William Stimpson's Journal from the North Pacific Exploring Expedition, 1853–1856

Abstract

The U. S. North Pacific Exploring Expedition of 1853–1856 deserves a prominent place in the history of science, but for a variety of reasons has been overlooked by historians. As chief naturalist, William Stimpson's (1832–1872) Journal from the expedition is a valuable source of information, especially relating to marine invertebrates. Stimpson collected and described hundreds of new species based on specimens obtained during the voyage, many of which were decapod crustaceans. As the first western naturalist to collect and describe species from Japanese waters, Stimpson's work is of great value to zoologists in general, and to carcinologists in particular. For the first time Stimpson's complete Journal is presented, accompanied by numerous endnotes. To provide a context for understanding the expedition, an introduction to the history and scientific significance of the expedition and Journal is included, to gether with an annotated list of Crustacea, and lists of ships and names of people as mentioned in the Journal. The color illustrations (apparently prepared by Stimpson) preserved in the Smithsonian Archives, and published posthumously in black and white in the 1907 report on the Brachyura and Anomura, are herein reproduced. The landmark achievement of Stimpson's scientific career was the publication of his Prodromus, an 8-part series published in Latin from 1857–1860, and where he named 331 new species (mostly decapods and annelids) from the Expedition. The Prodromus sections that deal with Crustacea (Parts 3–8) are reproduced for use with the Journal, and for the benefit of modern workers.