118 THE STORY OF LIFE IN THE SEAS. 



It might be thought that, as so many of the 

 animals living near the coast line in shallow 

 water have pelagic larvae, the Plankton of the 

 neighbourhood of the coasts would differ from 

 that of the open oceans in the fact that a con- 

 siderable proportion of it consists of these larval 

 forms. But many of the larvae seem to be able to 

 live a long time without further change than an 

 increase in size, and being drifted out to sea by 

 the winds and tides are often found in the open 

 ocean at very great distances from any coast line. 



It would be interesting to know more of these 

 larvse which go thus astray. How long can they 

 go on waiting for the opportunity to cast off their 

 childish clothes and assume the garments of the 

 adult 3 Do they in time undergo changes which 

 bring about a kind of childish old age, or do they 

 suddenly perish with all the characters of youth 

 upon them 1 



These and many other questions connected 

 with this most fascinating chapter in the story of 

 the sea have still to be answered by the investi- 

 gations of scientific men in the future . 



CHAPTEE V. 



SURFACE-SWIMMING FAUNA (VERTEBRATES). 



IN the preceding chapter we have considered 

 only those animals of the surface of the sea, 

 which, owing either to their small size or the 

 transparency of their bodies, are not as a rule 

 conspicuous to a passenger on board a mail- 



