5o6 DEPTHS OF THE OCEAN 



surrounding mud, and we can only conclude that the bottom 

 here must be scoured by the action of currents. 



Some very interesting discoveries were made by the 

 "Michael Sars " in 1904 in a southern part of the depression 

 between lat. 58° and 59^" N., at a depth of 292 metres, the 

 temperature being 5.83° C, where the young-fish trawl brought 

 up a quantity of amphipods, cumacea, Euchcsta norvegica, 

 etc. Among these forms there were two that were particularly 

 noticeable, namely Epimeria loricata, of which there were 

 many specimens, full-grown as well as young, and Acanthozone 

 cuspidata, of which there was one young specimen. Both these 

 species were hitherto only known to exist in more northern 

 latitudes, the former not having been met with to the south of 

 the Malangen fjord, and the latter not south of the Trondhjem 

 fjord, where several other arctic forms have their southern 

 limit. ^ 



The faunal conditions on hard bottom and on sand at the 

 upper part of the Norwegian depression, from about 100 metres 

 down to considerable depths, are very like those in the Nor- 

 wegian fjords, but differ in many respects from those of the 

 central parts of the North Sea. The sponges resemble those 

 taken on hard bottom in the deep parts of the fjords. Among the 

 hydroids there was S er hilar e lla gay i, a form that is absent from 

 the central portion of the North Sea, but is one of the com- 

 monest deep-water hydroids of the fjords. Crangon alhtanni 

 and Pa7idalus aftmilicornis again were represented only by young 

 individuals in the central portion, whereas at the edge of the 

 depression our appliances brought up numbers of full-grown 

 specimens. Other forms that we failed to find in the central 

 area, but which occurred on the edge of the Norwegian 

 depression, were : Hippasterias plana, Solaster endeca and 

 S. papposus, Antedon sp., Psoitis squamahis, Nymphon stromi (of 

 which we secured only one solitary specimen in the central 

 portion, in spite of repeated trawlings and dredgings, though 

 quite common on the edge of the depression), Crania anomala 

 (common), Porella (characteristic of hard bottom in the fjords), 

 as well as one or two other bryozoans, Scaphander punctostriatus, 



^ The following are a few of the other forms taken at the same time, showing that the boreal 

 fjord and plateau forms occurred together ; several of them are met with in the arctic region, 

 and may perhaps be of arctic origin : — Amphipods : Epimeria cornigera, Pardalisca abyssi (in 

 quantities), Lilljeborgia Jissicornis, Khachotropis (two or three species). Cumacea : Eiidorella 

 emarginata, Canipylaspis verrucosa and C. horrida, Hemilamprops cristata. Isopods : Apseudes 

 spinosus, Munnopsis typica, Rocinela dammoniensis. Decapod crustaceans : Pontophilus 

 norvegicus, Pandalus bonnieri, Hippolyte polaris, Bythocans siinplicirostris, Caridion gordoni. 

 Molluscs : Rossia sp., Torrellia vestita, Portlandia tenuis, Pecten hoskynsi, Cardium jnininnun. 

 Echinoderms : Ophioscolex glacialis, Aniedon tenella. Worms : Filigrana implexa (in quantities). 



