| OCR Text |
Show 530 PROF. F.J. BELL ON THE COMATULID.E. [June 6, of its larger congener X. furcatum. The latter, owing to its restriction to the Pacific, has acquired some of the special characteristics of the Pacific Gulls ; but there can be no doubt that these two surviving species of hooded fork-tailed Gulls must have had a common origin at no very remote period. The main factors in causing this approximation are, probably, the North-Pacific drift-current, which sweeps past the Aleutian Islands, down the coast of California to Mexico, at least as far as Acapulco; and the cold Humboldt's current, abounding with fish, coming from the south and refreshing the coasts of Peru and the Galapagos. No greater contrast can be imagined than that between the vicinity of the Chincha Islands, swarming not only with Gulls and Terns, but with Gannets, Boobies, Pelicans, Cormorants, and Petrels literally by millions, and the comparatively unaviferous coast of Brazil in about the same latitude, say from Pernambuco to Bahia, along which a warm stream flows. M y heartiest thanks are due to Capt. Markham for the very interesting collection that has formed the subject for this paper ; would that in the navy there were more like him ! Every few years some of our men-of-war visit the Galapagos group; but no attempt at a systematic exploration of the archipelago appears to have been made since the visits of the 'Adventure' and 'Beagle' in 1835; and that was in all probability owing, in a great measure, to the presence of the late Mr. Charles Darwin. It is almost certain that, if not only this group, but the other remote islands of the equatorial and northern Pacific were thoroughly explored, much important light would be thrown upon the distribution of species and the connexions which have existed between many which are now restricted either to the northern or to the southern hemisphere. 3. A n Attempt to apply a Method of Formulation to the Species of the Comatulidcv; with the Description of a new Species. By F. J E F F R E Y B E L L , M.A., F.Z.S., Professor of Comparative Anatomy in King's College. [Received May 16, 1882.] (Plate XXXV.) A zoologist who has been at work for a quarter of a century, more or less, and on whom the growth of zoological literature has been somewhat gradual, will hardly perhaps be greatly affected by the already enormous mass of descriptive and illustrative literature which appears in the journals of societies and other serial publications. The younger student, however, cannot look so calmly on the piles of papers that lie behind him, aud the manifold sheets that are daily laid in his way. |
