Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1915-09-30
azAXZN9H C7AINI

aNAIIU2A CMNNY
- P TO the time Of the Challenger
expedition. very little was known re-
garding the fish life of the abyssal
r -h DEPTHS of the sea. Only about 81
~1@ species were known. But the won
h. derful collections brought back by the
Challenger" from her fouryear
wv cruise QS73-1876) made known the
vast diversity, the strangeness and
-G even weirdness of this fish fauna.
Several hundred kinds of deepsea fishes mad
been collected-some of them dredged from a
depth Of more than a mile-and it required a
huge ouarto to describe and picture them. FROM
this volume dates our real knowledge OF the
fishes of the abyssal deep. The challenger
expedition was, inded, a columbus voyage IN
ichthyology; 1t opened a new cnapIel III Nv ms
tory of the science.
Since that time many deep-sea exploring e&-
neditions have been sent out by the various ma
tions, and hosts of other fishes nave oeen
brought up from the oceans in all parts Oh the
world. More than a thousand species are no"
known. and we can appreciate at its tull vaiue
the richness and strangeness OF this rauna'
Moreover, not only do we know the fishes them
selves. but. as & result of the %scientihc lnvesu-
cations carried on by the various expeditions
we now know a good deal Of the physical con-
ditions under which they live, so that we can, IN
a measure at least, explain the why and where
fore of their extraordinary characteristics.
When we think of life in the ~dee2-sea, there
comes to mind, first of all, the enormous pres
sure which these creatures must Withstand.
This pressure becomes the greater the deeper We
go down. and in the profoundest depths 1t equals
thousands Of pounds to the square 1ncn. Inc
result of this pressure is that the tissues of these
fishes are tender and loosely knitted together.
When they are brought up out OF the dark
depths, and the great pressure under wnlcn they
live Is removed, the explosion of the gases WIN
in them bulges out the eyes, and often Dlows Out
the viscera through the mouth, while the mus
Giles collapse, leaving them soft and haboy IKE
moist rags. Most deep-sea fishes are very small
also. usually only a few inches in length, and It
is probable that this reduction in size has come
about, to some extent at least, from the great
pressure under which they live.
Another important condition is the dimness OF
light, or even darkness in the profound depths
of the sea. II we imagine ourselves descend
ing into the deep ocean, we see the nght grow
DINNER and DINNER as we go down, until finally
q level is reached beyond which no light pene-
trates at all. The entire vast depth below It, is
in eternal darkness. Now the fishes living in
this dim light, or in total darkness, have been
profoundly modified by it. In some forms the
eyes have become very small, and in some cases
have entirely disappeared. There are even fishes
in which the skin and scales of the body have
grown over the place where the eyes should
be. so that these fishes are, as has been APPLY
said, blind beyond redemption" Other FORMS
ON the other hand, have been affected in an
entirely different way. The eyes, instead of
growing smaller, have grown larger, as IT In an
ATTEMPT to catch every feeting ray Of light. In
some fishes this has been carried 80 far that the
eyes have become like enormous goggles.
Most deep-sea fishes have luminous organs oil
one kind or another, so that they carry thelI
own light about with them. In some the entire
bodv qlimmers. the coating of slime which
exudes from the pores and lateral canals, emit
ting a soft silvery glow. In others rows OF mi
mute. luminous organs run along the sides OF th'
body. or there are flashing lightspots on thu
head or face. What a wonderful sight would b
to us a small black fish fitting through the 81
lence and darkness of the deep with It's mead
lights and row Of pores cleaning through TN
darkness like some small ship passing throug
the night Will its portfolios all aglow! Som
deep-sea fishes have a luminous organ at IN
end Of a feeler on the head.
nertinent question may be asked: How d
We know these fishes glow and glimmer, sine
no human eye has ever beheld them In tnel
abyssal home? WI know this partly from ana
opy and partly from actual observation Vine
one Is In a boat in the tropics, on one OF tnos
sultry nights when everything Is a ueau cam
and the black clouds hang 30 low that sky an
sea form one continuous blackness, then OF
NAV see the glInmering fishes darting out Of Il
path of the boat. their forms, silvery and gho'
like. outlined for one moment against the Dlac
ness Of the sea. This effect Is chiefly due
the oxidizing OF the Shiny secretion Govern
their bodies why shall we not believe, the
that IN deep.sea fishes a similar phenomena
takes place. particularly as in many OF the