The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-10-25
SHOALS BETWEEN
COAST AND HAWAII
Albatross Stopped Over the Erben
Banks and Learned some
Things.

The Army and Navy Journal gives
the following interesting account OF
the Albatross' discovery of the shall
lowest waters between California and
Hawaii:
More than fifty species of fish new
to the scientific world were discovered
by the United States Fish Commission
steamer Albatross in Hawaiian waters,
according to DR.. C. H. Gilbert, profess
sor of zoology at Stanford University,
who was at the head of the party Of
scientists who left San Francisco for
Hawaii on the Albatross on March IL.
| The steamer returned to San Fran
cisco August 80.
An interesting episode in the out
ward bound voyage was the stopping
of the Albatross 700 miles from San
Francisco, over the Erben banks. Here
is the only shoal water between CAL
ifornia and Hawaii, $50 fathoms. Re-
peated attempts to dislodge living
forms or any object from this hill-like
elevation were frultless, dredges, tack
held fast. One of the party describes
its surface as being cathedral-like
spires of lava.
professor Gilbert, in referring to the
specimens Of sea life secured, said:
Life was found abundantly at all
depths from the surface to 1900 faith
oms, or over two miles. Life has, in
fact, been found in the sea four miles
below the surface. Here, in total
darkness and with a pressure of two
tons to the square inch, fish-Iike crea-
lures live and reproduce themselves,
and not only that, but in large variety
and highly organized. Many species
have well developed eyes and other
sense organs, though all the light they
can ever see must be phosphorescent,
and they show the most beautiful and
brilliant colors, green, yellow and or
ange.
Their constant temperature must
be near and below our freezing point.
yet under such conditions nature
brings forth manifold forms from the
most minute to gigantic monsters, atd
from simple cells to very advanced J.
cine types. Vertebrate and inverte-
brate forms hold even sway at all
depths, and, although some of the
deeper forms may be called the sub
merged tenth being degenerates, 9TH
ers show no falling off in structure or
function.
"All the specimens taken from the
greater depths died Immediately upon
reaching the surface. From a depth
of 1900 fathoms was secured one spec
linen of fish, only four inches in
length, that is one of the rarest in the
Fish Commissioner collection. Three
other specimens of this variety-one
found off the coast of Florida, one off
the coast of Lower California and one
near Panama-are the only others
known to Science. Three new species
of snipe eels-small fish that are I'M
able to close their jaws, but float about
and allow smaller fish to enter their
throats-are in the Hawaiian collec-
ton. A large chimera is another in
teresting specimen, found at depth of
about 1000 fathoms. 1t has a hook
tail, with fins large and fan-shaped,
and with teeth welded into a kind Of
plate on each jaw. Another specimen
found at a great depth was huge fish
with two immense feelers on each side
of its body, projecting forward and
acting as guide when the animal was
swimming about f"