22
k. K. DELL
Subantarctic. Up to this period there were extremely few records of
Antarctic benthic animals as such. The Challenger collected benthic
animals at three stations south of SO'S, i.e. at Station 152 at 60'52's
in 1 260 fm (2 304 m), obtaining an ophiuroid, holothurians, an isopod,
a macruran, a gastropod and one fish ; Station 153 a t 65'42'5 in 1 675 fm
(3 063 m) and Station 156 at 62'26's in 1 975 fm (3 611 m). At both
these latter stations a range of benthic animals was collected. These
stations are all, however, at abyssal depths and hardly warrant consideration as Antarctic animals.
Apart from the German International Polar Year Expedition
(1882-83) which wintered at South Georgia, it was not until the closing
years of the nineteenth century that the first real collections of Antarctic
bottom animals were made. The first two decades of the twentieth
century were to see a great flood of expeditions, many of them with
biological programmes.
One problem in writing a consecutive account of investigations into
the Antarctic fauna arises from the fact that dates of publication of
scientific results may bear little relation to the date of the expedition.
The earlier expeditions did not amass very large collections and their
biological reports running to a single volume or at most a very few
volumes could be brought out quickly after the close of the expedition.
Those expeditions which concentrated upon biological work and which
obtained large collections could no longer hope for such rapid publication. Thus the biological results of the British-Australian-New Zealand
Expedition (B.A.N.Z.A.R.E.), which was in the field from 1929 to 1931,
are still appearing moderately regularly.
The Belgian Antarctic Expedition under Adrien de Gerlache de
Gomery in the Belgica (1897-99) appears to be the first expedition to
sample the Antarctic benthos proper, working around the South
Shetlands, the Antarctic Peninsula and the Bellingshausen Sea.
And now the flood gate was open. The 1898-1900 British expedition
under Borchgrevink in the Xouthern Cross besides being the f i s t scientific
expedition purposely to winter on the Antarctic continent, collected
marine animals from the Ross Sea, publishing the results in a single
volume. The German Antarctic Expedition (1901-03) under Drygalski
in the Gauss made large collections especially from the Gauss Winter
Station in the Davis Sea. The Swedish South Polar Expedition (190104) under Nordenskjold maintained a comprehensive biological programme at South Georgia and off the Antarctic Peninsula. Some collections were lost when the Antarctic was crushed in the pack.
The British National Antarctic Expedition (1901-04) under Captain
Scott in the Discovery collected extensively in the Ross Sea. The
k. K. DELL
Subantarctic. Up to this period there were extremely few records of
Antarctic benthic animals as such. The Challenger collected benthic
animals at three stations south of SO'S, i.e. at Station 152 at 60'52's
in 1 260 fm (2 304 m), obtaining an ophiuroid, holothurians, an isopod,
a macruran, a gastropod and one fish ; Station 153 a t 65'42'5 in 1 675 fm
(3 063 m) and Station 156 at 62'26's in 1 975 fm (3 611 m). At both
these latter stations a range of benthic animals was collected. These
stations are all, however, at abyssal depths and hardly warrant consideration as Antarctic animals.
Apart from the German International Polar Year Expedition
(1882-83) which wintered at South Georgia, it was not until the closing
years of the nineteenth century that the first real collections of Antarctic
bottom animals were made. The first two decades of the twentieth
century were to see a great flood of expeditions, many of them with
biological programmes.
One problem in writing a consecutive account of investigations into
the Antarctic fauna arises from the fact that dates of publication of
scientific results may bear little relation to the date of the expedition.
The earlier expeditions did not amass very large collections and their
biological reports running to a single volume or at most a very few
volumes could be brought out quickly after the close of the expedition.
Those expeditions which concentrated upon biological work and which
obtained large collections could no longer hope for such rapid publication. Thus the biological results of the British-Australian-New Zealand
Expedition (B.A.N.Z.A.R.E.), which was in the field from 1929 to 1931,
are still appearing moderately regularly.
The Belgian Antarctic Expedition under Adrien de Gerlache de
Gomery in the Belgica (1897-99) appears to be the first expedition to
sample the Antarctic benthos proper, working around the South
Shetlands, the Antarctic Peninsula and the Bellingshausen Sea.
And now the flood gate was open. The 1898-1900 British expedition
under Borchgrevink in the Xouthern Cross besides being the f i s t scientific
expedition purposely to winter on the Antarctic continent, collected
marine animals from the Ross Sea, publishing the results in a single
volume. The German Antarctic Expedition (1901-03) under Drygalski
in the Gauss made large collections especially from the Gauss Winter
Station in the Davis Sea. The Swedish South Polar Expedition (190104) under Nordenskjold maintained a comprehensive biological programme at South Georgia and off the Antarctic Peninsula. Some collections were lost when the Antarctic was crushed in the pack.
The British National Antarctic Expedition (1901-04) under Captain
Scott in the Discovery collected extensively in the Ross Sea. The