This work edited by John Murray and Charles Wyville Thomson, and completed by Murray after Thomson's death, was published over a 15 year period, and included about 29,500 pages and more than 3,280 plates. It treated in unprecedented detail the currents, temperatures, depths and constituents of the oceans, the topography, geology and biology of the sea bottom, and animal life in the ocean depths. It included many observations on other natural history topics including fauna of the countries visited. Some of the notable papers include Birds, by P.L.Sclater,with 30 hand-col.plates; Bones of Cetacea, by W.Turner, with 3 plates; Collections of Eggs described by P.L.Sclater; Essay on the Green Turtle by W.K.Parker with 13 plates; Essay on Shore Fishes, with 32 plates and Deep Sea Fishes, with 73 plates, both by A.Gunther; Deep-Sea Fauna of New Zealand, by A.Hamilton.

Digital facsimiles of the entire set are available from the Biodiversity Heritage Library at this link.

Digital facsimile from the Biodiversity Heritage Library, Internet Archive at this link.