59 
the most glorious jewels. Upon the whole the pelagic fauna, though 
the transparency of the animals must, of course, be an exceedingly 
valuable means of protection, is probably not a true case of protective 
adaptation — its special character may, partly at least, be due to the 
direct influence of the medium in which the 
animals live. A very interesting suggestion re- 
garding this matter is made by Doflein (,0Ost- 
asienfahrt", 1906. p. 229) viz. that the trans- 
parency of the pelagic animals may afford pro- 
tection against the strong light, allowing the rays 
of the light to pass through their bodies un- 
broken and unreflected, without being trans- 
formed into special energy, while possibly special 
kinds of rays are utilised, when falling on the 
vividly coloured inner organs of such animals. 
A fine instance of what would appear to be 
real mimicry is, however, met with in this pe- 
lagic community, viz. the Amphipod Mimonectes, 
which resembles in a very perfect way a smail 
Medusa (Fig. 1). ,I believe that the strange 
and remarkable shape acquired by the Mimo- 
nectidæ must be looked upon as an instance of 
mimicry serving them as protection against vor- 
acious foes" says Bovallius!) who has de- 
scribed these curious Crustaceans and I quite SE 
agree with. him in this: On the other band 1 8 povalltas 
Would decidedly protest against seeing in the 
conspicuously coloured alimentary canal of the Salpæ any resemblance 
with a fragment of floating seaweed, as suggested by Beddard?). 
As regards the fauna of the coral reefs I would not be in- 
clined to consider the bright and conspicuous coloration of so many 
of the animals altogether as ,concealment colours", at least not so 
directly as it appears to be the opinion of S. J. Hickson?”). Doubt- 
)) Bovallius. Contributions to a Monograph of the Amphipoda Hyper- 
iidea. Kgl. Svenska Vetensk. Akad. Handlingar. Bd. 22. 1889. p. 59 
7”) F.Beddard. Animal coloration. 1892. p. 122. 
?) S.J. Hickson. Animal life on a coral reef. ,,Naturef. Vol. 44. 1891. 
No. 1126. p. 90. 
