Chapter XV 

 BEYOND THE HORIZON 



It is a remarkable fact that there are few living 

 marine animals which are more constantly brought to 

 notice than those ranging the open sea, and yet there 

 are not many whose habits and life histories are more 

 completely unknown. The very nature of their haunts, 

 of course, makes it more difficult to observe them than 

 would be the case if they were associated with the 

 shore. What information has been obtained regarding 

 their food habits has been derived not so much by actual 

 observation as by the more indirect, but certain, method 

 of examining the stomach contents of captured speci- 

 mens. However, except in relation to a few forms, 

 positive information of the behavior and development 

 of the vast majority that roam the deep is extremely 

 scant. 



Examination of the ingested food of oceanic ani- 

 mals, by the way, has revealed the existence of many 

 creatures hitherto unknown. Whales and large fishes 

 are particularly valuable in this respect; in their pred- 

 atory excursions they pick up more strange species than 

 do the nets of the naturalists. 



Probably none of the sea rovers are as often con- 

 nected in the popular mind with the open sea as are the 



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