DAVEY JONES' GOBLINS 347 



Always the lamps of the undersea host held the 

 chief interest. We can understand a fish like the 

 coppery lantern-bearer with many lights, and nor- 

 mal eyes to take advantage of the illumination. 

 Argyropelecus (Frontispiece, Plate VIII) how- 

 ever, is the first of many deep-sea puzzles because, 

 while the lower sides are lined with large luminous 

 organs, the light from which is thrown downward 

 rather than sideways, yet the eyes, which are very 

 large and bulging, are directed straight upward. 

 Why this fish should be denied the ability to en- 

 joy its own pyrotechnics is not apparent. If the 

 downward sheet of light acts as a lure to attract 

 its prey there still seems considerable need for 

 anatomical alteration, for the mouth, like the eyes, 

 is turned almost straight upward. Twice I se- 

 cured living specimens and three times I was able 

 to distinguish the illumination. 



Often in the same net with the silver hatchet 

 was a still stranger looking fish, Steiiioptyx 

 (Frontispiece, Plate VIII). It is impossible to 

 describe except that the shape seemed all wi'ong. 

 When I saw the first one I was certain that this 

 was one of those distortions of which I had read, 

 due to lessened pressure, but I soon realized that 

 the fish must live happily with a body outline like 

 nothing else in the world. The head was fairly 

 normal, but the anterior half of the body was 

 dragged downward twice as far as it should be. 

 Then just when I was willing to accept this outline 

 and follow it along to the tail, I found that the 

 posterior half of the body was again all wrong — 



