What lives at the bottom of the sea?

Imagine sinking down, down, down through the ocean. The water turns colder and darker, until no sunlight reaches you at all. This is the deep sea, and it is full of surprises.

A dark and cold world

Way down deep, it is pitch black because sunlight cannot reach that far. It is also very cold and very quiet. You might think nothing could live there — but you would be wrong!

Amazing creatures call the deep sea their home. There are glowing jellyfish, wobbly octopuses and fish with huge mouths and tiny eyes.

Animals that make their own light

Since there is no sunlight, some deep-sea animals make their own light inside their bodies. This glowing trick is called bioluminescence. They use their light to find food, to talk to friends, or to surprise a hungry enemy.

A little glowing dot in the dark can look very friendly — or it can be a clever trap!

A snack falling from above

What do these animals eat so far from the sun? Tiny bits of food drift down from the waters above, like a slow, gentle snow made of leftovers. Scientists call it marine snow. Many deep-sea animals wait patiently and gobble up this falling food.

Wonder fact: The deepest part of the ocean is so deep that if you dropped the tallest mountain in, it would sink right out of sight with room to spare!