Abstract
FOUR years have elapsed since an expedition was sent out from this country by the British Association and the Royal Society to explore the Island of Socotra. With the exception of diplomatic visits by the resident at Aden in the two or three preceding years, and of a short exploration in 1847 by the French, naturalist Boivin, there is no record of any European having sojourned on the island since the date, forty years ago, of its abandonment by the Indian troops which had occupied it for this country during four years, and Wellsted's account of his survey of the island (in Journ. Roy. Geoff. Soc. v. 1835) made in 1834, has been up till now the most recent and most satisfactory. It is remarkable that an island so long neglected and forgotten should be visited in two successive years by exploring expeditions; yet this has happened. In 1881 a party of German explorers followed the British Expedition. This German Expedition to Socotra formed part of a scheme of scientific exploration of many unknown or but little-known regions of the globe set on foot by Dr. Emil Riebeck, and for which his liberality provided the means, and the results of this portion of his undertaking, some account of which now lies before us, must be gratifying to him as they are valuable to and welcomed by science. Dr. Riebeck was accompanied to Socotra by the well-known traveller Dr. Schweinfurth and two other companions, Drs. Mantay and Rosset-a quartet of observers well qualified to take advantage of every opportunity of extending our knowledge of nature. Many difficulties and dangers beset their progress to the island, and their leave-taking appears to have been no less troubled; but eventually it has been their good fortune to bring to Europe a magnificent collection of specimens illustrative of its structure, its products, and the character of its inhabitants.
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References
"Ein Besuch auf Socotra mil der Riebeck'schen Expedition." Vortrag von Professor Dr. Schweinfurth . (Freiburg, 1884.)
"Allgemeine Betractungen über die Flora von Socotra," von G. Schweinfurth . Sep. Abd. aus Engler's botanischen Jahrbüchern, v. (1883).
"Land-Schnecken von Sokotra," von E. von Martens, aus Nackrichtsbl. d. deutsch. Malakol. Gesellschaft, No. 10 (1881).
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Socotra 1 . Nature 29, 575–576 (1884). https://doi.org/10.1038/029575b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/029575b0