212 TOILERS IN THE SEA. 



were the most brilliant. The Pennatulae, the Virgu- 

 lariae, and the Gorgoniae shone with a lambent white 

 light, so bright that it showed quite distinctly the 

 hour on a watch ; while the light from Ophiocantha 

 spinulosa was of a brilliant green, coruscating from 

 the centre of the disk, now along one arm, now 

 along another, and sometimes vividly illuminating 

 the whole outline of the star-fish " (" Depths of the 

 Sea," p. 98). And again, whilst dredging near 

 Shetland, he writes : " Among Echinoderms Ophio- 

 cantJia spinulosa was one of the prevailing forms, and 

 we were greatly struck with the brilliancy of its 

 phosphorescence. Some of these hauls were taken 

 late in the evening, and the tangles were sprinkled 

 over with stars of the most brilliant uranium green ; 

 little stars, for the phosphorescent light was much 

 more vivid in the younger and smaller individuals. 

 The light was not constant, nor continuous all over 

 the star, but sometimes it struck out a line of fire all 

 round the disk, flashing, or, one might rather say, 

 glowing, up to the centre ; then that would fade, and 

 a defined patch, a centimetre or so long, break out 

 in the middle of an arm, and travel slowly out to the 

 point, or the whole five rays would light up at the 

 ends, and spread the fire inwards. Very young 

 Ophiocanthse, only lately rid of their c plutei/ shone 

 very brightly. It is difficult to doubt that in a sea 

 swarming with predaceous crustaceans, such as active 



