our sponge fauna made during the last few 

 months are (1) Leiosella (Spongionella) pulchella, Sowerby, 

 which was dredged on May 14th, 1894, at 14 miles N. by 

 W. from the Liverpool N.W. Lightship. This species 

 was previously known from the coast of Durham, the 

 Skerries, Shetland, the west coast of Ireland, the east 

 coast of Greenland, and the North Pacific. (2) Mijxilla 

 irregularis, B., found at Port Erin and Fleshwick, at low 

 tide, in August and September, 1894. This species has 

 previously been recorded only from the Diamond ground 

 off Hastings. We have also found at Port St. Mary a 

 very fine specimen of Leucandra gossei, consisting of at 

 least 16 "persons," while Haeckel describes the species 

 as having 2 to 5, rarely 4 to 8 persons. 



We are indebted for a list of the Hydeoid Zoophytes 

 and Polyzoa which we have collected to Miss L. E. 

 Thornely, who has proved that the Lafoea pigmcea of Alder 

 possesses an operculum, and therefore belongs to the 

 genus Calycella, and also has gonothecae, which were 

 previously unknown. The total number of species of 



