60 THE FAUNA OF THE DEEP SEA 



Ipnops Murrayi, a typical deep-sea fish, is yellowish 

 brown with colourless fins, and it exhibits a further 

 character not uncommon in these abysmal forms, 

 namely black buccal and branchial cavities. Typh- 

 lonus nasuSj again, is said to be of a light brownish 

 colour, with black fins. Many other examples 

 could be given to show the prevalence in these 

 regions of these black, dull, and pale uniform colours. 

 But there are many exceptional cases. Neoscopelus 

 macrolepidotuSj for example a form that according to 

 Gunther undoubtedly belongs to the bathybial region- 

 is distinguished by its brilliant colours. It is bright 

 red mixed with azure blue, the whole relieved by 

 silver spots with circles of black on the abdomen. 



Prorogadus nudus is of a pale rose colour, with the 

 under and lateral sides of the head bluish black. 



Rhodichthys regina, found in 1,280 fathoms of 

 water, is uniformly bright red in colour. 



A. Agassiz says in his reports on the dredging 

 operations on the west coast of America : ' The 

 coloration of the deep-sea fishes is comparatively 

 monotonous. The tints are all a light violet base, 

 tending more or less to brownish or brownish yellow, 

 or even to a greenish tint, especially among the 

 Macruridae. Some of the Liparidae were of a dark 



