FISHES FROM THE SEA-BOTTOM 419 



I sponge, I antipatharian, 6 actinians, 2 corals, i hydroid colony, 2 crinoids, 

 3 starfish, i sea-urchin, 5 holothurians, many worms, 7 or 8 mussels, and a 

 brachiopod. 



This is, as far as I have been able to ascertain, the richest 

 haul in depths exceeding 2000 fathoms on record, but never- 

 theless the impression created by the results of the many deep- 

 sea hauls of the " Challenger " is that animal life is poorly 

 developed in the abyssal region. 



During the cruise of the "Michael Sars " I therefore con- "Michael 

 sidered it an interesting object to ascertain if our large otter i^^Jhe^er'* 

 trawl could catch more, and possibly larger, animals on the water of the 

 abyssal plain. As stated in Chapter HI., technical success Atlantic. 

 attended our attempts at great depths, and the catches were 

 certainly somewhat larger than those previously taken in the 

 North Atlantic, but nevertheless they were very poor, as shown 

 by the following list :^ 



Station 10. Bay of Biscay, 2567 fathoms (4700 metres). Trawl dragged for 

 five hours gave : Some sponges, 3 actinians, some holothurians 

 {Elpidia), 2 starfish {FrugeUa, Dorigona), a few worms, ascidians, 

 and bryozoa, i gasteropod, and 2 fishes, presumably bottom-fish : 

 Macrurus armatus (Hector), i individual 70 cm. in length, and 

 M. brevibarbis (G. and B.), i individual 25 cm. in length. 



Same Station. Duration of haul, 3J hours. Cod-end full of ooze, and in the meshes 

 3 ophiurids [Ophiopkura, Ophioglypha, Ophiocte?t}) ; washing the 

 ooze produced 4 actinians (one of them growing on a hermit 

 crab), I holothurian {Elpidia), worms in clay tubes, and some 

 gasteropods. 



Station 48. Between the Canaries and the Azores, over 5000 metres. Duration of 

 haul, 4I hours. Trawl contained a large quantity of ooze, the 

 washing of which produced : 30 pieces of pumice-stone, i shell of 

 Argonaufa, i ear-bone of a whale, 2 sharks' teeth {Carcharodon 

 and Oxyrhina), 10 large shells of pteropods {Cavolifiia), 1 umbel- 

 \\i\ax\dix\ {Utnbellula gihitheri), i sertularian, 2 holothurians {Lcet- 

 ■mogone violacea, Elpidia sp.). Besides these there were 3 pelagic 

 fishes {Malacosteus indicus, Argyropekciis sp., and a Leptocepha- 

 lus), and 3 fishes which may be surmised to have lived at the 

 bottom {Alepocephalus, a new genus related to Ipnops : Bathy- 

 microps regis, see Fig. 305, and a specimen not yet determined). 



These hauls of the "Michael Sars" thus entirely confirm 

 the idea of the poverty of the abyssal plain, a confirmation 

 especially valuable on account of the size of the trawl employed 

 and the technical success attending its use in great depths. 

 The proof afforded by these results of the " Michael Sars," like 

 that from all other expeditions, suffers from the inherent weak- 

 ness attached to all negative proofs. The barrenness of the 

 abyssal plain may be only apparent, owing to imperfections in 



