158 Pelagian Mollusca collected on a [no. 2, new series, 
a mass of them appeared like liquid fire of a bluish yellow color. 
Most of the Gkitstacea we have caught are luminous, especially 
their eyes. After 9 p. m, we caught in the net three small Hyalceas 
one of them, Fig. 15, already described, the other kind delineated 
in Fig. 16, had a more expanded aperture and the posterior extre- 
mity was unusually lengthened and curved so as to give the shell 
somewhat the form of a cornucopia. Another interesting shell 
of which we obtained several specimens this evening, much resem- 
bled a minute sinistral Helix^ transparent, glossy, discoidal, with the 
spire slightly elevated ; it is well represented and magnified in Fig. 
8. I could not well distinguish the animr.l. It was extremely minute 
and none of those I placed in water show^ed any signs of vitality. 
I believe the shell to be a Limacma or Spiratella. These names 
are by some authors considered sj-nonymous, though others take 
them to represent two difi'erent genera. The shell has likewise 
been confounded with ^/!/a?2/a ; and consequently the various des- 
criptions of this shell, are most conflicting and contradictory. On 
this account I regret the more, my not having been able to record 
the appearance of the animal. However the figures of this and 
indeed of all the species illustrated in the accompanying plates 
are executed with such fidelity as to render it a comparatively 
easy task for a Nataralist in command of the requisite means, 
either to pronounce a species new, or to identify it with such as 
have been already described. The animal is probably a Pxeeopod. 
We took a few more specimens of it, the following night, after 
which we saw no more of them. 
Our course was now south easterly for a considerable time, during 
■which our experiments with the net were almost barren of results, 
and it was not until we approached higher and warmer lati- 
tudes, that we again fell in with Mollusca. However, hard- 
ly a day passed that our net did not reveal varied and 
novel forms of animal life, with which the ocean seems 
to be teeming, — beautifully marked fish, singular Cr-cstacea 
and a variety of Acaleph^, as Beroe^ Viphyes and Cuboides, the 
two latter perfectly transparent and angular, like animated crystals. 
Many of these animals would live for days when placed in a vessel 
of sea water and the study of their habits in this manner, was 
always interesting and well calculated to while away a vacant hour. 
