CH. Ill] LTFE IX THE SEA 59 



worm beds which are exploited by the fishermen for bait for them- 

 selves and for the seaside visitors. Everywhere on the foreshore 

 except in the most desolate of localities the benthos provides 

 a living, scanty though it may be, for the inshore fishermen. 



Forbes' laminarian zone is, as I have said, to be recognised 

 mostly in the areas favoured by the collectors. On such a coast as 

 we have been considering the flat sandy foreshore is continued out 

 to sea below the tide marks for many miles. Here we may have the 

 characteristic sea-weeds, Laminaria, Himanthalia and the like, or we 

 may not. There may be a stony bottom with abundant sea-weeds, 

 small rock living fishes and the prawn (Pandaliis), or there may be 

 a bottom of sand or mud or gravel, or any combination of these, and 

 these latter formations are more important economically, for on them 

 may be immense accumulations of shrimps or of small " flukes " 

 (plaice, dabs, flounders, &c.). This is the rearing ground of 

 many species of fishes such as those I have mentioned and also 

 others such as the dragonets {Callionymus), weevers {Trachinus), 

 sand-eels (Ammodytes), suckers (Liparis, Agonus and Lepadog aster), 

 gobies, sprats and many others, while codling, whiting, and other 

 young gadoid fishes may live here for a part of their lives. Fish 

 life is very abundant on such sandy shallow waters. I have seen 

 as many as 10,000 fishes taken in one haul of a shrimp net. 

 Hordes of invertebrates also inhabit this region, the commonest of 

 these being starfishes, crabs (Carcinus, Portunus, Hi/as, Steno- 

 rhynchus, hermit crabs and others). Small molluscs like Madra, 

 Scrobicularia, TellinCi, Hydrohia and others live in the sand and 

 are preyed upon by the fishes. Zoophytes, sea-weeds, sponges and 

 the larger molluscs like the oyster are generally absent. 



Below this again and extending down from 10 to about 50 or 

 60 fathoms is the coralline zone of Forbes. Ordinary sea-weeds 

 are sparingly present in this region, but we meet with a rich 

 invertebrate population. The nullipores or calcareous algae such 

 as LithotJiamnion are present sometimes in great abundance, while 

 many species of zooph3'tes and polyzoa abound. In the shallower 

 parts of this zone (indeed also in the laminarian zone) are the 

 ascidians, the sea-squirts and the beautiful compound forms. The 

 brittle starfishes {Ophiura and Ophioglypha), the hermit crabs, 

 shellfish like the oyster and scallop (Pecten) and the whelks 



