848 
searlets of the deep-water starfishes and 
ophiurans, as there is in those of our rocky 
and sandy shores. * * * Among the abys- 
sal invertebrates living in commensalism 
the adaptation to surroundings is fully as 
marked as in shallow waters. I may men- 
tion especially the many species of ophiu- 
rans attached to variously colored gor- 
gonians, branching corals and stems of 
Pentacrinus scarcely to be distinguished 
from the part to which they cling, so com- 
pletely has their pattern of coloration be- 
come identified with it. There is a similar 
agreement in coloration in annelids when 
commensal upon starfishes, mollusks, ac- 
tinie or sponges, and with Crustacea and 
actinie parasitic upon gorgonians, corals, 
or mollusks. The number of crustaceans 
* &  eolored a brilliant scarlet is quite 
large.” 
Professor Verrill, of Yale University, in 
his report on the Ophiurans, collected by 
the Bahama expedition from the University 
of Iowa, repeatedly calls attention to the 
agreement in color between these animals 
and the forms upon which they grow. 
My own observations fully confirm those 
of the naturalists just quoted. Among the 
crustaceans were many species colored a 
bright scarlet, and one was an intense 
blue. The echinoderms were particularly 
striking in their coloration. Yellow and 
purple Comatule abounded in deep water 
near Havana. Serpent-stars were brown, 
white, yellow, red, purple and deep violet. 
A basket-fish, colored chocolate-brown and 
vivid orange, was abundant off the Florida 
Keys. There were sea urchins with crim- 
son and white spines; another particularly 
gorgeous one had a test with alternating 
zones of chocolate and orange, and spines 
barred with carmine and white. The ce- 
lenterates told the same story, but it is 
unnecessary to multiply further the evi- 
dence. Enough has been given for our 
purpose, which was to demonstrate the ex- 
SCIENCE. 
[N. S. Vou. XIII. No. 335. 
istence of bright colors in considerable 
quantities in the deep waters of the ocean, 
and we feel justified in making the follow- 
ing general statements regarding these 
colors : 
1. The colors are often as brilliant as in 
shallow water. 
2. The reds, orange, yellows, violet, pur- 
ple, green and white predominate. 
3. Thecolors when present are usually in 
solid masses in striking contrast, or else the 
whole animal is brilliantly colored. Fine 
patterns are very scarce, and nature seems 
to have used a large brush in adorning her 
children of the depths. 
Now let us return to our question: 
What is the significance of these brilliant 
and varied colors? 
I must confess to being a Darwinian of 
the strict. constructionist school, and believe 
fully in the doctrine that no animal pos- 
sesses any character, including color, that 
is not of use to the species to which it 
belongs, or has not been of use to the an- 
cestors of that species. It is my conviction 
that if we knew all the circumstances 
surrounding the past history and present 
life of any animal, we could explain on the 
score of utility every character, using the 
word in the zoological sense, possessed by 
that species. And it is my purpose to use 
the coloration of deep-sea animals to illus- 
trate this law. 
In my opinion, the presence of all these 
colors can mean but one thing, and that is 
that there is light even in the deepest depths 
of the ocean. Or, to state the matter in 
another way, if we can prove the presence 
of light in considerable quantity at the bot- 
tom of the sea, the colors of its inhabitants 
become entirely explicable. We can then 
explain them as we do the colors of the 
animals of shallow waters, regarding the 
colors as protective, aggressive, alluring, 
attractive, directive, and so forth, as the 
case may be. 
