CHAPTER VII 



FISHES FROM THE SEA-BOTTOM 



Zoologists on both sides of the Atlantic have long been 

 engaged in collecting facts regarding the occurrence of fishes 

 and other organisms which inhabit the Northern Atlantic and 

 adjacent waters. In recent times special expeditions have 

 offered opportunities of collecting according to definite plans, 

 and the American expeditions in the " Blake " and the 

 "Albatross," and the European ones in the "Challenger," in 

 the " Travailleur," the "Talisman," and the " Princesse Alice" 

 have added essentially to our knowledge. As a consequence 

 a very large amount of material has been accumulated, but as 

 yet this material has not been utilised for the purpose of 

 drawing up a general account of the distribution of the 

 different animal-communities. 



Any attempt to review our knowledge, or to summarise the 

 voluminous literature on this subject, would extend this book 

 beyond all reasonable limits, and I shall therefore restrict 

 myself to certain important and characteristic main lines in the 

 distribution of Atlantic fishes and other animals, relying 

 principally on the captures made during the cruises of the 

 " Michael Sars." The material gathered during these cruises 

 is so large that a representative view may now be obtained, 

 and while confining myself to our own observations I hope to 

 give some information of real value. My aim, then, will be to 

 describe the geographical distribution of the fishes, as this 

 group has been made the special object of our researches ; 

 other groups of animals will be mentioned only in order to 

 illustrate the surroundings and the animal-communities associ- 

 ated with the different fishes. 



In dealing with animal geography one must always pre- 

 suppose a knowledge of a vast number of animal forms. The 

 animals inhabiting the depths of the sea are strange to all but 



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