1875.] Cruise of H.M.S. ' Challenger. 3 35 



The trawl brought up a quantity of lumps of pumice, more or less altered 

 and more or less coated with manganese. Animals of all the invertebrate 

 groups were abundant, free, and attached to the stones ; but the assemblage 

 was in no way remarkable. At this station the effect of the cold current 

 was already almost entirely lost, the isotherm of 10° C. having resumed 

 its position at a depth of about 200 fathoms. 



On the 26th of June we sounded in 2800 fathoms. Temperature- 

 soundings were taken to the usual depth ; and the dredging-line was then 

 veered to about 3000 fathoms with a cwt. lead and one towing-net at the 

 end, two nets 250 fathoms from the end, and two more at a distance of 

 about 1000 fathoms. The line with the nets was slowly dragged along 

 for a time with the drift of the ship and hauled in. On carefully washing 

 the nets and examining their contents several forms were met with which 

 apparently do not occur on the surface, particularly a number of species 

 of a group which is, so far as we know, entirely undescribed. It seems 

 to be intermediate between the Radiolarians and the Foraminifera, 

 resembling the former in the condition and appearance of the sarcode and 

 in the siliceous composition of the test, and the latter in external form. 

 The broken tests of these organisms are extremely abundant in the " red- 

 clay" soundings ; a sufficient number of observations has not yet been 

 made to enable us to say with certainty what is their bathymetrical dis- 

 tribution. On the 28th we adopted a plan which we find extremely con- 

 venient at great depths, when we have reason to feel tolerably certain as to 

 what the depth is going to be within moderately narrow limits. The 

 trawl was put over at daybreak, and the line veered to 3500 fathoms ; and 

 while the trawl was going down the sounding was taken, in the present 

 case at a depth of 2900 fathoms with a bottom of " red clay." In this 

 way the trawl reached the bottom, probably between 7° and 8° C, and we 

 could allow it to drift quietly for at least six hours before beginning to 

 haul in. From a zoological point of view this haul was remarkably 

 successful; there were one or two Fishes, a Scalpellum, a number of 

 Annelids (particularly a prominent Aphroditacean), Echinoderms of the 

 genera Pourtalesia, Archaster, Brisinga, and Antedon, a fine species of 

 Cornularia, several examples of Fungia symmetrica, and some Actiniae. 

 The general distribution of temperature remained much the same, the 

 isotherm of 10° 0. retaining its position near the 200-fathom line. 



We trawled, on the 2nd of July, in 2050 fathoms, with a bottom of 

 light brownish ooze with many Glohigerina-shells. The bag brought up a 

 number of lumps of pumice, and among them a very characteristic 

 assemblage of deep-sea animals, the most interesting an undescribed 

 species of Hyalonema, which occurred in considerable numbers and in an 

 excellent state of preservation. The form of the sponge-body is almost 

 spherical, with a comparatively small oscular opening, and the coil is 

 much shorter than in H. Sieboldi, in the largest specimens not more than 

 six inches in length. One remarkable point was that in no case was 



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