132 ON THE PLANKTON OF THE FAEROE CHANNEL. [ Feb. 3, 
The same distribution was noted by Vallentin and Cunning- 
ham ':—‘“ The adult, so far as our information allows of a 
decision, lives on the bottom, and never swims far from the 
ground [90- —95 fathoms in this ‘instancel, while the young, up to 
half or three-quarters the size of the adult, occur abundantly at 
the very surface and at all intermediate depths. As mentioned 
above, Mr. Murray found swarms of individuals at the surface in 
the Farée Channel, but none of these were full-grown, and very 
few more than half the adult size.” 
Thave no doubt that this generalization will prove true for 
greater depths: I took adult specimens, over 35 mm. in length, 
only between 350-220 fathoms, 400-300 fathoms, 500-400 
fathoms: the remaining specimens varied from 9 to 17 mm. in 
leneth. In other words, Vyctiphanes norvegica is apparently 
mesoplanktonic when adult 
A few larve, larger for their stage of development than those 
attributed to Thysanoessa, were taken at the surface, and may 
perhaps belong to Vyctiphanes: they have not been included in 
the tables. 
THYSANOPODA MICROPHTHALMA Ortmann. (? = Thysanopoda 
microphthalma G. O. Sars.) . 
Three specimens, recognizable as young forms by the character 
of the second maxilla and gills, and by the spination of the telson, 
of about eight, twelve, and fourteen mm. in length, appear to be 
referable to the same species as specimens recorded in quantity 
by the ‘ National’ in 60° 3’ N., 27° 0' W., at a probable depth of 
between 218 and 328 fathoms. These were referred by Ortmann” 
to Thysanopoda microphthalma of Sars *, a species founded on two 
specimens from the surface at 26° 21' N., 33° 37’ W., and 7° N., 
23° W. respectively. The identity of the ‘National’ specimens 
with those described by Sars seems to me rather doubtful: firstly, 
because it is not very likely that a rare form such as this should 
occur as adult both at the surface near the Equator and also at 
218-328 fathoms in the Greenland Sea, or at 500-400 fathoms 
in the yet colder water of the Faeroe Ohammel ; secondly, because 
Ortmann himself indicates some points of difference between his 
specimens and those of Sars. My own specimens agree with 
Ortmann’s figure, and differ from Sars’s description, in “the shape 
of the antennal scale, and in the absence of a spine from the 
second joint of the first antenna. The telson was not hispid, 
probably owing to immaturity ; the eye was somewhat flatter than 
in Ortmann’s figure, and showed slight signs of a constriction 
such as is characteristic of Thysanoessa. The matter cannot be 
settled in default of further specimens, owing to the fact that 
Sars gave only a woodcut of the entire animal, and no figures of 
the detailed anatomy. 
1 R. Vallentin & J. T. Cunningham: Quart. Journ. Micr. Sci. xxviii. pp. 325-6. 
2 A. Ortmann: ‘ Decapoden und Schizopoden der Plankton-Expedition,’ p. 9. 
3 G. O. Sars: Chall. Rep. Zool., xiii. Schizopoda, p. 106. 
