Copyright © 2026 OyList. All Rights Reserved.
Share
Items13
1
Northern lampfish
Twilight zone. Surveys in the North Pacific found northern lampfish at different depths by day and night. Some moved toward shallower water after dark while others stayed deep, so the whole population did not rise together. These lanternfish reach about 13 centimeters in length.
More about Northern lampfish2
Vinciguerria lucetia
Twilight zone. The Panama lightfish is usually only a few centimeters long and reaches about 8 centimeters. In the productive waters off Peru, researchers found it was a prominent part of the midwater fish community. Because it can move upward at night, acoustic surveys and nets can give different pictures depending on the hour and depth.
More about Vinciguerria lucetia3
Lophelia
Cold-water reef. Often called Lophelia coral, this species dominates thickets on parts of the Blake Plateau, including a reef complex studied at 830 meters. Its skeletons help build mounds on the seafloor. The colonies take food from the water, allowing reefs to grow far below the sunlit shallows associated with tropical corals.
More about Lophelia4
Giant squid
Twilight zone. In 2004 a camera off Japan’s Ogasawara Islands photographed a giant squid at 900 meters. It wrapped two long feeding tentacles around the bait. The researchers estimated that the squid’s mantle, the main body behind the head, was more than a meter long.
More about Giant squid5
Chaceon quinquedens
Continental slope. From the southern flank of Georges Bank to Cape Hatteras, adult deep-sea red crab habitat includes silty and clay-rich bottoms from about 200 to 1,300 meters. The juvenile habitat extends down to about 1,800 meters. The two ranges show how the same animal can occupy different stretches of the slope over its lifetime.
More about Chaceon quinquedens6
Orange roughy
Twilight to midnight zone. Orange roughy often live at 700 to 1,400 meters near steep slopes and ridges. Many are around 50 centimeters long. In spawning season, fish that are usually scattered can gather in dense schools a short distance above submerged hills.
More about Orange roughy7
Kiwa tyleri
Midnight zone. These yeti crabs crowd around hydrothermal vents on the East Scotia Ridge, where researchers documented colonies at about 2,400 and 2,600 meters. Their hairlike bristles provide surfaces for bacteria that help feed the crabs. Warm vent water also gives them a small refuge from the colder Southern Ocean.
More about Kiwa tyleri8
Relicanthus daphneae
Midnight zone. Indian Ocean expeditions identified this giant anemone on hard surfaces around hydrothermal vent fields at roughly 3,000 meters. A specimen’s tentacles can extend far beyond its body. The photographs show how a stationary animal can occupy a considerable patch of moving water.
More about Relicanthus daphneae9
Abyssal grenadier
Lower midnight zone and abyss. NOAA filmed this long-tailed fish swimming just above a North Atlantic seamount at 3,790 meters. Other records extend into the abyssal zone. The grenadier spends its time close to the bottom and can also turn up at bait placed there by researchers.
More about Abyssal grenadier10
Oneirophanta mutabilis
Abyssal plain. This sea cucumber is part of a community found on muddy Atlantic seafloor around 5,000 meters down. It feeds on organic material in the sediment. It's a reminder that much of the life on a deep plain depends on material that settles out of the water above.
More about Oneirophanta mutabilis11
Eurythenes plasticus
Trench. Scientists collected this deep-ocean amphipod at about 6,000 to 7,000 meters in the Mariana Trench. The specimen used to establish the species was just under 5 centimeters long. A fiber in one animal’s gut closely matched PET, a common plastic, and helped inspire the name.
More about Eurythenes plasticus12
Pseudoliparis swirei
Trench. The specimens that established the Mariana snailfish as a species came from 6,898 to 7,966 meters. This small, pale fish has a soft, scaleless body. Its presence shows that fish make a living well below the abyssal plain, where pressures are far higher than at the surface.
More about Pseudoliparis swirei13
Hirondellea gigas
Trench. Researchers collected this amphipod at about 10,900 meters in Challenger Deep. It can measure over 3 centimeters from head to tail. A study found it can break down material in wood, suggesting a way to use some of the debris that reaches a trench floor.
More about Hirondellea gigas
