Book Description

Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Antarctic Research Series, Volume 17. Of the volumes currently available in the Antarctic Research Series, this volume is the fourth dealing with the biology of the antarctic seas. These collected papers comprise the results of original investigations, 11 of which are concerned mainly with the identification and distribution of marine plants and animals. In the first of these papers Stewart Springer gives a systematic appraisal of the five species of elasmobranch Rajidae from Antarctica, of which one represents a new and unique species. Heretofore one of the peculiarities of the antarctic ichthyological fauna has been the absence of sharks. In this very significant contribution, the author establishes the most southerly record for any member of the elasmobranchs. The second paper, by Patricia Kott, amplifies our systematic knowledge of the tunicates of the South Atlantic, South Pacific, and Indian oceans. It extends her monograph published as volume 13 of the Research Series under the title of Antarctic Ascidiacea and is based on collections made in the Antarctic through 1967; two new species are included. Additions and corrections to volume 13 are appended to this paper. John C. Markham reports on several lower chordates of the genus Cephalodiscus and discusses the systematics and distribution of the five species known from the Antarctic. The Deep Freeze materials examined in the course of this study were obtained through the U.S. Navy Hydrographic Office oceanographers from icebreakers assigned to task force 43 prior to and after the 1955–1959 International Geophysical Year and precede the National Science Foundation sponsored research now being conducted by the USNS Eltanin and the R/V Hero under the U.S. Antarctic Research Program.