The waves, breaking in the distance gave the appearance of 

 the sails of a small yacht having a beam of light played 

 upon them. As each bow wave broke, the white paintwork of 

 the bridge and vessel's superstructiire was brilliantly 

 illuminated." 



Sheet-type biolimiinescence may resemble a "white sandy beach" in the 

 distance, as was noted off Rio Peira, Brazil. 



Numerous displays occur along the coast of Africa, being most pro- 

 nounced off the mouths of rivers. Discolored water from the Congo River 

 has been observed some 3OO miles from shore, and bioluminescence from 

 rapidly developing bacteria and dinoflagellates may be seen through the 

 region affected by this river. The METEOR sailed through this region in 

 1926, and observers noted a diffuse luminescence all along the coast of 

 what was then French Equatorial Africa extending into the coastal waters 

 of Angola. The light was continuous and rather intense in the vicinity 

 of Mocamedes. 



Farther south along the coast of southwest Africa, the incidence of 

 bioluminescence increases markedly. Here, coastal waters are very pro- 

 ductive because of abundant nutrients introduced by the upwelling 

 Benguela Current. Walvis Bay, which is representative of many bays 

 along this coast, is subject to periodic "red tides" and brilliant dis- 

 plays of bioliminescence. The "red tides," caused most frequently by 

 Noctiluca , are accompanied by mass mortalities of marine life. As a 

 resiilt, l^IDlinescent bacteria develop on the decaying organisms, and the 

 displays may range from dull to brilliant in the surface waters of the 

 bay. 



In False Bay, Union of South Africa, exceptional displays have been 

 observed. One observer noted that the bay in November was covered by a 

 "greasy" froth, variously colored, that gave the water an unclean appear- 

 ance by day but caused it to resemble a lake of "molten gold" at night. 

 Strong bioluminescence occurs in Table Bay in December and January, when 

 dark red water develops. 



In colder waters extending southward toward the Antarctic, an in- 

 creased nxjmber of spark-type displays caused by euphausiids may be 

 expected throughout the yeax. The usual displays caused by various 

 jellyfishes and tunicates such as salps have been seen throughout the 

 extreme southern portion of the South Atlantic. Harbors of the Isla de 

 los Estados (Staten Island) often are filled in the early part of 

 December with medusae which are said to cause brilliant bioluminescence 

 at night. Salps cause some rather strong displays between southern 

 Africa and southern South America. Dinoflagellates occasionally are 

 abundant in waters near the Falkland Islands. Here the movements of 

 large fishes have been observed by their bioluminescent tracks. 

 Euphausiids have been observed luminescing both in the water and on 

 floating ice in February near the South Orkney Island. 



19 



