ANTARCTIC BENTHOS
21
the Arctic Seas, came up with the lead ”. Later (1847, vol. 1, p. 201)
Ross recorded the result of a dredge haul in 270 fm at 72”31’S, 173”39’E.
Besides a large block of granite and many stones, beautiful specimens of
living coral and other animals were obtained. “ Corallines, Flustrae,
and a variety of marine invertebrate animals, also came up in the net,
showing an abundance and great variety of animal life. Among them
I detected two species of Pycnogonum ; Idotea Baffini, hitherto considered peculiar to the Arctic Seas ; a chiton, seven or eight bivalves and
univalves, an unknown species of Gammarus, and two kinds of Serpula,
adhering to the pebbles and shells ”. In an appendix to Ross’s work
Charles Stokes (1847) described and indicated several new species of
“ corals )’, Hornera lateralis (Bryozoa), Retepora cellulosa (Bryozoa),
Primnoa Rossii (Alcyonaria), Melitoea australis and MadreporaJissurata.
It was stated that drawings of these new forms would appear in the
Zoology of the voyage but only descriptions of vertebrate animals
appear to have been published in the official results of the Expedition,
and Stoke’s names seem to have been largely ignored. Ross’s account
seems to be the first account of a collection with a dredge in Antarctic
waters. Hooker (1845) contributed a slightly different account of the
same collecting episode, but was mainly concerned to show that life
existed at depths greater than 300 fm.
Baird (1865, 1870) described some polychaetes from this material,
e.g. Terebella Jlabetlum, T. bilineata, Eunice narconi and 8erpula
narconensis. Carter (1872) described two new species of sponges from
material in the British Museum collected from 300 to 206 fm respectively.
Ehrenberg (1844) recorded some foraminiferans from the Ross Sea
material. Bate (1862) described two amphipods from expedition material collected from Hermite Island, off Tierra del Fuego. Other forms
have probably been described by various workers. The ones outlined
above are the only papers to come to the writer’s attention.
There was then a long hiatus period in biological activity in the
Antarctic, to be broken by the H.M.S. Challenger (1872-76). The magnificent set of volumes recording the biological results of this expedition
described many southern high latitude animals from the plankton and
from the benthos especially in the vicinity of Kerguelen, Prince Edward
Islands, the Crozets and Heard Island. The Challenger penetrated to
66’40’5 in latitude 7S022’E, the first steam vessel to cross the Antarctic
Circle. The appearance of the biological results of the Challenger Expedition mark the end of a period of biological exploration that can rate as
little more than preliminary skirmishing with the problem. Many
Antarctic benthic animals were described as a result of the Challenger’s
investigations but these were mostly species which also occurred in the
A. M . B . - I0
a
21
the Arctic Seas, came up with the lead ”. Later (1847, vol. 1, p. 201)
Ross recorded the result of a dredge haul in 270 fm at 72”31’S, 173”39’E.
Besides a large block of granite and many stones, beautiful specimens of
living coral and other animals were obtained. “ Corallines, Flustrae,
and a variety of marine invertebrate animals, also came up in the net,
showing an abundance and great variety of animal life. Among them
I detected two species of Pycnogonum ; Idotea Baffini, hitherto considered peculiar to the Arctic Seas ; a chiton, seven or eight bivalves and
univalves, an unknown species of Gammarus, and two kinds of Serpula,
adhering to the pebbles and shells ”. In an appendix to Ross’s work
Charles Stokes (1847) described and indicated several new species of
“ corals )’, Hornera lateralis (Bryozoa), Retepora cellulosa (Bryozoa),
Primnoa Rossii (Alcyonaria), Melitoea australis and MadreporaJissurata.
It was stated that drawings of these new forms would appear in the
Zoology of the voyage but only descriptions of vertebrate animals
appear to have been published in the official results of the Expedition,
and Stoke’s names seem to have been largely ignored. Ross’s account
seems to be the first account of a collection with a dredge in Antarctic
waters. Hooker (1845) contributed a slightly different account of the
same collecting episode, but was mainly concerned to show that life
existed at depths greater than 300 fm.
Baird (1865, 1870) described some polychaetes from this material,
e.g. Terebella Jlabetlum, T. bilineata, Eunice narconi and 8erpula
narconensis. Carter (1872) described two new species of sponges from
material in the British Museum collected from 300 to 206 fm respectively.
Ehrenberg (1844) recorded some foraminiferans from the Ross Sea
material. Bate (1862) described two amphipods from expedition material collected from Hermite Island, off Tierra del Fuego. Other forms
have probably been described by various workers. The ones outlined
above are the only papers to come to the writer’s attention.
There was then a long hiatus period in biological activity in the
Antarctic, to be broken by the H.M.S. Challenger (1872-76). The magnificent set of volumes recording the biological results of this expedition
described many southern high latitude animals from the plankton and
from the benthos especially in the vicinity of Kerguelen, Prince Edward
Islands, the Crozets and Heard Island. The Challenger penetrated to
66’40’5 in latitude 7S022’E, the first steam vessel to cross the Antarctic
Circle. The appearance of the biological results of the Challenger Expedition mark the end of a period of biological exploration that can rate as
little more than preliminary skirmishing with the problem. Many
Antarctic benthic animals were described as a result of the Challenger’s
investigations but these were mostly species which also occurred in the
A. M . B . - I0
a