Bathybius haeckeli was a substance that British biologist Thomas Henry Huxley discovered and initially believed to be a form of primordial matter, a source of all organic life. He later admitted his mistake when it proved to be just the product of a chemical process. A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of organisms. ... Thomas Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley F.R.S. (May 4, 1825 – June 29, 1895) was a British biologist, known as Darwins Bulldog for his defence of Charles Darwins theory of evolution. ... The introduction of this article does not provide enough context for readers unfamiliar with the subject. ... Life is a multi-faceted concept. ...

In 1868 Huxley studied an old sample of mud from the Atlantic seafloor taken in 1857. When he first examined it, he had found only protozoan cells and placed the sample into a jar of alcohol to preserve it. Now he noticed that the sample contained a albuminous slime that appeared to be criss-crossed with veins. 1868 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The Atlantic Ocean is Earths second-largest ocean, covering approximately one-fifth of its surface. ... 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Protozoa (in Greek protos = first and zoon = animal) are single-celled eukaryotes (organisms with nuclei) that show some characteristics usually associated with animals, most notably mobility and heterotrophy. ... In biology, a vein is a blood vessel which returns blood from the microvasculature to the heart. ...

Huxley thought he had discovered a new organic substance and named it Bathybius haeckeli, in honor of German philosopher Ernst Haeckel. Haeckel had theorized about Urschleim ("original slime"), a protoplasm from which all life had originated. Huxley thought Bathybius could be that protoplasm, a missing link (in modern terms) between inorganic matter and organic life. Organic has several meanings and related topics. ... A philosopher is a person devoted to studying and producing results in philosophy. ... Ernst Haeckel Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel (February 16, 1834 - August 8, 1919), also written von Haeckel, was a German biologist and philosopher who popularized Charles Darwins work in Germany. ... Missing link is a term for a transitional form from the fossil record that connects an earlier species to a later one, or which connects two different species to an earlier ancestor. ... An inorganic compound is a chemical compound not containing carbon and hydrogen atoms bonded to each other. ...

Huxley published a description of Bathybius and also wrote to Haeckel to tell him about it. Haeckel was impressed and flattered and procured a sample for himself. In the next edition of his textbook The History of Creation Haeckel suggested that the substance was constantly coming into being at the bottom of the sea. Huxley did not agree but speculated that Bathybius formed a continuous mat of living protoplasm that covered the whole ocean floor.

Other scientists were less enthusiastic. Charles Wyville Thomson examined some samples in 1869 and regarded them analogous to mycelium. George Charles Wallich claimed that Bathybius was a product of chemical disintegration. Charles Wyville Thomson Professor Sir Charles Wyville Thomson (March 5, 1830 - March 10, 1882), professor of zoology and chief scientist on the Challenger expedition. ... 1869 is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Mycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus consisting of a mass of branching threadlike hyphae that exists below the ground or within another substrate. ...

In 1872 the Challenger expedition began; it spent three years studying the oceans. The expedition also took 363 samples of the ocean floor at different places and times. They did not find any sign of Bathybius, regardless of the claim that it was a nearly universal substance. 1872 was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The Challenger Expedition was a scientific expedition that made many discoveries to lay the foundation of oceanography. ...

In 1875 ship's chemist John Young Buchanan analyzed a substance that looked like Bathybius from an earlier collected sample. He noticed that it was a precipitate of calcium sulfate from the seawater that had reacted with the preservative liquid. Buchanan suspected that all the Bathybius samples had been prepared the same way and notified Thomson, the leader of the expedition. Thomson sent a polite letter to Huxley and told about the discovery. 1875 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Look up chemist on Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Gypsum is a very soft mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. Chemical structure Gypsum from New South Wales, Australia Heating gypsum above approximately 150°C (302°F) partially dehydrates the mineral, by driving off exactly 75% of the water contained in its chemical structure. ... Sea water is water from a sea or ocean. ...

Huxley realized that he had been too eager and made a mistake. He published part of the letter in Nature and recanted his previous views. Later, during the 1879 meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, he stated that he was ultimately responsible for spreading the theory and convincing others. Most biologists accepted this acknowledgement of error. A cover of Nature Nature is one of the oldest and most reputable general-purpose scientific journals, first published on November 4, 1869. ... 1879 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... The British Association or the British Association for the Advancement of Science or the BA is a learned society with the object of promoting science, directing general attention to scientific matters, and facilitating intercourse between scientific workers. ...

Haeckel, however, did not want to abandon the idea of Bathybius because it was so close to proof of his own theories about Urschleim. He claimed without foundation that Bathybius "had been observed" in the Atlantic. He continued to support this position until 1883. 1883 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ...

Huxley's rival George Charles Wallich, in turn, claimed that Huxley had committed deliberate fraud and also accused Haeckel of falsifying data; Haeckel did draw a series of pictures of the evolution of his Urschleim, supposedly based on observations. Other opponents of evolution, including the Duke of Argyll and modern creationists, have tried to use the case as an argument against evolution in general. // Life George John Douglas Campbell, 8th Duke of Argyll (30 April 1823 - 24 April 1900) was a prominent Liberal politician and writer on science, religion, and politics of the 19th century. ... This article is about the Abrahamic belief; creationism can also refer to origin beliefs in general or, centuries earlier, to an alternative to traducianism. ... Charles Darwin, father of the theory of evolution by natural selection. ...

References

Ley, Willy (1959). Exotic Zoology. New York: Viking Press.