MARINE BIOLOGICAL STATION AT PORT ERIN. o9 



Sea. This British Association Committee continued its work 

 for four years, furnished reports to successive meetings of the 

 Association and in its final report, to be found in the volume 

 for 1896, gave a complete list of all species recorded up to that 

 date as the result of our explorations. 



The third volume of the Fauna was published in July, 

 1892, and contained papers on the Marine Algae, Sponges, 

 Worms, Crustaceans, Mollusca and Ascidians. 



Filially, in this Sixth Report (1892) a record is given of 

 some observations on the remarkable variations in colour of 

 the small shore prawn Virbius (or Hip poly te) varians, illustrated 

 by a coloured plate showing a brown Virbius simulating the 

 elongated segmented brown floats of the brown sea-weed 

 Ualidrys siliquosa, a red and white banded Virbius found 

 inhabiting masses of the red sea- weeds Delesseria and Rhody- 

 menia, and a bright green Virbius lying lengthways along the 

 blades of the green sea-grass Zostera marina, and bearing eggs 

 which are also green, while specimens found on a sandy bottom 

 or on small gravel are mottled black, grey and white, so as to 

 be very effectively protected by their colouration. This matter 

 was investigated in much more detail some years later by 

 Professor Gamble. 



In the following Report, for 1893, we find a list of over 

 60 workers who made use of the Station for collecting or 

 investigation, including Professor Brady and Professor Potter 

 from Newcastle, Captain Dannevig from Norway, Professor 

 Q. B. Howes from London, and others. 



Captain Dannevig's visit was at the request of the 

 Lancashire Sea-Fisheries Committee, in order that he might 

 give evidence before them as to the suitability of the locality 

 for a Fish-Hatching establishment. He reported both to thai 

 Committee and also to the Select Committee of the House of 

 Commons on June 15th that he regarded Port Erin as fehe 

 most suitable place in the neighbourhood for the establishment 



