ANIMAL LIFE OF THE DEEP SEA BOTTOM 185 



Bassogigas, a brotulid fish, ij centimetres long; the deepest known occurrence of a fish, 

 7,130 metres. 



Shortly after the exploration of the New Britain Trench in November 

 1 95 1, it was finally decided that the expedition would have to be curtailed 

 by a good three months. This meant about a hundred working days fewer, 

 since the time spent in port for inspection of machinery and for shipping 

 oil, and also on the long voyage home, would be just as long, even though 

 we worked on the way. 



Consequently, we could rely on being able to explore only one more 

 trench; namely, the great Kermadec-Tonga Trench, which extends right 

 from New Zealand and up beyond the Tonga Islands, a distance of 

 2,000 kilometres. It is not to be wondered at that we strained every nerve 

 to surpass ourselves. We had to round off our work by comparing the 

 fauna at the bottom of a great trench with that higher up, stage by stage 

 in the immediate vicinity. 



The technical arrangements went with all the slickness acquired in i6 

 months of team-work and experience, and since, moreover. Fortune smiled 

 on us with fair winds and weather and good fishing-grounds, both as 

 regards bottom conditions and wealth of fauna, it is not surprising that we 

 reached another peak of success. 



We at once essayed the greatest depth within reasonable reach, which 

 was 8,210 metres, having decided beforehand to return to Auckland 

 to fill up with oil, so as to be able to fish as much as possible with 

 the least possible cruising time. In the Tasman Sea we had just tested 

 the double sledge-trawl with a mouth of six metres contructed by our 

 chief engineer, and it had proved possible to get it down just as surely 

 to the greatest depths as the three-metre type we had been using. And 

 it came up with a haul exceeding the ones which had fully satisfied us in 

 our old sledge-trawl. There were two species of sea-cucumber in about 

 1.800 and 160 specimens respectively, a species of sea-lily (three indivi- 

 duals), two species of sea-anemones (five and seven individuals), three 

 species of tanaid crustaceans, (four individuals altogether), two species 

 of amphipods (two individuals), two species of bivalves (one and seven 



