Synopsis Of The Medusae Of The World

Author : Alfred Goldsborough Mayer
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781332022236
Total Pages : 374 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (222 download)

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Download or read book Medusae of the World, Vol. 1 written by Alfred Goldsborough Mayer and published by . This book was released on 2015-07-27 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Excerpt from Medusae of the World, Vol. 1: The Hydromedusae This work was commenced in 1892 at the suggestion of Dr. Alexander Agassiz while I was a student in his marine laboratory at Newport. Dr. Agassiz's plan was that we produce conjointly a work upon the Medusae, Siphonophorae, and Ctenophorae of the Atlantic coast of North America. In pursuance of this plan, Dr. Agassiz sent me upon expeditions to Halifax, Nova Scotia; Eastport, Maine; Charleston, South Carolina; and Tortugas, Florida. It was also my privilege to accompany him as his assistant upon his expeditions to the Bahamas, and to the coral regions of the tropical Pacific. During these years the majority of our American species were captured and drawings of them made from life. The description of all of the then known American Atlantic forms was completed by me in 1900, but unfortunately the pressure of other and more important work prevented the revision of the manuscript by Dr. Agassiz, and thus it remained in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University until 1904, when Dr. Agassiz generously returned it to me with permission to publish it in any manner whatsoever. Thus the original plan was reluctantly abandoned. During the four years that elapsed while the manuscript lay unstudied at Harvard, new forms had been discovered along our coast; and Nutting and Hargitt had published their papers upon the hydroids and medusae of the Woods Hole region. It was necessary to thoroughly revise the manuscript, and in order to render it of greater service, I have attempted to extend the original work to include descriptions of all known forms of medusae from all parts of the world. This extension was made possible through the generous establishment by the Carnegie Institution of Washington of a Marine Research Laboratory at Tortugas, Florida. Many forms were collected upon a cruise of the Carnegie Institution yacht Physalia from Boothbay Harbor, Maine, to Tortugas, Florida; and new or interesting medusae have been obtained each season upon excursions over the tropical Gulf Stream, and among the Bahamas. My official position in connection with the laboratory has afforded me every possible facility in time and opportunity tor tiltprosecution of these studies, and I can not too kindly express my sense of gratitude to the executive officers of the Carnegie Institution tor their generous support. To Geheimrath Prof. Dr. Anton Dohrn, and to his able corps of associates at the Stazione Zoologica, I am indebted for numerous kindnesses shown to me during my visit to the laboratory at Naples from November to February, 1907 and 1908. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works."