DESCRIPTION OF THE EXPEDITION. 129 
of rather softer foraminiferal nature with broken shells, particularly those of bivalves, 
which in some places almost formed banks. Towards the edge there was more rubble, 
formed largely of broken bases of branching corals, evidently carried in from some lesser 
depth, together with all sorts of sedentary life and generally some molluscs. Everywhere 
between 25 and 35 fathoms, except near the edge of the bank, quantities of the grass-like 
Cymodocea, one of the Potamogetonacean cotyledonous plants, were growing on the 
bottom, while in places the creeping alga Caulerpa forms submarine meadows. In all 
we pressed about 25 different kinds of alge, nearly all green, of which we may perhaps 
notice the caleareous-leaved Halimeda, the network-forming Shuvea, and the great flat 
fronds of Udotea and Avrainvillea. Most forms of sedentary animals, with the exception 
of reef-builders, were well represented. The fauna was similar but decidedly richer than 
that which we got in the Maldivian lagoons. There were 30 species of fish, 7 new 
species, some being flat-fish, none of edible size. We found that the molluse Vermetus 
had in one locality made its tubes of sand, though it usually starts on the surface of 
some growing coral and forms a spiral shell. As the coral grows it becomes imbedded, 
and to keep its mouth at the surface the animal builds a long straight tube at the same 
rate as the coral actually grows. Perhaps the sand was accumulating more rapidly than 
the animal could build. Sponges were very abundant, but were generally little inhabited 
by animals; a bright orange form was remarkable for a similar coloured Alpheid. At 
one spot near Frigate Island the prevailing colour of the catch was most striking, 
ranging from orange to vermilion. As a rule, the contents of the dredge were dull green 
to grey, caused perhaps by the colour of the weeds. In the haul in question there was, 
however, no weed, the dominant life being sponge (at least twelve species) orange to 
purple, aleyonarians, Vermetus, crustaceans, molluscs, asteroids, annelids, and crinoids, 
all being brightly coloured. Crustaceans might directly take on the colour of the 
environment, as Keeble and Gamble have shown *, but in other wandering forms its 
presence is more difficult to explain ; if all live on some coloured sponge in the first 
place, it might be the excretion of its pigment. ’ 
When dredging towards the edge of the bank we found some beds of Lithothamnia 
and a much rougher bottom, the nets getting badly torn. In one haul whose least 
depth was 47 fathoms, we got a mass of weed, much of it red in colour, eizht species of 
alge, and the delicate-leaved Halophila ovalis, a monocotyledon of the Hydrocharidacee, 
an extraordinary depth fora plant derived from land-living ancestors. From this 
place the slope was steep, the next sounding about 800 yards further out giving 224 
fathoms. We tried to dredge upon it, but got into difficu!ties at once, drifting off the 
slope several times and subsequently losing our dredge. 
We next proceeded along the west side of the N azareth Bank to the Saya de Malha 
Bank, sounding on our way. This area within the 100-fathom line is probably about 240 
miles long, and there are no known shoals or dangers, beyond those already mentioned 
in connection with Cargados, which is situated on its southern extremity. Except near 
Cargados, the actual soundings upon the bank are few in number, but sufficient perhaps 
* Quart. Journ. Micr. Sci. vol. xlvi. pp. 589 et seq. 
19* 
