1S98.] A. Alcock — Distribution of Certain Deep Sea Animals. S 



Now, how can the very curious distribution of these animals h& 

 explained ? 



The most obvious explanation is that as they all belong- to the Deep 

 Sea Fauna, they may be expected to have an almost unlimited range. 

 It has been fairly well established that the animals that inhabit the 

 depths of the ocean all live under almost uniform conditions^, and that 

 therefore there is no limit to their range from one unbroken ocean- 

 bed to another. 



Numerous instances of deep-sea animals that have such an unlimit- 

 ed range are known ; but as I prefer to confine myself to species that 

 have been taken in Indian Seas and that, therefore, can be shown to 

 you, I will only mention the following examples, specimens of which 

 are here exhibited : — 



Bathyactis symmetrica (Pourtales) a Fungid coral which accord- 

 ing to the late Professor Moseley is " apparently universally distributed 

 in deep-water." 



Porcellanaster cseruleus, Wy. Thorns., a Starfish common to the depths- 

 of the North Atlantic and of the Andaman Sea. 



Freyella bentJiopJiila, Sladen, a Starfish common to the depths of the- 

 Pacific and Bay of Bengal. 



Poromya tornata, Jeff., a Lamellibranch mollusk common to the- 

 depths of the Atlantic and of the Bay of Bengjil. 



Puncturella asturiana^ Fisch., a Gastropod mollusk common to the- 

 depths of the West Indies, of the Bay of Biscay, and of the Laccadive- 

 Sea. 



Galocnris macandrese^ Bell, a little crustacean distantly related to* 

 the Lobsters, which has been found in the northern recesses of the- 

 Irish Sea, in Scandinavian deep -waters, in the Gulf of St. Laurence^ 

 off the coast of New Zealand and oft the Laccadive Islands. 



Parapagurus ahyssorum, a Hermit crab that has been found all 

 over the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans at great depths. 



Macrurus laevis, a fish related to the Cod-fishes^ whose range in- 

 cludes the Scandinavian, Irish and Mediterranean Seas, the depths off 

 the coast of Brazil, and the Laccadive and Andaman Seas. 



Now it is quite possible, and even probable, that in the discovery 

 of the Gulf of Mexico species Macrurus cavernosuSy Bathynomus gigan- 

 teus and Phoberus csecus in Indian Seas, we have merely another il- 

 lustration of the wide range of species modified for life under deep sea- 

 conditions ; but there is another possible explanation that should not 

 be lost sight of. 



In the Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society for Auo-ust- 

 1895 (Vol. LI. No. 203) Dr. J. W, Gregory adduces several tellin*'' 



