Page 193 - (DK) Super Shark Encyclopedia: And Other Creatures of the Deep

Animals living here have flabby bodies and flexible skeletons to cope with the crushing water pressure

Ocean trenches are the deepest parts of the ocean—very little life exists here, but some trenches have been visited by humans in submersibles

A black swallower’s expandable stomach can hold prey twice as long as the fish itself

ABYSSAL ZONE 13,100–19,700 ft (4,000–6,000 m) Huge amounts of tiny green algae in the water provide a feast for the ocean’s vegetarians. To make food, algae need sunlight, which is made up of different colors. Most algae prefer the energy of red light, but this cannot reach very far, so algae and almost all other ocean life live near the surface. Blue light can penetrate farther, giving the ocean its color, but no light reaches deeper than

THE MIDNIGHT ZONE At greater depths it is perpetual darkness. Black- skinned fish, big-mouthed predators, and many bizarre creatures live here—such as this small orange octopus with earlike fins and webbing between its arms. FROM LIGHT TO DARK BLUE VIOLET 3,300 ft (1,000 m).

This deep-sea octopus uses its webbed arms to envelop prey THE ABYSS Many animals that live in the deepest parts of the ocean eat bits of dead animals sinking down from above, but the black swallower catches live prey. It slowly gulps its victim down whole, coiling it tightly inside its sacklike stomach. It can survive without another meal for a long time. RED GREEN YELLOW ORANGE 100 ft 30 m 200 ft 60 m 300 ft 90 m EXPLORING THE DEEP

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