CHAPTER IX. 



THE DEEP-SEA FAUNA. 



The Protozoa of the Deep-sea. Bathybius. ' Coccoliths,' and 'Cocco- 

 spheres.' The Foraminifera of the Warm and Cold Areas. Deep- 

 sea Sponges. The Hexactinellidae. Rqssella. Hyalonema 

 Deep-sea Corals. The Stalked Crinoids. Pentacrinus. Rhizo- 

 crinus. Bathycrinus. The Star- fishes of the Deep-sea. The 

 general Distribution and Eelations of Deep-sea Urchins. The 

 Crustacea, the Mollusca, and the Fishes of the * Porcupine ' Expe- 

 ditions. 



THE time has not yet arrived for giving anything 

 like a detailed account of the deep-sea fauna; even 

 if it were possible to do so in a popular sketch of 

 the general results of a wide investigation. I must 

 therefore confine myself at present to a brief outline 

 of the distribution of the forms of animal life which 

 were met with in the belt partially examined during 

 the ' Porcupine ' dredgings, a belt which carries the 

 British zoological area about a hundred miles further 

 out to seaward along the northern and western coasts 

 of the British Isles, and into depths extending from 

 200 fathoms, the previous limit of accurate know- 

 ledge, to 800 and 1,000 fathoms, and in one or two 

 instances to the extreme depth of upwards of 2,000 

 fathoms. 



