AGASSIZ: FIJI ISLANDS AND CORAL REEFS. 15 



devote the time necessary for such a comparison. So nothino- was done 

 to test the comparative efficiency of the various deep-sea self-olosin^^ 

 towing nets. When practicable we collected on the reef flats of various 

 islands and atolls. 



A number of hauls were made with the deep-sea Tanner net at 

 several points in Fiji, such as the Strait of Somo Somo, off the Matangi 

 Passage, off the west face of iN'ukusemaiiu Eeef, off Blackswan Point, off 

 the north point of Yatu Leile, across the eastern opening of Mbengha 

 Passage, and off Suva Harbor. The depth at which we towed varied 

 between one hundred and seventy-five fathoms and thirty fathoms to 

 the surface. At the localities where each deep haul was made, a surface 

 haul was also made. AVe were rather disappointed in the character of 

 our catch. There were no great novelties; tlie number of Medusse was 

 usually quite small, but we obtained a large nuuiber of Crustacea. 



The contents of the nets varied bxit little at the different localities. 

 "We obtained young Fishes, Fish eggs and Salpte, Dolioliura, Alcyopidae, 

 Copepods, Squillte, embi-yos of Macrurans and Brachiuraus, Sapphirina, 

 Sergestes, Euphausia, several species of pelagic Macrurans, and Ehegma- 

 todes, Halopsis, Agalma, the bell of a large Siphonophore unknown to 

 me, Tamoya, many Diphyes, Ectopleura, Oceania, Berenice, Liriope, 

 Polygordius, Tomopteris, Octopus, Mollusk embryos, Hyalea, x\tlanta, 

 Styliola, Tiedemannia, and other Pteropods. In fact, the pelagic fauna 

 seemed singularly like that of the Straits of Florida, but far less 

 abundant. 



Mr. Mayer made also a number of surface hauls, and collected many 

 species of Acalephs which had escaped the large tow-net, two species 

 of a Rhizostome, a Eucharis, an Aurelia, and an Idya. The Sagittae 

 we collected were unusually large ; Collozoon was quite abundant, and 

 occasionally we collected Globigerinse of a reddish tint, and other 

 Foraminifera. 



During our cruise we constantly passed long windrows of Algae torn 

 from the reefs, extended patches of a yellow Trichodesmiuni, and masses 

 of leaves and flowers, and branches of all kinds of trees, floating at the 

 mercv of the winds and currents. 



It is interesting to note that the surface hauls made during our 

 trip have developed the fact that the majority of the genera of Acalephs 

 collected in Fiji belong to the same genera as those found on the east 

 side of the Isthmus of Panama. Tlie great geographical range in the 

 Pacific of many of the genera of Echinoderms and of Crustacea as well 

 as of Fishes found in the West Indies has already been noted. The col- 



