The state herald., 1916-10-01


Several hundred kinds Of deepsea fishes had
been collected-some OF them dredged from
depth OF more than a mile-and 1t required
huge quarto to describe and picture them. From
this volume dates our real knowledge OF the
fishes of the abyssa deep The Challenger"
expedition was inded. Columbus voyage" in
ichthyology: It opened a new chapter in the his
tory Of the science.
Since that time many deepsea exploring ex-
peditions have been sent out by the various ma
tions. and hosts of other fishes have been
brought up from the oceans In all parts OF tho
world. More than a thousand species are now
known and We can appreciate at its full value
the richness and strangeness Of this fauna
Moreover. not only do we know the fshes them
selves but as & result Of the scientific nvesti
cations carried on by the various expeditions.
We now know = good deal Of the physical con.
ditions under which they live 80 that We can. in
. measure at least. explain the why and where
fore Of their extraordinary characteristics.
! When We think Of life In the deep-sea. there
comes to mind, nrst Of ali. the enormous pres
sure which these creatures must Withstand
This pressure becomes the greater the deeper We
70 down. and in the profoundest depths II equals
Thousands Of pounds to the square inch The
result Of this pressure 10 that the Tissues OF tines"
fshes are tender and loosely knitted together.
When they brought up ont OF the dark
depths. and the great pressure under which they
live is removed. the explosion OF the gases with
In them bulges out the eyes, and often blows out
the viscera through the mouth. while the mus
cles collapse. leaving them soft and nabby like
moist rags Most deepsea fishes are very small
also usually only = few inches In length. and II
10 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 IL the dimnesa 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 light grow
DINNER and DINNER a. va 20 down. until hnally
q level 10 reached beyond which no light pene-
tYates at all. The entire vast depth below Il. is
in eternal darkness. Now the fishes living In
this dim light or in total darkness. have been
profoundly modified by II. In some forms the
eyes have become very small. and In some cases
have entirely disappeared. There are even nshes
in which the skin and scales Of the body have
grown over the place where the eyes should
be. so that these fishes are. N has been aptly
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 II In an
attempt to catch every neeting ray OF light. In
some nshep this has been carried 10 far that the
eyes have become like enormous soggies
Mos, dccp.sca nshen have luminous organs OF
one kind or another. no that they carry their
own l,Kht about with them. In some the entire
body glimmers. the coating OF slime which
cxudes from the pores and lateral canals. emit
ting n soft siivcry glow. In others rows OF mi
mute. luminous organs run along the sides OF tho
body, or there are flashing ishtspots on the
head or face What wonderful sight would bo
20 us n small black nsh nittins through the a.
icncc and darkness OF the deep with Its head
lights and row Of pores cleaning through the
darkness like some small ship passing through
.hc night with It's portfolios all aglow' Some
dccp.sca ashcs have 4 luminous organ Al the
end OF n fcclcr on the head.
A pertinent question may be asked How do
we know these fishes glow and giimnicr. alnce
no human eye has ever bcheld them In their
nbysnnl homer We know this partly from anal
ory and partly from actual observation. When
one Ia In a boat In tho tropics. on one OF those
suitry nights when everything In n dcnd calm.
and the black clouds hang 30 low that sky and
sen form one continuous blackncss. then one
may SEQ the glimmcring fishes dnrting out of the
path of tho boat. their forms. slivcry and ghost.
like outlined for one moment against the black
ness OF the sou. This effect II chiefly due TO
tho osidizng NJ the slimy secretion covering
their bodies Why shall we not believe then.
that In docp.scn fishes n similar phenomenon
takes place. particularly M IN many OF them