is 



SCIENCE. 



hundred and eighty-two are invertebrates. Of the verte- 

 brates twenty-four are mammals, one hundred and 

 thirty-three are birds, twenty-seven are reptiles, sixbatra- 

 chians, ninety-seven fishes and eleven selachians. Of the 

 invertebrates, one hundred and forty-seven are molluscs, 

 twenty-one are crustaceans. The list of vertebrates is 

 very nearly exhaustive, and we made no additions to it, 

 but the list of invertebrates is obviously very imperfect, 

 and, although we made no attempt to tabulate the species 

 which we obsetved, there would be no difficulty in en- 

 larging the list twenty or thirty fold. 



Among other naturalists who have spent more or less 

 time at Beaufort, I may mention Protessor L. Agassiz, 

 Professor E. S. Morse, Dr. A. S. Packard, Prolessor 

 Webster, and Professor D. S. Jordan. Professor Morse 

 procured most of the material for his well known paper 

 on the Systematic Position of the Brachiopoda on the 

 sand bars in Beaufort Inlet. 



I will now attempt to give a very short statement 

 of some of the leading points in our own summer's work. 

 Much of our time was spent in studying the devel- 

 opment of the Crustacea, since this is one of the 

 most important fields for original work upon our 

 southern coast. The supply of mat- rial is almost 

 nexhaustible, and would employ a number of students for 

 imany years. The life h'story of the Crustacea is of great 

 interest in itself, and the recent species are so numerous 

 and diversified that there is no group of animals better 

 adapted for studying the general laws of embryonic de- 

 velopment in their relation to the evolution of the group. 



These considerations have led us to devote especial at- 

 tention to this group during this and the preceding sea- 

 sons. One of the published results ot the first season's 

 work was an illustrated account of the metamorphosis of 

 Squilla, a representative of a somewhat aberrant group 

 of Crustacea. During the second season, a member of 

 our party, Professor Birge, made a very thorough study 

 of the development of Panaf cnts, one of our crabs, and 

 the account ot his observations, with drawings, was ready 

 for publication several months ago. At Beaufort, we 

 spent most of our time upon this subject, and figured 

 more than tight hundred points in the development of 

 various Crustacea. 



Among these, I wish to call especial attention to our 

 observations upon the development of the Sergestidae ; 

 the least specialized of the stalk-eyed Crustacea. This 

 very^peculiar group was not known to occur upon our 

 coast until we found a few specimens of one genus at 

 Fort Wool, and the same genus —Lucifer — in great 

 abundance at Beaufort, associated with another genus 

 which is also new to North America. As nothing what- 

 ever was known of the development of Lucifer, we made 

 every effort to obtain the eggs and young, and after four 

 months of almost fruitless labor we finally succeeded in 

 finding all the stages of the metamorphosis, and figured 

 them in a complete series of ninety-nine drawings. We 

 also obtained a somewhat less complete series of figures 

 of stages in the life history of the second Sergestid. 



Our only motive in this work was the desire to fill a 

 gap in our knowledge of crustacean development, by 

 supplying the lite history of a very interesting group of 

 animals, but the result was found to have a very unex- 

 pected value, since it contributes to the discussion of a 

 number of problems in general embryology and morphol- 

 ogy, and is the most significant crustacean life history 

 which has ever been studied. 



The following are some of the more important points : 



The egg undergoes total regular segmentation. 



There is no food yolk, and cleavage goes quite through 

 the egg. 



There is a true segmentation cavity. 

 Segmentation is rhythmical. 

 There is an invaginatc gastrula. 



The larva leaves the egg as a Nauplius, and passes 

 through a protozoan stage, and a schizopod stage. 



The fifth thoracic segments and appendages are en- 

 tirely wanting at all stages of development. 



Another interesting group which was studied is the 

 Porcellanidae, the least specialized of the true crabs. 

 The adults of our American species are almost restricted 

 to our southern waters, although the swimming larvae 

 are carried north by the Gulf Stream. Within the last 

 two years two northern naturalists have studied these 

 floating embryos upon the south coast of New England, 

 but as they were working upon stragglers so far from 

 home their accounts are incomplete and somewhat con- 

 tradictory. Our advantages at Beaufort enabled us to 

 contribute towards the solution of this confused subject 

 by raising one species of Porcellana from the egg. 



We also raised six other species of crabs from the egg, 

 and made drawings of the more important stages of de- 

 velopment. One of the species which was thus studied 

 is the edible crab. Its metamorphosis has never been 

 figured, and although it presents no unusual features, its 

 economic importance gives value to exact know ledge ot 

 its life history. 



Mr. Wilson also studied the development of one species 

 of Pycnogonida, a group of veiy peculiar Arthropods, 

 distantly related to the spiders. As he has paid especial 

 attention to the systematic study of this group, and is 

 now engaged in describing the Pycnogonids collected in 

 the Gulf Stream by Mr. Agassiz, the opportunity to study 

 them alive in the laboratory has been a great advantage 

 to him. 



Another important investigation is the study, by Mr. 

 Wilson, of the embryology of the marine Annelids. Al- 

 though the representatives of this large group are abund- 

 ant and widely distributed, little was known of the early 

 stages of their development until he procured the eggs 

 of several species and studied them at Beaufort. This 

 investigation has shown, among other things, that the 

 accepted division of Annelids into two great groups, the 

 Oligochaeta and Polychasta, is not a natural method of 

 classification. The work upon the development oi marine 

 Annelids was supplementary to an investigation which 

 Mr. Wilson carried on last spring at Baltimore, and 

 which he will continue this winter, upon the development 

 of land and fresh water Annelids. 



As much time as possible was given this season to the 

 study of the hydroids and jelly-fish of Beaufort. The life 

 histories of several of them were investigated, a thorough 

 anatomical study of some of the most important forms 

 was carried on, and nearly two hundred drawings were 

 made. It is almost impossible to complete a study of 

 this kind in a single season, but if one or two more sum- 

 mers can be given to the work, we have every reason to 

 hope for valuable results ; for although the North Carolina 

 coast is the home of many species which are only found 

 as stragglers upon our northern coast, and of other species 

 which are not known to occur anywhere else, and of 

 some genera and families which are new to the North 

 American coast, this field has suffered almost total 

 neglect. 



Nearly three months of the time of two members 

 of our party, Mitsukuri and Wilson, were given 

 to the study of the habits, anatomy and develop- 

 ment of Renilla, a compound Polyp very much like 

 that which forms the precious coral, but soft and 

 without a stony skeleton. The animals which form the 

 community are so intimately bound together that the 

 community, as a whole, has a well marked individuality 

 distinct from that of the separate animals which com- 

 pose it. The compound individuality of Retiilla is quite 

 rudimentary as compared with that of a Siphonophore, 

 and as there is no trace of it in the closely allied Gor- 

 gonias, it furnishes an excellent field for studying the 

 incipient stages in the formation of a compound organ- 

 ism by the union and specialization of a community of 

 independent simple organisms. With this end in view 

 the anatomy of the fully developed community was care- 



