Cricket201909

(Lars) #1

sayinghechosehisemployeesfor“what’s
abovetheears”andfortheir“soundideasfor
scientificresearch.”InJulyof1929,hehired
Else asstaffartistforanexpeditionhewas
leadinginBermuda,a groupofislandsabout
700 milesoffthecoastofNorthCarolina.
Beebe’sprojectwastocataloguethecrea-
tures thatliveduptotwomilesbelowthe
surfaceoftheAtlanticOceannearNonsuch
Island.TherewasnowayforBeebetogodown
into theoceanhimselftoobserveitsinhabit-
ants. Instead,heemployeda trawlingtugboat,
the Gladisfen,totowsevenlongsilknets
thousandsoffeetbelowthesurface.Asfine
as cobwebs,the netsscoopedupanydeep-
dwellingcreaturesandhauledthemtothe
surfacetobeexamined.
Attheresearchstationon
NonsuchIsland,Elseandother
staff “sprangtolife”whenthey
heardtheGladisfenblastits
horn asit returnedwitha


haulofseaanimals.Likechildrenanticipating
presentsundertheChristmastree,theywere
eagertoseewhatnewcreaturesthenetsheld.
Elsehurriedlygatheredhersketchbookand
paints,whileothersgrabbedarmloadsoftrays
tosortthecatch.Theymadetheirwaydown
thesteep,narrowpathtothemarinadock.
Asthetug’snetswereemptied,Elsequickly
createdcolorsketches,sincesheknewtheani-
mals’colorscouldfadeorchangefromstress
andexposuretoair.
OnlyafterElse’s
sketcheswerecom-
plete,andthe
collectionpans
werefull,did

Marinelifeofthe
Galapagos


A seadragonfrom
Australia’sbarrierreef

A morayeel
lurkingina
coralreef
crevice

HOW IS IT WE’RE UNDERWATER
AGAIN? THIS CAN’T BE A GOOD IDEA.

IT’S A SCIENTIFIC ADVENTURE!
JUST TRY NOT TO WIGGLE.
OOO, LOOK!

A black swallower
makes a meal of a f ish
three times its size.
It’s stomach expands
to accomodate the
super-size meal.
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