NARRATIVE OF THE CRUISE.. 521 
The new species of Ecliiostoma was uniformly black, the total length being 9.} 
inches. It showed signs of life, when taken out of the trawl, so that probably it 
had not come from any great depth. It had one club-shaped spot of a rose colour 
directly below the eye, and another, about half the size, directly in front of this, of the 
same colour ; these spots turned yellow in spirit. The two rows of probably phosphor- 
escent dots along the body were red, surrounded by a circle of pale violet ; these dots 
turned white in spirit. 
It several times happened during the cruise that the back bone of a fish and some of 
the bones of the head were taken out of the trawl. These probably belonged to delicate 
deep-sea fish, the flesh of which had been completely torn away by the rapid passage of 
the trawl through the water. 
At 1400 fathoms, some distance to the east of the Barrier Reef, there was a very 
successful trawling, a large number of deep-sea genera and species being obtained, 
together with many pumice stones and several cocoanuts. There were two other new 
genera of Ophidiidse, Bathynectes gracilis, Giinth., 1 and Aphynonus gelatinosus, Giinth., 2 
of which latter there were three specimens. The latter were transparent, the head round 
and gibbous ; immediately behind the nostrils was a small dark spot at a considerable 
distance beneath the skin, which probably was the rudimentary eye. A Scopelid ( Alepo - 
cephalus niger, Giinth. 3 ), 12 inches in length, was also obtained ; the whole animal was 
of a light blue colour, of a deeper tint about the fins and gill covers. 
The surface and subsurface waters in this region were teeming with life, all the usual 
tropical forms being found in great abundance. The list of animals obtained was nearly 
identical with that observed in the tropical regions of the Atlantic (see pp. 221, 222), 
although considerable differences were noticed in the relative abundance of the species. 
Leptocephali and young Pleuronectids were very numerous ; some specimens of the 
former were 9 inches in length. 
Birds were seldom seen when far from land, but on approaching shore Boatswain 
Birds, Gannets, Terns, and Frigate Birds were observed, the two former occasionally 
alighting on the ship. 
On the 30th August, at 5 a.m., the position was ascertained by observations of 
Aldebaran, Sirius, and Canopus, and' a course steered for Raine Island, which, as well as 
the Great Detached Reef, was sighted at noon. Contrary to expectation, only a slight 
northerly set was experienced, less than half a mile per hour, from 5 a.m. to noon. Pre- 
viously to 5 a.m., the current was N. 18° E. (true), three quarters of a mile per hour. 
From the time of leaving the New Hebrides to the 29th August, the amount of current 
experienced was very little, the total set being N. 74° W., 36 miles in ten days. The 
ship was steered northward of Raine Island, so as to round it and ascertain whether there 
was good landing. Passing at a distance of a quarter of a mile from the north and west 
1 Ann, and May. Nat, Hist,, ser, 5, vol. ii. p. 21, 1878, 2 Ibid., p. 22, :: Ibid., p. 248, 
