512 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXV. 



It may be of interest to record here that while the Hospital Ship 

 " Madras " was lying off the bar of the Shatt-el-Arab aboat lat. 29'-46', long. 

 48'-4?', 15| miles from ths nearest land on the 28th May 1916, swarms of 

 Cellia jmlchen-ima appeared on the ship. I do not think there is any doubt 

 that they came from the shore. As far as I know there was not a single 

 mosquito observed on the voyage up from Bombay, but on the day after 

 our arrival at the bar C. pulcherrima was biting freely in the saloon and 

 numerous specimens were caught and identified. 



A search was made on board for a possible breeding place with — as 

 might be expected on a Hospital Ship — a negative result. 



The light-ship lay about a mile off; no other ship was nearer than the 

 land, a light breeze blew from the shore. This is not the only occasion on 

 which Cellia pulcherrima has visited the ship at the bar, they have been 

 frequently caught after the ship's arrival. On the 12th of September this 

 year I caught throe in my cabin. I have never taken any mosquitoes on 

 the voyage up to the bar except Culicmae. 



Hospital Ship " Madras ", 

 3rd October 1917. 



EGBERT E. WRIGHT, Ma.tob, i.m.s. 



No. XXIV.— PHOSPHORESCENCE IN THE PERSIAN GULF. 



Many of our members have probably travelled from Bombay to Basra 

 in the last three years, and some or them have doubtless been struck by 

 the wonderful phosphorescent phenomena of the Persian Gulf. Phosphor- 

 escence may be observed in these waters in varying degrees of brilliance 

 at practically any time of year. I cannot say at what time it is at its best 

 but I have never seen anything comparable to a night early in March IQlti, 

 between the Farur Islands and the bar of the Shatt-el-Arab. It was a 

 fine still night, the Hospital Ship "Madras" was steaming towards Basra, 

 all around the vessel the water was glowing with palebue light, the ripples 

 thrown out on either side stretched away iu diverging lines of flame, towards 

 the horizon, the sea was illuminated by the glowing crests of waves, a depth 

 of fiery liquid boiled round the bows, and the wake shone like a moonlit 

 river. 



The vessel herself was illuminated with a pale ghostly light. The fish 

 darting about in the water close by, made their presence known by deve- 

 loping rocket like trails. The ship's cat, sitting in " the chains," Avatched 

 these rapidly moving streaks intently ; as if he knew that they were pro- 

 duced by something that was fair game. With diflicalty we, who were 

 watching, tore overselves away from the fascinating spectacle, but before 

 going to bed a salt-water tap' was turned on and a number of glowing balls 

 of fire captured. On investigation it appeared that the creatures of the 

 floating fauna mainly responsible for the night's illuminations were little 

 Crustaceans, easily visible to the naked eye, belonging to the groups Cla- 

 docera and Copepoda. 



On superficial examination with a low-power glass, the chief representa- 

 tions of the former looked like minute pink bivalves, whilst those of the 

 latter resembled to a certain extent minute shrimps. 



In immense munbers they form part of the " plankton " which one 

 hears referred to by seafaring men as " whale spawn " amongst other 

 names. 



ROBERT E. WRIGHT, Ma.tor, i.m.s. 

 Ho.spiTAL Ship "Madras,' 

 Zrd October 1917. 



