578 BULLETIN l)F THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



The most successful trawling grounds for sciciitiHc purposes vvcix' found t)etwecn 

 3U0 and .400 fathoms along the seaward extensions of the Pailoloand Kaiwi Channels, 

 wliich lie between Alaui and Molokai and between Molokai and (^ahu. Towaiil tlie 

 noi'theast these ehannids soon open upon a nearly l(>vel })lateau. 10 to J.^ miles in width, 

 earrvinu' a depth of al)out MOO fathoms. The sediments are tine sand and mud. ;ind 

 are in certain lines comparatively fr(>e from obstructions. At the seaward edge of 

 this plateau, however, foul bottom is at once encountered, and a steep and wholly 

 imprat'ticable slope leads abruptly tlown to oceanic depths. For depths of less than 

 200 fathoms the richest ground discovered was undoubtedly the inter-island portion 

 of the I'ailolo Channel, where a bottom of dead shells and corallines proved very 

 productive. Off Kahului on Maui, as alrcnidy stated, and off Honolulu and AN'aialua 

 on Oahu, are gentle sandy slopes wher(> dredging is possible out to 300 fathoms, but 

 the inshore portions are comparatively bari'cn. Beyond -too fathoms no satisfactory 

 working grounds could be found in any part of this region. The best that were dis- 

 covered lie off the eastern shore of Kauai, llei'e life was abundant and the forms 

 discovered were of extreme intei-est. but the bottom had a I'apid seaward slope and 

 wa.s treacherous. Bv dredging paralhd with the shore line, successful hauls w'ere 

 occasionallv made, and most of our material fioni de]itlis greater than 4oo fathoms 

 came from this locality. The series of shoals to the northwest of th(> Hawaiian 

 group were left practically unexplored. The single trip to Laysan Island was devoted 

 largely to hydrogi'aphic work; hence a few dredge hauls in the Aicinity of Laysan 

 and a series near Bird Island represent the meager biological results obtained from 

 the western portion of the cruise. No truly bathybial fishes were secured at Laysan, 

 but the reef species and those of the shore platform out to loO fathoms indicated the 

 imbroken extension of the Hawaiian fauna to include these islands and shoals. 



The first conti'ihution to the knowledge of Hawaiian deep-sea fishes apfx'ared in 

 1897," being based on the results of S dredge-hauls taken by the Alhufi-nss in iS'.tl. in 

 the Kaiwi ("liannel. Of the '_'il species then secni-ed, all but 5 were ilescrilx'd as new. 

 The probability entertained at that time that the slopes al)Out the islands would l)e 

 found to contain an asscndilage of species larg(dy distinct from those of any other 

 I'cgion has been ftdly borne out by more extensive exploration. In the pi-esent 

 paper there are recorded 111 species li\'ing at depths of loo fathoms or more, and of 

 these all are peculiar to the Hawaiian province, so far as is now known, exce])t the 

 10 named below. S(jii(iliit< i/iit-sitk/w/'/. ('Iiiiii:>r<i pi/jj>n/-r>tce/is, And A/ith/o/i /'a .steiji- 

 diu-linrri are known from Japan; SijikxIhh lin/iiinis and ]\^<ii)iiohrae1iiiuii ii'Kjnun are 

 forms occuri'ing in the East Indies; S<rririiiiii r Iwrni'i) and < 'iiiil<il,/i/s /<>/ii//(/i /is tuv 

 supposed to iidiabit both coasts of tlie United States; ^iiifliitora micriilej>/fi is from 

 the Pacitic coast of North America; and Xciisi-iijkIiik vi/<-r(ih'pi(Ii>tiix and Sferiio/ifi/.r 

 iliiipliiiiiii are species of partly pelagic habit, I'anging wididy in l)oth Atlantic and 

 Pacific. In the case of S<jiiiil us, Cliiur.rni, and AiitJnitirn, it has been possilile to 

 make direct comparison of specimens, but with the others mentioned, identitication 

 is l>;iscd on comparison with publishetl descriptions and figures only. 



An analysis of the list of species recorded in the present paper shows conclusively 

 that the ))athvbial tishes of Hawaii, like those of its reefs and shores, have been 



" Gilbert, C. H., 1111(1 Cnimi.T, Frank: Report on the HkIu's ilie(ti;i'.l in clieji water near the Hawniinn Isl iiuls, with 

 deseriptioTi.- ami ligures of twenty-three new speeies. I'roc. U. S. Nat. .Mns., vol. 10, 1897, pp. 403-43.5. phites 30-18. 



