CHAP. XXII HAPLOMI 613 
The members of this Family vary much in form, and among 
them are to be found some of the most curious adaptations to 
bathybial existence. One of the best known is Harpodon nehereus, 
which, when newly taken, is brilliantly phosphorescent all over 
the body ; in a salted and dry condition it is the “ Bombay-duck,” 
a delicacy eaten with curries, and exported in large quantities from 
the west coast of India. It is not known to occur at any great 
depth, and is not even restricted to the sea, being very abundant 
in the rivers and estuaries of Bengal and Burma; whilst an allied 
species, H. squamosus, is found in the Indian Ocean at depths 
of 120 to 300 fathoms. In Bathypterois, the eyes are very 
small; some of the rays of the paired fins being excessively pro- 
longed, acting as tactile organs, and compensating the reduction in 
the eyes. Sir John Murray has observed about B. longipes: 
“When taken from the trawl [from 2650 fathoms] they were 
always dead, and the long pectoral rays were erected like an 
arch over the head, requiring considerable pressure to make 
them lie along the side of the body; when erected they 
resembled Pennatulids like Umbellula.” In Jpnops, which 
resembles in general form the large-eyed Chlorophthalmus gracilis, 
the upper surface of the broad spatulate snout is occupied by 
a luminous organ longitudinally divided into two symmetrical 
halves, and the eyes are absent, unless, as first supposed, this extra- 
ordinary organ be a modification of them; but Professor Moseley’s 
examination seems to have proved beyond doubt that it is a 
special form of phosphorescent organ, the object of which would be 
to attract other creatures to the wide gape of a Fish which, living 
in the abysses of the sea and deprived of organs of sight and 
touch, would have great difficulty in procuring its food. Odonto- 
stomus, with a very large eye which can be turned upwards and 
sidewards, and enormous compressed curved teeth, barbed at the 
tip and depressible backwards, is one of the few Scopelids in 
which scales are completely absent. 
The numerous species (about 50) of Scopelus and their allies 
are moderate-sized or small pelagic and deep-sea forms found in 
nearly all the seas, some coming to the surface at night, whilst 
others are confined to great depths; they are remarkable for the 
series of phosphorescent spots (photophores) on the body, and in 
some species also on the head, where they may form large patches 
on the snout. The arrangement of these photophores is a very 
