496 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1956 



It was too small to crawl into very far, but in its dark and narrow 

 recesses we found some alcyonarian corals (Telesto) hanging from 

 the roof, completely exposed by the ebbing tide. Elsewhere there are 

 larges caves, some at water level and large enough to admit a boat, 

 others equally large but completely submerged. In most of the major 

 limestone islands there are large caves that have collapsed, forming 

 lakes connected with the sea by subterranean passages. These salt- 

 water lakes contain large gobies, mussels, and sedentary jellyfish 

 (Cassiopeia). 



One of our reconnaissance techniques was to cruise slowly along 

 the coral slope in the Lenore, watching for changes in the appearance 

 of the reefs to indicate interesting spots to be examined more closely. 

 We followed the bay shore of Koror south from the little cave, around 

 the so-called Arappu Peninsula (Ngalap), where the submarine cliff 

 was almost devoid of corals and the only conspicuous organism was a 

 large, sprawling, branched, pale pink sponge that looked white in 

 20 or 30 feet of blue water. Even the stiff snaky "wire corals" 

 (Antipatharia) that usually thrive on the cliffs were missing. We 

 could find no explanation for the absence of corals there, for the 

 current flow is better than it is in many other places, the water clearer. 



After we passed through the narrow strait called Kaki-suido 

 (Oyster Pass) in the Japanese reports (Palauan name Ngerikiuul), 

 the situation changed, and we came upon one of the most interesting 

 areas in Iwayama Bay, one that we visited and revisited, each time 

 to find something new. Here the undercut was very deep and the 

 foliage of the jungle-covered slopes above hung far down over the 

 water, blocking the midday sunlight and producing an almost con- 

 stant twilight. For only a few moments in the afternoon could a 

 few rays of sunshine slip through before the shadow of island 29 

 across the pass crept up to throw the waters into increasing darkness. 

 A yawning cavern gaped in the cliff wall, entirely under water, its 

 roof festooned with huge, netlike antipatharians ("black corals") 

 hanging down like drapes. They were so flexible and so large that 

 they could grow only in hanging position (pi. 18, fig. 2). When 

 fresh, their polyps were brilliant orange in daylight, but they ap- 

 peared almost white in the murky blue water of the cave. 



ANIMAL PARTNERSHIPS 



Only on this half-lit slope did we find the whip-corals, Junceella; 

 they grew here like tall, waving grass reaching out toward the light, 

 with their tips drooping like buggy whips. They form the hub of an 

 interesting association that we will describe in detail in a future paper. 

 The most unusual member of this association is a little transparent 

 pink goby, a new species allied to the genus Cottogobius. It is a tiny 



