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Show vi INTRODUCTION. It may be interesting to state more particularly from what localities the new species principally come, and what proportion they ~ear to the entire n~mber brought from each of those localities. Thus from Brazil about Ita if are considered new ;-from Patagonia at least half ;-from Tierra del Fuego, th~ Falkland Isl~nds, and the Galapagos Archipelago, all are new, without exceptio? ; and nearly all from Chiloe and the coasts of Chile and Peru. Of the species brought from Tahiti, Ne; Holland, and the Indian Ocean, not above one-fourtlt are new. This might have been anticipated from the better knowledge which we have of the Ichthyology of that quarter of the globe, than of South America. It is much to be regretted that the portion of the collection which has been lost to science, was obtained in localities most abounding in novelties, judging from that portion of it which has been saved. Thus, not above five or six species will be found noticed in the following work, from Tierra del Fuego, where Mr. Darwin took especial pains to collect all he could, and, judging from his manuscript catalogue, he must probably have obtained between thirty and forty. From the Falkland Islands again, there have been only saved two out of fifteen or sixteen,-from the coasts of Chile and Peru, not half the entire number obtained, and not above half from the coasts of Patagonia. There is also described not above half the species brought from King George's Sound, and the Keeling Islands; but as the Indian and Australian species, or at least the former, have been more frequently brought to Europe than the South American, they are less to be regretted than these last. It is fortunate that tlte wltole of the species obtained by Mr. Darwin in the Galapagos Archipelago, amounting to fifteen, have been preserved, and are described in the following pages. It may now be useful to mention, to what groups principally-first, the entire number of described species belong, and, secondly, that portion of them which are considered new. Both these points will be best judged of from the following table, in which the whole collection is parcelled out according to the families. ACANTHOPTERYGII. PERCIDJE. Entire No. of species 18 whereof new 11 Brought up . 45 22 MuLL!DIIl 3 SOOMBRIDlE 7 3 TRIGL!DlE 3 TEUTI!YDIDIIl 2 CoTTIDIIl 2 2 ATIIERINIDJE 3 2 SOORPJENIDlE 4 2 Muan.IDJE 3 SOIIIlNIDIIl .10 5 BLENN!DIIl .11 7 SPARIDJE 1 GoniDJE 3 2 MlllN!DJE 2 LABRlDIIl 7 CHIIlTODONTIDIIl . 2 LOPI!IDlE 1 45 22 TOTAL • 82 ToTAL, NEW 41 INTRODUCTION. vii MALACOPTERYGII. SJLURIDlE. Entire No. of species 3 whereof new 2 Brought up CYCLOPTERIDJE EcnENEIDIDlE ANGU!LLIDlE .30 21 CYPRINIDlE. 7 6 2 2 EsociDJE 1 1 SALMONIDlE. 8 7 6 2 CLUPEIDlE 5 5 [perhaps more.] PLEURONECTIDlE . 6 [probably more.] 30 21 ToTAL . 39 TOTAL, NEW 25 LOPIIOBRANCIIII. SYNGNATHIDJE. Entire No. of species • • 3 whereof new . 3 PLECTOGNATHI. TETRODONTID!Il. Entire No. of species. . 7 whereof new 4 BALISTIDlE • 5 1 ToTAL . 12 ToTAL, NEW 5 CYCLOSTOMI. PETROMYZONID!Il. Entire No. of species. . 1 whereof new· 1 TOTAL IN THE SEVERAL ORDERS. AcANTIIOPTERYorr. Entire No. of species . . 82 whereof new . 41 MALACOPTERYGII . 39 .25 LOPHOBRANOHII 3 3 PLECTOGNATJII • . 12 5 CYCLOSTOMI 1 1 GRAND ToTAL 137 GRAND TOTAL, NEW . 75 It appears from the above table that of the entire number of species, threefifths belong to the Acanthopterygian fishes,-rather more than one-fourth to the Malacopterygian,-and about one-eighth to the remaining orders united. In the Acanthopterygians, the new species amount to one-half; in the Malacopterygians, to about two-thirds; in the remaining orders together, to rather more than one-half. Looking, therefore, to the entire number of species described, the Acanthopterygians prevail; and it is in the same order that there are most new ones: but looking to the proportion, which in each order the new ones bear to the entire number, it is among the Malacopterygians that this proportion will be found highest. Restricting our view, it will be alt'o seen, in the Malacopterygians, that the new species are relatively most numerous in the fresh-water groups, such as the Siluridce, the Cyprinidce, and Sabnonidce, in which three families taken together, |