NationalLibraryOfScotland/medical-history-of-british-india huggingface dataset:
Medical Officers of the Army of India.
53
Commander Alfred Carpenter); it lies between 3° and 4° westwards of the
Nicobars and carries between 1,300 and 1,400 fathoms water, the depths to the
east and west being about 2,300 and 2 , 100 fathoms, respectively.
In the northern third, as also round the continental shores of the Bay, the
bottom naturally consists of the mud deposited from the various large rivers
that discharge into the Bay, and this gradually passes into a Globigerina-ooze
that, at the 1,700 fathom contour line, becomes nearly pure. Near the Anda-
man shore a good deal of calcareous ooze of other kinds is found—in places
Pteropod -ooze.
According to Commander Carpenter,* the temperature falls very rapidly
from about 80° Fahrenheit at the surface to about 60° at too fathoms and 53,
at 150 fathoms; it then sinks slowly to 35.5° Fahrenheit at 1,300 fathoms
between which depth and 2 , 100 fathoms it falls less than two degrees—to 33.7°F
ahrenheit.
As regards the fauna of its depths; in the deeper parts of the Bay, on a
bottom of Globigerina-ooze and at a temperature of about 34° Fahrenheit, we
find such typical deep-sea forms as Holascus and its allies among the Hexact-
inellid sponges; Homolampas, Deima, Freyella, Hymenaster, Styracaster,
Hyphalaster, Dytaster and Pararchaster among Echinoderms; and numerous
species of Anomurous Crustacea: in the moderate depths near shore the very
few unproductive places met with were on the banks of soft mud opposite the
Godavari and Kistna Deltas.
3. The Andaman Sea is an enclosed basin still very insufficiently sounded
out and explored. Its depth does not seem to be very great, 1,600 fathoms
being marked on the "Challenger" chart.
The deepest sounding recorded by the "Investigator," so far as I know, is
1,200 fathoms. Its temperature gradients are equally imperfectly known; the
lowest bottom-temperature that I can find recorded is 39.5° Fahrenheit at a
depth of 1,159 fathoms.
In its northern half the bottom consists of dark mud, though near the
Islands sand and coral ooze are also met with.
Of the fauna of its depths we only know enough to regret our ignorance,
for the southern part of this sea, in the neighbourhood of the reefs and islands,
seems to be one of the rich places of the world for zoologists. Here, off the
entrance of MacPherson's Straits, in 188-220 fathoms, the Investigator in
1891, made one of her finest hauls; the trawl-bag came up half-full of animals
of which hundreds of specimens of twenty-three species of fishes and thirty
species of Crustacea formed only a part.
* A. Carpenter: The Mean Temperature of the Deep Waters of the Bay of Bengal, (Journal, Asiatic
Society, Bengal, Vol. LVI, pt. 2, 1887, p. 230, pl. X.)
54
Scientific Memoirs by
SECTION 5.—A Summary of the Zoological Results obtained by the
Investigator from 1884 to 1897, in the deep-sea.
It must be premised that the first object of the Investigator is the safe-
guarding of navigation; that zoology, therefore, occupies a secondary and sub-
ordinate place; that deep-sea dredging, as a rule, is only possible in the course
of passage from one surveying-ground to another; and that the Naturalist, being
a medical officer, is liable, on emergency, to be deputed to other duties during
the recess of the ship. This will explain why our results are not so connected
and complete as those of even some minor expeditions.
The zoological collections made in the deep-sea by the Investigator,
have been accumulating since the year 1884, but it was not until 1889 that it
became possible to attempt to describe them.
Our aims in this direction were heartily seconded by Admiral Sir John Hext,
ately Director of the Royal Indian Marine, by whose intermediation the
Government of India were pleased, in 189o, to sanction the appointment of a
draughtsman to figure the new forms as they were described, and, in 1892, the
annual publication of a fasciculus of twelve plates of illustrations.
Since 1889, the following deep sea groups have been reported on:—Hexact-
inellid sponges, Madreporaria, Asteroidea, Ophiuroidea, Stalk-eyed Crustacea,
shell-bearing and Cephalopod Mollusca, Fishes. In addition, the Holothu-
roidea and Echinoidea have received some attention.
Excluding the Foraminifera (about 280 species), as with a few exceptions
they have not come back to us, the total number of named deep sea M etazoa
in the Investigator collections is about 650 species, of which about 450 are new
t o s ci ence ( I s ay ' about ' i n or der t o i ncl ude doubt f ul i dent i t i es not enl i s t ed) .
In the following pages the details of these are recorded group by group,
and all that remains, in this place, is to refer to certain generalities of geographi-
cal distribution.
The observations of the Investigator are too contracted to justify my
entering into the question of the unity or otherwise of the true deep-sea fauna,
that is to say, of the fauna of the ocean depths below, say 1,500 fathoms. Of
our named species—excluding fishes and free-swimming Crustacea—only 53
come from such depths (1,52o to 1,997 fathoms); these belong to the following
groups:—
Hexactinellid sponges .
. 8 species, all new to science and belonging to 5 genera.
Echinoderms
.
.
.32 . .
12 , ,
, ,
, ,
22 ,,
Crustacea .
. .
II , ,
7 , ,
, , , ,
, ,
9 ,,
Mollusca .
.
.
2 ,,
9
, ,
, ,
, ,
2 ,,
TOTAL
.53 ,, 28 ,,
. .
, ,
38 , ,
Medical Officers of the Army of India.
55
Of the 25 previously-known true bathybial species (1,520—1,997 fathoms),
1 2 o c c u r i n v a r i o u s p a r t s o f t h e P a c i f i c f r o m P a t a g o n i a t o J a p a n , 8 o c c u r i n
various parts of the Atlantic from 40° north to 35° south, I occurs in the Southern
Ocean, 3 occur in both the Atlantic and Pacific, and I occurs both in the Pacific
and Southern Ocean.
Again, the observations of the Investigator are not comprehensive enough
to enable us to speak about the distribution of the " Necton " species, that is to
say, of those species which, though always dredged in deep-water, almost cer-
tainly do not come from the bottom.
But if we exclude the wide-ranging species that belong to the " Benthos "
and " Necton," and restrict our attention to the species that usually live at
moderate depths (200 to 1,000 fathoms) at no great distance from the littoral,
we shall discover that there are numerous correspondences between the fauna
of the Indian Seas and (I) that of the region that includes the West Indies and
neighbouring coasts of America, (2) that of the North-Eastern Atlantic, and
(3) that of the Atlantic approaches to the Mediterranean.
These correspondences are shown in the following three tables:—
Table I .—List of Deep Sea Species common to Indian Seas and to the West Indian and
neighbouring coasts of America between 40ºN. and 10ºS., exclusive of true
Abyssal and Nectic species.
NAME.
Bathymetric range in
Indian Seas.
Other localities.
C œ l e n t e r a t a .
Farrea occa, Carter .
.
.
. 220—240 fathoms.
Japan & Philippines.
Aphrocallistes bocagei, P. Wright
. 130—265
„
North Atlantic; Spain, Portugal, C.
Verde; Japan.
Caryophyllia communis, Seg.
. . 210—410
,,
Atlantic 46°N. to 35°S.; Sicilian Ter-
tiaries.
Cryptohelia pudica, E. & H.
.
.
210
, ,
Atlantic; S. Pacific; Japan.
Bathyactis symmetrica, Pourt .
. 690—920
„
World-wide range.
E c h i n o d e r m a t a .
Porcellanaster cæruleus, Wy. Thoms . 683—1,748
„
Nymphaster basilicus, Sladen
. . 597-1,370
,,
Ophiomusium validum, Ljung .
.
931
,,
Ophiernus adspersus, Lym .
.
. 490, 683, 719, 1,043,
1,997 fathoms.
Ophiocamax fasciculata, Lym. .
. 130—250
„
Astronyx loveni, M. & T. .
.
.
406
,,
North European Seas: Japan.
C r u s t a c e a Bathynomus giganteus, A. M. E..
. 696—740
, ,
Pontophilus gracilis, S. I. Smith
. 561—683
„
Phoberus cœcus, A. M. E. .
. . 636—931
„
(Arafura Sea ?)
Scientific Memoirs by
Table I .—List of Deep-Sea Species common to Indian Seas and to the West Indian and neighbouring coasts
of America between 40º N . and 10° S., exclusive of true Abyssal and Nectic species —concluded.
NAME.
Bathymetric range in
Indian Seas.
Other localities.
C r u s t a c e a .
Uroptychus nitidus, A. M. E.
.
. 296—636 fathoms.
Lithodes agassizii, S. I. Smith
.
406
,,
Azores.
Pylocheles agassizii, A. M. E.
.
185
,,
M o l l u s c a .
So lariella infundibulum, Wats. .
738
,,
Crozet Is.
Puncturella asturiana, Fischer.
.
609
„
Bay of Biscay.
•
Octopus januarii,Ststp. .
. 185 — 271
, ,
E. Pacific.
F i s h e s .
C Chaunax pictus, Lowe
.
. 142—400
,,
Madeira, etc.; Fiji & Japan.
Chiasmodus niger, Johns.
. 690—920
, ,
Mid-Atlantic & Madeira.
Bembrops gobioides (Goode)
.
. 128—194
, ,
Dicrolene intronigra, G. & B. .
. 406—740
„
Atlantic coasts of North Africa.
Diplacanthopoma brachysoma, Gthr. .
490
, ,
Macrurus cavernosus, G. & B. .
. 185—405
„
F i s h e s .
Macrurus lævis, Lowe
.
.
. 188—265
, ,
North Europe; Madeira & Mediter-
ranean; Hawaii.
Bathygadus longifilis,G . & B .
. . 459—740
,,
Atlantic coasts of North Africa.
Synaphobranchus pinnatus, Gray
. 459— 824
,,
Azores, Canaries, etc.; Philippines &
Japan.
Hoplostethus mediterraneum, C. V. .
145-430
„
Atlantic & Mediterranean; Japan.
Polimixia nobilis, Lowe
.
188—405
„
Mediterranean approaches of Atlantic;
Japan.
Antigonia capros, Lowe
.
.
296—320
, ,
Madeira; Arafura Sea; Japan.
Neoscopelus macrolepidotus, Johns .
188-405
,,
Madeira; Australasia.
Table II.—List of Deep-sea Species common to Indian Seas and to the Atlantic ap
-proaches to the Mediterranean, exclusive of true Abyssal and Nectic Species.
NAME.
Bathymetric range in
Indian Seas.
Other localities.
C œ l e n t e r a t a . Farrea occa, Carter .
.
.
. 220—240 fathoms.
See Table I.
Aphrocallistes bocagei, Wright .
. 130—265
„
See Table I.
Caryophyllia communis, Seg.
.
. 210—410
„
See Table I.
Medical Officers of the Army of India.
57
Table II.—List of Deep-sea Species common to Indian Seas and to the Atlantic approaches to the Mediter-
ranean, exclusive of true Abyssal and Nectic Species—concluded.
NAME.
Bathymetric range in
Indian Seas.
Other localities.
E c h i n Nymphaster protentus, Sladen .
. 220—250 fathoms,
Crust.
Lithodes agassizii, S. I. Smith .
.
406
„
See Table I.
F i s h e s
Chaunax pictus, Lowe
.
.
. 142—400
,,
See Table I.
Chiasmodus niger, Johns. .
.
. 690—920
,,
See Table I.
Dicrolene intronigra, G. & B. .
. 406—740
,,
See Table I.
Bathygadus longifilis, G. & B. .
. 459—740
,,
See Table I.
Platytroctes apus, Günther .
.
.
740
,,
Leptoderma macrops, Valliant .
.
753
,,
Uroconger vicinus, Vaillant
. . 430—636
,,
F i s h e s .
Synaphobranchus pinnatus, Gray
. 459—824
,,
See Table I.
Hoplostethus mediterraneum, C. V. . 145—430
,,
See Table I.
Polimixia nobilis, Lowe .
.
. 188—405
,,
See Table I.
Trachichthys darwinii, Johns. .
. 296—320
„
Japan.
Antigonia capros, Lowe .
.
. 296—320
„
See Table I.
Neoscopeius macrolepidotus, Johns. . 188—405
„
See Table I.
Macrurus lævis, Lowe
. . . 188—265
„
See Table I.
Table III .—List of Deep-sea Species common to Indian Seas and the European Shores
of the North Atlantic, exclusive of Abyssal and Nectic Species.
NAME.
Bathymetric range in
Indian Seas.
Other localities.
C o c l e n t .
Aphrocallistes bocagei, Wright .
. I30—265 fathoms.
See Tables I & II.
Flabellum laciniatum, Phil.
.
. 400—600
„
Sicilian & Calabrian Tertiaries.
E c h i n o d .
Astronyx loveni, M. & T. .
.
.
406
„
See Table I.
Eupyrgus scaber, Lutk.
.
.
. 405—738
,,
Arctic Seas.
58
Scientific Memoirs by
Table III.— List of Deep-sea Species common to Indian Seas and the European Shores of the North
Atlantic, exclusive of Abyssal and Nectic Species —concluded.
NAME.
Bathymetic range in
Indian Sea.
Other localities.
C r u s t a c e a . Nephropsis atlantica, Norm. .
. 296—740 fathoms.
Calocaris macandre , Bell .
.
. 636—800
„
G. of St. Lawrence; New Zealand.
M o l l u s c a . Lucina spinifera, Mont.
.
.
. 200—350
„
Puncturella asturiana, Fisch. .
.
609
„
See Table I.
F i s h .
Macrurus lœvis, Lowe
.
.
. 188—265
„
See Tables I & II.
We see from the above lists that, of the species inhabiting the moderate
depths of the Indian Seas, no less than 42 are also found in a fairly definite area
of the North and Mid-Atlantic, and no less than 38 are identical with species
that also belong either to the West Indies and neighbouring coasts of America,
or to the Atlantic approaches to the Mediterranean.
This, so far as we know at present, is a larger number of species—speak-
ing only of the fauna of moderate depths—than the Indian Seas have in
common even with the much nearer and much more obviously connected seas
of (I) the East Indian Archipelago, and (2) Japan—a fact so singular as, of
itself, to be sufficient to suggest a past direct connexion, by way of the Mid-
Atlantic and Mediterranean, between the East and West Indian Seas.
Now there seems to be good geological evidence that, in early Tertiary
times, a sea or seas, of which the modern Mediterranean represents the remains
of the central part, did extend westwards to the Caribbean Sea, and eastwards
across Sahara and Arabia far into India *; so that our facts are, happily, in
perfect accord with well-founded and widely-accepted geological speculations,
and may even, perhaps, be regarded as confirmatory of them.
More than one zoologist, moreover, has noticed affinities between certain
elements of the existing fauna of the Mediterranean and of Oriental seas, and
has invoked a direct sea-connexion to explain them.
Thus Dr. Günther many years ago discovered the existence of marked affi-
nities between the fish-fauna of the Mediterranean Sea and neighbouring Atlantic
* See Suess' Das Antlits der Erde, especially the chapters on the Mediterranean and the Remains of
the Indian Continent.
I have used the French translation edited by De Margerie.
Medical Officers of the Army of India.
59
waters, and that, on the one hand, of Japan, and, on the other hand, of the West
Indies, and in the Introduction to the Study of Fishes, p. 270, he says, in com-
paring the fishes of Japan with those of the Mediterranean, " We can only ac-
count for the singular distribution of these shore-fishes by assuming that the
Mediterranean and Japanese seas were in direct and open communication with
each other within the period of the existence of the present Teleosteous Fauna."
Again Dr. Gwyn Jeffreys, in the J ournal of the Linnæan Society, Zoology,
V01. XII (1874–76), gave a list of 38 Mollusks and I Brachiopod that are
common to the North Atlantic and Japan. He, however, seemed to think
that some of the species, at any rate, reached these two remote regions from
a common Arctic centre of distribution.
Mr. W. E. Hoyle, also, in his report on the Challenger Cephalopoda page
224, makes special mention of the occurrence of a Mediterranean species in the
Malay Archipelago and Pacific, and regards it as possible evidence of a
former connexion between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean.
It appears to me that our facts do necessitate a direct sea connexion
between the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean, by way of the Mediterranean,
since the advent of Flabellum laciniatum and Caryophyllia communis ; and
that the analogy of the Alpine floras may fairly be used to explain the
persistence, under similar conditions, of identical species in seas so remote as
those of the West Indies and Andamans. In other words, the corresponding
species from the East and West Indies may be regarded as the remnant, pre-
served under corresponding conditions, of the fauna of the single old sea-basin
or series of sea-basins of geological speculation.
I may now give, group by group, lists of the animals dredged by th e
investigator in water over a hundred fathoms deep. The species new to
science are marked ( n). At the head of each group are the necessary refer-
ences to the original papers in which the included species are described.
PROTOZOA.
H. B. Brady : On a new Type of Astrorhizidæ from the Bay of Bengal : Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist.,
April 1889, pp. 293—296, fig. 1,2.
John Murray : Scottish Geographical Magazine, August 1889, pp. 420—421.
J. Wood-Mason and A. Alcock : Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Jan, 1891, p. 3 ; and ,Dec, 1891, pp.
451—452, fig. 16.
F. Chapman : On some Foraminifera obtained by the Investigator from the Arabian Sea : Proc.
Zool. Soc., 1895, pp. 4—55, pl. 1.
Only the deposits from the Laccadive Sea have been systematically
searched for Foraminifera. T h i s h a s b e e n d o n e b y M r . F . C h a p m a n(
t o m . c i t .
) ,
who examined part of the washed material of about fifty specimens of bottom
brought up by the sounding tube in 1891.
60
Scientific Memoirs by
In this he discovered 277 species, two of which, and three varieties, he
described as new, and noted the occurrence of a number of forms identical with
fossil (Pliocene) species from Kar Nicobar.
From our point of view, Mr. Chapman's work is unsatisfactory, because it was
undertaken in an informal way, through an officer of the Geological Survey
Department, to whom I had sent, for a particular purpose, certain specimens of
deposit that were unlike anything I had seen in four years service on the ship.
Had it been understood that a semi-official publication was to be the result,
numerous particulars required to complete Mr. Chapman's paper would have
been supplied.
Of the deposits from the Bay of Bengal, only a few specimens sent by
Captain Carpenter to Sir John Murray have been properly examined. Sir John
Murray has published (tom. cit. ) the results of an examination of a sample of
blue mud from 1,300 fathoms.
From the Andaman Region the late Dr. H. B. Brady described and figured
(tom. cit.) some large arenaceous Foraminifera.
The following is the list of new species and varieties of Foraminifera dis-
covered by the Investigator in deep water:—
1. Masonella planulata, H. B. Brady
. Andamans, 250 and 240–220 fathoms.
2. Masonella patelliformis, H. B. Brady
„ 265
fathoms.
3. Haplophragmium truncatuliniforme,
Chapman
.
.
. Laccadives.
4. Hormosina Bradyi, J. W.-M. and A.A. Andamans, 561 fathoms.
5. Bolivina arenosa, Chapman
. . Laccadives.
6. Lagena aspera, Reuss, var. spinifera,
Chapman
.
.
.
.
. Laccadives.
7. Lagena marginata, Walker and Jacob,
var. catenulosa, Chapman. Laccadives.
8. Nodosaria soluta, Reuss, var. subacule-
ata, Chapman. .
Laccadives.
Of the above Masonella is a new generic type of Astrorhizidæ.
PORIFERA.
F. E. Schulze: Hexactinelliden des Indischen Oceanes: Abhandl. K. Preuss. Akad. Wiss., Berlin,
894 and 1895.
Of the sponges dredged by the Investigator , only the Hexactinellida
collected up to the year 1892 have been examined.
Professor F. E. Schulze reports that they belong to 26 species, of which
only 5 were previously known.
Of the 21 new species described and beautifully figured by Professor
Schulze, three, namely, Saccocalyx pedunculata, Dictyaulus elegans , and Placo-
pegma solutum, are types of new genera.
Medical Officers of the Army of India.
61
The following is Professor Schulze's list of species, with localities:—
1. Pheronema raphanus (n.) F.E.S. .
. Andamans, 173 fathoms.
2. Pheronema circumpalatum (n.) F.E.S.
. Andamans, 290-238 fathoms.
3. Hyalonema aculeatum (n.) F.E S.
.
. Andamans, 250 fathoms.
4. Hyalonema Heideri (n.) F.E.S..
.
. Andamans, 240-220 fathoms.
5. Hyalonema indicum (n.) F.E.S. .
. Andamans, 683 fathoms; Lacca-
dives, 1,000 fathoms.
6. Hyalonema pirum (n.) F.E.S. .
.
. Andamans, 250 fathoms.
7. Hyalonema Heymonsi (n.) F.E.S. .
. Bay of Bengal, 1,997 fathoms.
8. Hyalonema Weltneri (n.) F.E.S.
.
. Laccadives, 1,000 fathoms.
9. Hyalonema Masoni (n.) F.E.S. . .
. Bay of Bengal, 1,748 fathoms.
10. Hyalonema Alcocki (n.) F.E.S. .
.
. Laccadives, 1,250 fathoms.
11. Hyalonema investigatoris (n.) F.E.S.
. Bay of Bengal, 1,803 fathoms.
12. Hyalonema apertum, F. E. Schulze .
. Andamans, 240-220 fathoms.
13. Hyalonema Maehrenthali (n.) F.E.S.
. Andamans, 250 and 265 fathoms.
14. Semperella cucumis (n.) F.E S. .
. Andamans, 188-290 fathoms.
15. Holascus robustus (n.) F.E.S. . .
. Bay of Bengal, 1,803 fathoms.
16. Holascus tener (n.) F.E.S.
.
.
. Bay of Bengal, 1,370-1,540 fathoms.
17. Euplectella simplex (n.) F.E.S.
.
. Andamans, 240-220 fathoms, 250
fathoms.
18. Euplectella aspera (n.) F.E.S. . .
. Laccadives, 1,000 fathoms.
. Laccadives, 705 fathoms.
19. Dictyaulus elegans (n.) F.E.S. .
.
. Bay of Bengal, 1,803 fathoms.
20. Saccocalyx pedunculata (n.) F.E.S. .
. Bay of Bengal, 1,997 fathoms.
21. Bathydorus lævis (n.) F.E.S. . .
. Bay of Bengal, 1,644 fathoms.
22. Placopegma solutum (n.) F.E.S. .
23. Farrea occa, J. E. Gray .
. .
. Andamans, 240-220 fathoms.
Aphrocallistes beatrix, J. E. Gray .
. Andamans, 130-250 fathoms.
24.
Aphrocallistes ramosus, F. E. Schulze
. Andamans, 130-265 fathoms, and
480-500 fathoms.
25.
26. Aphrocallistes Bocagei, P. Wright .
. Angria Bank (North of Laccadives):
Andamans, 130-265 fathoms.
Unfortunately Professor Schulze has mistaken the Museum register num-
bers of some of the specimens for Station numbers.
ANTHOZOA
J. Wood-Mason and A. Alcock Ann. Mag. Nat., Hist., Jan, 189 1, pp. 4—8, and Dec. 1891, PP 449—451,
fig. 15.
A. Alcock Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, Vol. LXII, pt. 2, 1893, pp. 138—149, pl. V, and pp. 169—171;
Vol. LXII I, pt. 2, 1894, pp. 186—188.
A. Alcock : Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., July 1893. pp. 29—30.
A. Alcock : An account of the collection of deep-sea Madreporaria; published by order of the Trustees
of the Indian Museum (in the press).
A few fragmentary notices of our large collections of deep-sea Anthozoa
have, from time to time, been published; but, with the exception of the Madre-
oraria , which have been critically examined, the collections are still waiting for