Items13The creator’s order
  1. 1Northern lampfishNorthern lampfishTwilight 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.0
  2. 2Vinciguerria lucetiaVinciguerria lucetiaTwilight 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…0
  3. 3LopheliaLopheliaCold-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…0
  4. 4Giant squidGiant squidTwilight 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.0
  5. 5Chaceon quinquedensChaceon quinquedensContinental 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…0
  6. 6Orange roughyOrange roughyTwilight 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.0
  7. 7Kiwa tyleriKiwa tyleriMidnight 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…0
  8. 8Relicanthus daphneaeRelicanthus daphneaeMidnight 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.0
  9. 9Abyssal grenadierAbyssal grenadierLower 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.0
  10. 10Oneirophanta mutabilisOneirophanta mutabilisAbyssal 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.0