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Category: Animal of the Deep

Basket star

Deep-sea basket stars wriggle an impressive array of arms to snare a meal of plankton from ocean currents.

Abyssal comb jelly

This predator’s pretty pink color is clever camouflage.

Barrel amphipod

The midwater is a vast expanse of water between the surface and the seafloor.

Common siphonophore

The common siphonophore is a sit-and-wait predator that casts stinging tentacles to capture krill and other plankton.

Deep-sea squid

The deep-sea squid (Bathyteuthis sp.) is unusual among squids. Instead of laying egg cases on the seafloor or releasing a drifting egg mass, females brood their developing offspring.

Dragonfish

Dragonfishes are cunning predators that lie in wait to ambush unsuspecting prey.

Deep-sea crown jelly

The deep-sea crown jelly (Atolla sp.) is one of the most common jellies in the ocean’s midnight zone and has unique adaptations to survive where food is scarce and predators are plentiful.

Balloon worm

The balloon worm drifts through the midwater, casting a mucous net to feed on tiny bits of food slowly sinking from above.

Strawberry squid

The strawberry squid has one big eye and one small eye. Together, this improbable pair helps the squid hunt for food in the ocean’s twilight zone.

Psychedelic jelly

Meet one of the most colorful residents of the ocean’s midnight zone. That remarkable coloration tipped off scientists that they had found a new species.