Report on the Radiolaria Collected by H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-1876, First Part: Porulosa (Spumellaria and Acantharia): Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-76, Vol. XVIIIHaeckel, Ernst
Science
Report on the Radiolaria Collected by H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-1876, First Part: Porulosa (Spumellaria and Acantharia): Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger During the Years 1873-76, Vol. XVIII
Haeckel, Ernst
Radiolaria
with Radiolarian ooze or with the characteristic red clay. With this agrees
the richness of the surface of the Indian Ocean in Radiolaria of the most
various groups, which has been more extensively demonstrated.
A. The Radiolarian fauna collected by the Challenger on the voyage from
the Cape to Melbourne, shows in part, namely, from Station 156 to Station
158, very peculiar and characteristic composition; in particular, the
Diatom ooze of Station 157 passes over in great part into a Radiolarian
ooze, mainly composed of #Sphærellaria#. This is worthy of a more
thorough investigation than I was able, owing to lack of material and
time, to give it.
B. The remarkably pure Radiolarian ooze of Zanzibar, discovered by
Ehrenberg in 1859, was the earliest known recent example of that deposit.
It was brought up by Captain Pullen of the English man-of-war "Cyclops,"
from a depth of 2200 fathoms, between Zanzibar and the Seychelles, and
"under a magnifying power of 300 diameters, showed at the first glance a
mass of almost pure Polycystina, such as no sample of a deep-sea deposit
has hitherto shown. It is very noticeable that in the whole of this mass
of living forms, no calcareous shells are to be seen" (Ehrenberg, L. N.
24, pp. 148, 149).
C. For the most important material from the Indian Ocean, I am indebted
to Captain Heinrich Rabbe of Bremen, who during many voyages in the
Indian Ocean, in his ship "Joseph Haydn," made numerous collections in
different localities with the tow-net and the trawl, and admirably
preserved the rich collections thus made. The greatest abundance of
Radiolaria was found in those {cli}obtained to the east of Madagascar,
and next in those from the neighbourhood of the Cocos Islands. I take
this opportunity of expressing my thanks to Captain Rabbe for the
liberality with which he placed all this valuable material at my
disposal.
D. On my voyage from Aden to Bombay, and thence to Ceylon (1881), and
especially on my return journey from Ceylon, between the Maldive Islands
and Socotra (1882), I carried on a number of experiments with a surface
net, which yielded a rich fauna of pelagic animals, and among them many
new species of Radiolaria, for observation. On several nights when the
smooth surface of the Indian Ocean, unrippled by any wind, shone with the
most lovely phosphorescent light, I drew up water from the surface with a
bucket, and obtained a rich booty. A number of other new species of
Radiolaria from very various parts of the Indian Ocean I obtained from
the alimentary canal of pelagic animals, such as Medusæ, Salpæ,
Crustacea, &c. Although the total number of Radiolaria known to me from
the Indian Ocean is much less than from the Atlantic and Pacific, there
are several new genera and numerous species among them, which show that a
careful study of this fauna will be of wide interest.
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