742 



BULLETIN 82, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



From this table it is evident that all colors occur in the littoral zone. 



Black does not occur below 55 fathoms. 



Red, violet, gray, and white do not occur below 300 fathoms. 



Purple, green, and orange do not occur below 600 fathoms. 



Yellow and brown occur at all depths. 



Yellow and brown are relatively much more frequent below 300 fathoms 

 than above. 



Purple, green, orange, gray, and white occur in about the same relative pro- 

 portions down to 300 fathoms, at that point decreasing abruptly or disappearing 

 altogether. 



Red, violet, and black decrease abruijtly below 55 fathoms. 



No colors are more frequent between 55 and 300 fathoms than elsewhere. 



The proportion of uniformly colored species increases markedly with depth, 

 while the corresponding decrease in variegated species is even more abrupt. 



All of the color types given occur only above 300 fathoms. 



The median dorsal stripe is most common between 55 and 300 fathoms. 



Distinctively colored pinnules and regular crossbands occur in about the same 

 proportion down to 300 fathoms. 



Distinctively colored cirri and irregular spotting or mottling are much more 

 common above 55 fathoms than below. 



Regular spotting occurs only above 55 fathoms. 



No one color or combination of colors is of any definite systematic significance. 



(ifreen, however, is the distinctive color of many, most, or all specimens of a 

 number of species scattered in widely different groups. These are : 



