AT THE END OF THE SPECTRUM 1 73 



Vertical fins well back were one of the characters which 

 placed it among the sea-dragons, Melanostomiatids, and 

 were clearly seen when the fish passed through the beam. 

 There were two long tentacles, hanging down from the 

 body, each tipped with a pair of separate, luminous bodies, 

 the upper reddish, the lower one blue. These twitched and 

 jerked along beneath the fish, one undoubtedly arising 

 from the chin, and the other far back near the tail. I 

 could see neither the stem of the tentacles nor any paired 

 fins, although both were certainly present. This is the fish 

 I subsequently named Bathysphcera intacta, the Untouch- 

 able Bathysphere Fish. 



Another interesting fish of this trip was one which I 

 saw by the light of our electric beam at 1900 feet on the 

 way up. It was one of the true giant female anglerfish, a 

 full two feet in length, with enormous mouth and teeth, 

 deep and thick, with a long tentacle arising from the top 

 of its head. I saw no light from this, but it was distinct 

 for a moment in the surrounding illumination. Twice its 

 mouth opened and partly shut and then we passed out of 

 its life. Three of these weird fish have been taken dead at 

 the surface, but three years of intensive trawling have 

 given us no hint of their presence here. For a few seconds 

 I was within ten feet of one, and the memory will never 

 leave me. 



While still near the lowest limit of our dive the thought 

 flashed across my mind of the reality of the old idea of 

 elements — fire, water, earth, and air. They persist as a 



