Abstract
PROF. DENDY has produced a very beautiful and elaborate memoir on the sponges collected by the Terra Nova expedition in the southern seas. It is possible that such a highly technical piece of work may appeal only to a few readers at the present moment, but it can nevertheless be recognised as a permanent and important contribution to zoological science. The modern developments of biology in the directions of embryology, the problems of heredity, experimental zoology, and comparative physiology have proved to be especially attractive to the younger generation of biologists, and no one can deny the value and importance of the scientific results of their work in the new fields of research that are being opened. It must be remembered, however, that the accurate and detailed description of new and old species, especially when it is accompanied by sound judgment in systematics, and careful consideration of the possibilities of natural variation and powers of adaptation to environment, is an important and indeed fundamental branch of the science of zoology. There is indeed a pressing need, at the present time, for more work of this description if we are to keep pace with the receipt of specimens that collectors are sending to Great Britain from all parts of the sea and land. To workers in this line, Prof. Dendy's account of the sponges may well serve as a model of what such monographs should be, and it is a great satisfaction to realise that some of our ablest zoologists are still willing to devote their time and expert knowledge to the production of systematic treatises of a high standard of merit.
British Museum (Natural History), British Antarctic (“Terra Nova”) Expedition, 1910. Natural History Report. Zoology.
Vol. 6, No. 3: Porifera. Part 1: Non-Antarctic Sponges. By Prof. Arthur Dendy. Pp. 269 + 392 + 15 plates. (London: British Museum (Natural History), 1924.) 17s. 6d.
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British Museum (Natural History), British Antarctic (“Terra Nova”) Expedition, 1910 Natural History Report Zoology . Nature 115, 330 (1925). https://doi.org/10.1038/115330a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/115330a0