366 A. E Verrill— Marine Fauna off New England Coast. 



a fresh valve of Pholadornya arala, in 108 fathoms; Axinopsis 

 orbicn/ata G. 0. Sars, in 202 fathoms; Mudiuktriu politaV. & S., 

 in 321 fathoms. In trawl- wings, station 1141, 389 fathoms, we 

 took four examples of Clione papilionacea Pallas, associated 

 with a Iving specimen of Cavolina longirostris. 



The southern species of Pteropods were comparatively scarce 

 this season, and the very large species of Salpa, so abundant 

 hitherto, was only met with once, this year, but the small spe- 

 cies (S. Caboti) occurred in large numbers, and with it several 

 very brilliant species of Saphirina were taken. 



Evidence of great destruction of life last winter. 



One of the most peculiar facts, connected with our dredging 

 this season, was the scarcity or total absence of many of the 

 species, especially of Crustacea, that were taken in the two 

 previous seasons, in essentially the same localities at id depths. 

 in vast numbers, — several thousands at a time. Among such 

 species were Euprogn ////>. Port* 



hjJnh^ lo-erii-ostris, and a species of Munida. The latter, which 

 was one of the most abundant of all the Crustacea, last year, 

 was not seen at all this season. An attempt to catch the ''tile- 

 fish " (Lophoialilus) by means of a long trawl-line, on essen- 

 tially the same ground where eighty were caught, on one occa- 

 sion, last year, resulted in a total failure this year. It is prob- 

 able, therefore, that the finding of vast numbers of dead tile- 

 fishes floating at the surface, in this region, last winter, as was 

 reported by many vessels, was connected with a wholesale 

 destruction of the life at the bottom, along the shallower part 

 of this belt (in 70 to 150 fathoms), where the southern forms of 

 life and higher temperatures (48° to 50°) are found. This great 

 destruction of life was probably caused by a very severe storm 

 that occurred in this region, at that time, which, by agitating 

 the bottom-water, forced outward the very cold water that, 

 even in summer, occupies the great area of shallower sea, in 

 less than 60 fathoms, along the coast, and thus caused a sudden 

 lowering of the temperature along this narrow warm zone where 

 the tile-fish and the Crustacea referred to were formerly found. 



As the warm belt is here narrow, even in Bummer, and is not 

 only bordered on its inner edge, but is also underlaid by much 

 colder water, it is evident that even a moderate agitation and 

 mixing up of the warm and cold water might, in winter, reduce 

 the temperature so much as to practically obliterate the warm 

 belt, at the bottom. But a severe storm, such as the one 

 referred to, might even cause such a variation in the position 

 and flow of the tidal and other currents as to cause a direct 

 flow of the cold inshore waters to temporarily occupy this area, 

 le result would be 



pushing outward the Gulf Stream ' 



