Beebe: Bathysphaera Intacta

Some of the greatest ichthyological mysteries of the century were uncovered in the 1930s by the deep sea scientist William Beebe, who was head of the tropical research department at the New York Zoological Society. Descending in his bathysphere- a small metal spherical craft barely large enough to hold a full grown man- into the deep dark sea off of the coast of Bermuda, Beebe was the first person to brave such crushing depths and truly get a look at the alien world that lies in the eternal night of our world’s deep oceans. What he saw was a place unlike any that had been ever observed before; a vast sea of pitch black inhabited by translucent, gelatinous creatures, glowing jellyfish, fanged monsters, and the innumerable twinkling lights of bioluminescent organisms like a sea of stars in the dark cold of space.

During his study of the Bermudan depths, Beebe made many detailed notes and sketches of his discoveries, but sadly the technology of the time did not allow for underwater photography at the depths he was operating at. Many of the creatures

Beebe described and catalogued in his study, collectively referred to as Beebe’s Abyssal Fish, are still solely known from his accounts and sketches, with no flesh and blood specimen ever recovered as of yet and never seen since. Of the various unknown species Beebe observed, some of them truly stand out.

The fish Beebe called Bathysphaera intacta was observed at a depth of 2,100 feet in 1932, and was described as 6 feet long with a row of pale blue lights along its sides.

The fish also had two ventrical tentacles trailing from its sides that were each tipped with red and blue lights, and large prominent teeth that the researcher described as being reminiscent of a barracuda’s. Beebe classified this fish with scaleless black dragonfishes of the subfamily Melanostomiidae, but the largest known dragonfish of the time was a mere 15 inches in length.

Another fish Beebe encountered was what he called the Pallid Sailfin (Bathyembryx istiophasma), a two foot long fish spied at a depth of between 1,500 and 2,500 feet. The Sailfin was of a pale, olive drab color with no discernible luminous organs and possessing a prominent long, wide, filamentous pectoral fin. It was seen only once, and Beebe was not able to capture the

specimen.

Other smaller, yet no less mysterious fish were observed by Beebe as well. The Abyssal Rainbow Gar was a 4 inch long species observed at a depth of 2,500 feet. Beebe saw four specimens swimming in a stiff, upright posture and described them as having long beaks and colorful bodies of scarlet, blue, and yellow. There was also the bizarre Five Lined Constellation Fish (Bathysidus pentagrammus), with its round body, disproportionately large eyes, and lines of purples and yellow bioluminescent lights along its sides. It was sighted at a depth of 1,900 feet and was so unusual looking that it was speculated that Beebe had in fact seen merely a cluster of jellyfish obfuscated by mist on the bathysphere’s porthole.

is impossible to classify any of these fish with confidence as none of these species have ever been captured or sighted again, and they are only known from Beebe’s descriptions. In modern times, the technology to allow us to more efficiently explore these depths has progressed, so perhaps sometime in the future we may have some answers as to what Beebe saw through his porthole down there in the deep dark sea all of those years ago.