86 THE FAUNA OF THE DEEP SEA 



CHAPTER V 



THE PROTOZOA, CCELENTERA, AND ECHINODERMA 

 OF THE DEEP SEA 







THE most important, but perhaps somewhat dis- 

 appointing, result of the deep-sea researches of recent 

 years has been to prove that the abysmal fauna does 

 not possess many very extraordinary forms. 



It seemed probable, before the dispatch of the 

 'Challenger' expedition, that when the dredge and 

 the trawl should be successfully employed in depths 

 of over 2,000 fathoms, a new and remarkable fauna 

 would be brought to light. Some naturalists thought 

 it even possible that, not only would many genera 

 be found alive that are known to us only by their 

 fossilised skeletons in the secondary and tertiary rocks, 

 but that there might be many other new creatures 

 whose anatomy would throw much light on the 

 theories of the evolution of the animal series. 



But none of the great expeditions that have sailed 

 since the year 1874 have yet succeeded in showing 



