72
THE SEAS
—
;
.
doxically,in some deep—sea animals losing their eyes com— .
pletely, while others have developed especially large ones,
sometimes on the ends of long stalks, like telescopes, perhaps
Ï
‘
capable of detecting any gleam of phosphorescent light.
*
Many deep—sea animals are of graceful and slender build,
a result, probably, of the complete lack of movement,
there_is no need for a strong skeleton and powerful musclés
if water currents and tides are absent.
Striped and spotted
animals, so numerous in shallower water, are remarkable
_
by their absence, practically all deep-water animals being of
.
a uniform colour, usually white, grey, black or red; blue ”
and green animals are never found.
Many of the sh have
great jaws and powerful teeth by means of which they
'
prey upon one another, other animals feed on the dead
bodies which rain down from the surface miles above, while "
,
others again,
_
such as the numerous many-coloured sea
cucumbers, plough their way through the, ooze, swallowing
it as they go and extracting such nourishment as they are
able.
..
_
'
AssocrArr0Ns
.
'
In each of the areas we haveconsidered, Littoral, Sub—
littoral, Continental Deep—sea, and Abyssa_l zones, we nd '
denite associati0ns of animals in different localities and on
'
diñerent '
types of bottom.
Just as
the
shore, the
animals composing the associations are especially ‘suited
'
to the particular conditions and also probably assist one
another,ior life is a unity and its various constituents are
‘
dependent one upon another.
Very little was known of
theSe
animals until recent years,
when the Danish BiolOgical Station commenced to study
them, using for the purpose, not the dredge which gathers
'haphazard from the sea bottom, but the more exact grab
"
which takes denite samples of the bottom (see page 263)._ . '
THE SEAS
—
;
.
doxically,in some deep—sea animals losing their eyes com— .
pletely, while others have developed especially large ones,
sometimes on the ends of long stalks, like telescopes, perhaps
Ï
‘
capable of detecting any gleam of phosphorescent light.
*
Many deep—sea animals are of graceful and slender build,
a result, probably, of the complete lack of movement,
there_is no need for a strong skeleton and powerful musclés
if water currents and tides are absent.
Striped and spotted
animals, so numerous in shallower water, are remarkable
_
by their absence, practically all deep-water animals being of
.
a uniform colour, usually white, grey, black or red; blue ”
and green animals are never found.
Many of the sh have
great jaws and powerful teeth by means of which they
'
prey upon one another, other animals feed on the dead
bodies which rain down from the surface miles above, while "
,
others again,
_
such as the numerous many-coloured sea
cucumbers, plough their way through the, ooze, swallowing
it as they go and extracting such nourishment as they are
able.
..
_
'
AssocrArr0Ns
.
'
In each of the areas we haveconsidered, Littoral, Sub—
littoral, Continental Deep—sea, and Abyssa_l zones, we nd '
denite associati0ns of animals in different localities and on
'
diñerent '
types of bottom.
Just as
the
shore, the
animals composing the associations are especially ‘suited
'
to the particular conditions and also probably assist one
another,ior life is a unity and its various constituents are
‘
dependent one upon another.
Very little was known of
theSe
animals until recent years,
when the Danish BiolOgical Station commenced to study
them, using for the purpose, not the dredge which gathers
'haphazard from the sea bottom, but the more exact grab
"
which takes denite samples of the bottom (see page 263)._ . '