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Concluding Remarks.

The Collections gathered at Funafuti by Mr. Charles Hedley, on which the observations contained in the present volume are principally based, were supplemented by other gatherings made during the Second Expedition to that Atoll by Prof. T. W. E. David, B.A., and Mr. G. Sweet, of Melbourne, and whilst the Third Expedition was in progress by Messrs. A. E. Finckh and G. H. Halligan.

A selection of the specimens obtained by Prof. David and Messrs. Finckh and Halligan was presented to the Trustees by the Local Funafuti Committee of the Royal Society of London; Mr. Sweet very kindly lent his Mollusca for investigation, and presented duplicates of the otherwise unrepresented species to the Trustees; whilst, chiefly owing to Mr. Halligan's exertions, we are indebted for a knowledge of those forms of Molluscan life occurring in the Pteropod Ooze of Funafuti.

The larger portion of the descriptive work, fell, by far, to the lot of Messrs. C, Hedley and T. Whitelegge, the former contributing the General Account of the Atoll, the Ethnology and the Mollusca, whilst Mr. Whitelegge is responsible for the articles on the Crustacea, Echinodermata, Alcyonaria, Spongida, Madre-poraria, Hydrozoa, Scyphozoa, and Vermes.

Mr. J. P. Hill has laid the Australian Museum under obligations by the readiness with which he collaborated with Mr. Whitelegge in working out the Actinozoa, and on his own account investigated the Enteropneusta.

Mr. W. J. Rainbow described the Insect and Arachnian Faunas; Mr. E. R. Waite the Mammals, Reptilia, and Pisces; whilst the few facts that could be gleaned respecting the Aves and Rocks, were recorded by Mr. A. J. North and Dr. T, Cooksey respectively.

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A "Summary of the Fauna of Funafuti," prepared by Mr. Hedley, with the assistance of his colleagues, is given in Part 8 of the Memoir, including not only the results derived from their conjoint work, but also embodying the researches of other investigators that have appeared during the progress of the Memoir through the press.

Capt. E. C. Hore, of the London Missionary Society, and late of the s.s. " John Williams," prepared a very excellent model of the Atoll of Funafuti, which is deposited in the Australian Museum.

Memoir No. iii. of the Australian Museum Series comprises ten parts, commencing in December, 1896. The ninth, published in August, 1899, completed the descriptive matter, and the tenth or final part contains the Indices. The respective dates of publication of each part are given on the front coloured wrappers.