Echinodermata

• Published in: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: The Royal Society 1879
• Subjects: Antarctic; Kerguelen; Kerguelen Island; Patagonia; The Antarctic; Venus; Antarc*
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstl.1879.0029; https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rstl.1879.0029

Opportunity was taken some pages back of exhibiting the relations of the Molluscan-fauna of Kerguelen Island to that of the Falklands and Patagonia; and it was pointed out that representatives of boreal types entered into its composition. Materials for similar comparisons between the Echinodermata indigenous to the same regions scarcely exist, but such as there are, make it apparent that what obtains in the Mollusca holds good also in the Echinodermata with respect to geographical distribution. The sources of information relating to the animals of this class inhabiting the vicinage of Kerguelen Island, are at present limited to a few relics of the collections made there by the Antarctic Expedition in 1840; the collection made in 1874 by Dr. Kidder of the American Transit of Venus Expedition, part of the Challenger’s collections, and Mr. Eaton’s specimens. The remaining portion of the Echinodermata obtained by the Challenger Expedition is still in course of investigation; and the collections of the German Transit and Surveying Expedition are likewise not yet worked out. This will account for the fewness of the species at present known from the island, which altogether amount in number to 15. Two of them were obtained by the Antarctic Expedition, one by the challenger, four others by Dr. Kidder; besides live out of the preceding seven, eight others were obtained at Observatory or Swain’s Bay. The species not found by Mr. Eaton are Asteriasrupicola , which was common on the beach near Dr. Kidder’s station, and Cidaris nutrix : those which he did get were procured almost exclusively from the Laminarian zone. This will suffice to show how far dependence can be placed upon the following summary of the geographical relations of the little known fauna.