312 CLASSIFIED RESUME OF ORGANISMS OBSERVED 



lights, and which I did not identify as members of other 

 Stomiatoid famihes such as Astronesthidae or Idiacan- 

 thidae. Some of these forms, however, such as the six-foot 

 fish I have placed in the new genus Bathysphaera^ may 

 actually belong in quite different or wholly unknown 

 families. 



In the great majority of cases, it was quite impossible to 

 make accurate generic identifications. By the time I had 

 satisfied myself that I was looking at a member of this 

 family, the bathysphere or fish would move. So I invari- 

 ably lost the chance of seeing the barbel and its light. In 

 Bcithysphcera I thought, on the occasion of their first pass- 

 ing, that a parti-colored jelly or small fish was swimming 

 beneath. Only on their return did I suddenly realize that 

 the bobbing red and blue lights terminated a dangling, in- 

 visible barbel thread. One other time I thought I saw a long 

 strand of tissue studded with minute lights, but I am not 

 certain, and so far as identification by barbels is concerned, 

 my dives are quite ineffective. This may indicate that bar- 

 bels in general subserve a tactile rather than a luminescent 

 function. 



The two rows of lateral serial organs were usually dis- 

 tinct, though not brilliant, and as far as I could tell glowed 

 steadily. I cannot generalize on their tint, except that they 

 often seemed faintly yellowish. It is interesting to note that 

 on freshly caught dead specimens these organs are always 

 clear violet or purple. One unexpected observation was 



1 Bull. N. Y. Zool. Soc, Vol. XXXV, No. j. 



