Discourses - Biological and Geological Essays by Thomas Henry Huxley
page 79 of 318 (24%)
page 79 of 318 (24%)
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fathoms, inasmuch as they have been dredged up thence; and that the
difference in the amount of light and heat at 400 and at 2,000 fathoms is probably, so to speak, very far less than the difference in complexity of organisation between these animals and the humbler _Protozoa_ and _Protophyta_ of the deep-sea soundings. "I confess, though as yet far from regarding it proved that the _Globigerinoe_ live at these depths, the balance of probabilities seems to me to incline in that direction. And there is one circumstance which weighs strongly in my mind. It may be taken as a law that any genus of animals which is found far back in time is capable of living under a great variety of circumstances as regards light, temperature, and pressure. Now, the genus _Globigerina_ is abundantly represented in the cretaceous epoch, and perhaps earlier. "I abstain, however, at present from drawing any positive conclusions, preferring rather to await the result of more extended observations."[6] [Footnote 6: Appendix to Report on Deep-sea Soundings in the Atlantic Ocean, by Lieut.-Commander Joseph Dayman. 1857.] Dr. Wallich, Professor Wyville Thomson, and Dr. Carpenter concluded that the _Globigerinoe_ live at the bottom. Dr. Wallich writes in 1862--"By sinking very fine gauze nets to considerable depths, I have repeatedly satisfied myself that _Globigerina_ does not occur in the superficial strata of the ocean."[7] Moreover, having obtained certain living star- fish from a depth of 1,260 fathoms, and found their stomachs full of "fresh-looking _Globigerinoe_" and their _débris_--he adduces this fact in support of his belief that the _Globigerinoe_ live at the bottom. |
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