678 
Proceedings of the Poyal Society 
and number of specimens with the series obtained during the cruise 
of the “ Knight Errant ” ; and it would seem, as if now only the rich 
spoil, which I ventured to indicate in 1867 as likely to result from an 
exploration of the deep sea round the British Islands, were being 
gathered. Six out of the ten species obtained are new to the British 
fauna, and, of course, represent but a small fraction of the actual 
number of British deep-sea fishes. Much, therefore, remains to be 
done. The laws which govern the bathymetrical distribution of 
fishes are still obscure ; and it is evident that a series of continued 
systematic observations, such as can be made in a limited oceanic 
district, like that round the British Islands, whose hydrographic 
conditions, with its surface and coast fauna, are so well known, is most 
likely to reveal the chain of facts which cannot be recognised in 
disjointed observations made at distant localities. Besides, there are 
not a few obscure points in the life history of our food-fishes which 
may well be expected to be cleared up by the deep-sea dredge ; such 
are the unaccountable disappearance from certain parts of the coast of 
fishes like the haddock, and the change of habitat of many fishes accord- 
ing to the season, a change which evidently much more frequently 
takes place in a vertical than in a horizontal direction. It is 
therefore to be hoped that the present successful expedition will be 
followed by equally well conducted efforts. 
The collection submitted to my examination contains a much 
greater proportion of arctic forms than of southern, and in this 
respect differs entirely from that made by Mr. Gwyn Jeffreys at a 
less depth. The only southern form is Paloporphyrus lepidion which 
we knew previously from the Mediterranean, Japan, and South 
Atlantic. Singularly, again, no trace of a Trachypterus or Regalecus 
was obtained; and we can account for their absence only by the 
supposition that it is difficult to enclose these long snake-like fishes 
in the dredge, and that young specimens, from their extreme delicacy 
of structure, are probably tom into fragments and lost long before 
the net reaches the surface. Some of the species had been previously 
obtained by the Scandinavian expeditions in similar latitudes towards 
the east. As all the species will be fully referred to or described in 
my report on “ Challenger” deep sea fishes, only a few notes on them 
are appended here. 
1. Chimaera monstrosa, L. — A young specimen was obtained at a 
