of the North of Ireland \ 57 
1859 Eeport. An annotated list of additional species and additional localities, 
and a few corrections. 
The Stations above are conveniently arranged in four groups, viz : — 
1. Belfast Lougb. This signifies the waters lying west of a line drawn 
from Orlock Point, in Co. Down, to Black Head, in Co. Antrim, and not 
exceeding 10 fathoms in depth. 
2. Entrance of Belfast Lough. Under this head come a number of dred- 
gings made around the entrance of the Bay, from Donaghadee on the Co. Down 
shore, northward as far as the great cliff-range of The Gobbins, in Island 
Magee, Co. Antrim. By far the most important of these, as far as results are 
concerned, are those made on the Turbot Bank, “a great submarine bank lying 
a short distance out from the cliffs called The Gobbins, and extending from the 
Isle of Muck across the entrance of Belfast Bay towards the Copeland Islands.”* 
On this bank, which lies in from 25 to 30 fathoms of water, a number of rare 
and interesting species have been obtained, but almost all in a dead state, and it 
is to be noted that some of the Turbot Bank shells are very doubtfully recent, 
while a few are certainly fossil. Mr. Hyndman expresses the opinion that the 
majority of the shells are derived from the deep recess lying near the Maiden 
Eocks, a few miles to the northward, which will presently be mentioned ; but 
it would appear probable that some submarine pleistocene deposit in the neigh- 
bourhood has also contributed to the rich store of Testacea which the Turbot 
Bank yields. f 
3. Larne Lough. Mr. Hyndman’s party made but one haul of the dredge 
in this lough ; it yielded so little that apparently the scientists never revisited 
waters that gave so poor a return for their labours. This poverty in shells is 
the more remarkable when we take into consideration the extreme richness in 
Mollusca of the Estuarine Clays in that vicinity. 
4. Off Lame. This term embraces a large number of stations, from Isle of 
Muck northward to Bally galley Head, andout eastward to beyond the Maiden Eocks . 
The latter consist of a group of rocky islets lying some six miles from shore ; 
on their seaward side the water deepens rapidly, and over a limited area a depth 
of 90 and 100 fathoms is reached. This abyss, which is very difficult to dredge 
on account of the rocky nature of the bottom and the strong currents that sweep 
over it, is the home of many rare species, and those who have successfully faced 
* Hyndman, 1857 Report. 
f The question of the origin of the Turbot Bank shells is one of much interest, and has 
not been satisfactorily settled. The opinion of the compilers of the Naturalists’ Field 
Club “ G-uide to Belfast and the adjacent Counties,” is worth recording: — “About 200 species 
of Mollusca have been enumerated from the Turbot Bank, many of them being of extreme 
rarity; but the majority occurring as dead shells only. It has been suggested that this 
bank is only a submarine fossil bed, and that a great portion of the shells are really relics 
of the glacial epoch. It is, however, quite as likely that they are accumulated on this bar 
by currents, and that they belong to species still living in the vicinity, on rocky bottoms 
where the dredge has little chance of picking them up.” 
