394 THE ZOOLOGIST. 
small organisms or minute particles of organic matter which fall 
from the surface, &c.”’* Now how far does assimilative coloura- 
tion appear to obtain in these dreary depths? Sir John Murray 
speaks of the “red and brown tints of the majority of deep-sea 
organisms.”t Mr. Hickson’s statement that ‘the deep-sea fish are 
usually devoid of any pronounced spots, stripes, or other mark- 
ings is now well recognized,” and it seems to be “a very general 
rule among fishes that as they migrate into deeper water the 
spots and stripes so conspicuous among many forms living on the 
surface and in shallow water disappear, and the colouration of the 
body becomes more evenly distributed and uniform.” ‘‘ Among 
the Crustacea various shades of red are the prevailing colours.” 
“The colouring of the deep-sea jelly-fishes is said to be usually 
deep violet or yellowish red.” ‘‘ Moseley records most minutely 
the colour of some of the deep-sea anemones and corals, and 
calls attention to the very general presence of madder-brown in 
the soft parts.” ‘The pelagic Schizopoda are usually quite pale 
and transparent; the deep-sea forms, on the other hand, are 
frequently, if not invariably, of a bright red colour.” Mr. Hick- 
son concludes that the fauna of the deep sea, taken as a whole, is 
not characterized by the predominance of any one colour, but 
“the shades of red occur rather more frequently than they do in 
the fauna of any other zone or region.”{ Mr. Beddard, arguing 
from the many cases of degenerate eyes among deep-sea animals, 
considers it reasonable to suppose that vision is impossible. 
‘‘ The inevitable conclusion, therefore, from these facts appears 
to be that the brilliant and varied colourations of deep-sea 
animals is totally devoid of meaning ; they cannot be of advan- 
* *‘Compte-Rendu,’ Third Inter. Congr. Zool. Leyden, p. 107. ‘The 
scientific men engaged in the ‘ Challenger’ Expedition came at last to the 
conclusion that the red clay was mainly produced by the decomposition of 
inorganic material, such as the pumice discharged into the air during volcanic 
eruptions, which after long floating about on the surface of the sea must 
become waterlogged, and sink together with the various kinds of dust already 
mentioned. ‘The evidence which they cite indicates that this red clay accumu- 
lates very slowly, and that it owes much to the above materials; but that 
some part of it may be, directly or indirectly, due to chemical action does 
not seem improbable” (T. G. Bonney, ‘ Story of our Planet,’ p. 209). 
+ ‘Compte-Rendu,’ Third Inter. Congr. Zool. Leyden, p. 107. 
t * The Fauna of the Deep Sea,’ pp. 61, 62, 68, 65, 66, 135. 
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