68 SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 



the water immediately surrounding the glass, while through and be- 

 yond this fine life, larger organisms pursue their diverse prey. The 

 whole as a rule assumes a spinning motion, a veritable wheel of life. 



Here we captured lantern fish, forms usually found at a depth 

 beyond the penetration of light. Lifting the first of these to the sur- 

 face with a dip net produced exclamations of surprise, for the fish 

 flashed its lamps of blue-green quality like the sparkling of a firefly, 

 the flashes being emitted from the many bioluminescent organs with 

 which they are provided. These lantern fish in turn were pursued 

 by larger fish which occasionally " beat us to it." Of these lantern 

 fish three species belonging to two genera were obtained in quantity, 

 namely, Diaphus garmani, 119 specimens, Diaphus dumerili, 51 speci- 

 mens, and Myctophum affine, 3 specimens. Among other interesting 

 fish, we caught a large number of Leptocephali, larval eels. 



We also filled a gallon jar with the larva of a stomatopod crustacean, 

 a flat glasslike creature of curious fantastic shape. These were so 

 abundant that each swish of the net would bring a mass on board and 

 their glasslike skeletons were scattered all over the ship. Then, too, 

 there appeared swarms of a small medusa having a squarish outline 

 with four long streaming tentacles. They probably belong to the genus 

 Carybdea. 



Leaving Bahia Corrientes we turned to the south coast of the island 

 where we examined the Cayos San Felipe and Cayos de los Indios, 

 as well as the shallow flat surrounding them. This is the famous spong- 

 ing ground of Cuba. Here we made a number of dredge hauls with 

 varying results and then headed on April 1 1 for Siguanea Bay at the 

 western end of the Isle of Pines. In this bay we again plied our dredge, 

 and we also paid a visit to the Sierra Canadas, which I had failed to 

 explore on a former occasion. 



We next rounded the northern coast of the Isle of Pines and came 

 to anchor April 12 at its capital, Nueva Gerona, where we remained 

 until April 15, visiting the parts of the Sierra Casas and the south side 

 of the Sierra Caballos not previously explored. We then left for 

 Batabano, making a number of hauls in the shallow water between 

 these places and obtaining a marvelous lot of material. 



Alter making our first shipment from this port we sailed eastward, 

 but serious engine trouble caused us to forego further dredging and 

 head for the Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay to undergo repairs. 

 In Guantanamo Bay, tide-pool poisoning was engaged in at Wind- 

 mill Beach, which yielded a series of interesting and brilliantly colored 

 fish, among them an Antennarius, probably princeps. At this port it 

 was deemed advisable to terminate the work for the present. 



