Deep Sea Creatures

Cephalopods of the Deep

Out of all 8,000 living species of marine invertebrates in the oceans, by far the largest, most deadly and most intelligent are the cephalopods.

Cetaceans of the Open Ocean

Whales and dolphins make up this diverse group of marine mammals, with variations in the body design ranging from beautiful to bizarre.

Cnidarians of the Deep

The phylum Cnidaria contains around 13,000 living species. Surprisingly simple, yet beautiful organisms, which come in a vast array of shapes and colours.

Crustaceans of the Deep

Of all the animal groups on Earth, the crustaceans are by far the most successful. They are so diverse that they are often called the insects of the oceans.

Deep Sea Rays & Skates

These cartilaginous fish are relatives of sharks, and they fulfil similar ecological niches, but in the sea floor ecosystem rather than the open ocean.

Echinoderms of the Deep

Starfish, sea cucumbers and urchins make up the echinoderms. Creatures that play key roles in supporting the ecology of the marine world.

Ghost Sharks

The Chimaera, or Ghost Shark, exhibit a morphology unlike any other creature. They are named after a Greek monster that is made up of parts of different animals.

Great White Sharks

Sharks help to increase the species diversity of our oceans by driving competition and controlling population sizes in the ocean ecosystem.

Greenland Sharks

The Greenland shark is perhaps the most peculiar species of shark, found in the icy Arctic waters often at depths of 2,000 metres, down in the midnight zone of the ocean.

Megamouth Sharks

The Megamouth Shark swims with its mouth open wide to filter plankton from the water. They spend most of their lives down here in the Abyss, at times descending to 15,000 feet below.

Polychaete Worms

In the deep sea, there is one group of organisms that has become specialised in unexpected ways in order to survive. The bristly polychaete worms.

Sharks of the Deep

Sharks are highly-specialised predators, demonstrating an array of adaptations in order to survive the various habitats of the deep ocean.

Siphonophores

Siphonophores and Pyrosomes are colonies of tiny organisms called zooids. They are one of nature's most remarkable creatures.

Sixgill Sharks

There is a giant that haunts the deep sea. Down in the bathypelagic zone, this predator lurks, circling the sunken corpse of a whale.

The Coelacanth

Once known only from fossils, the coelacanth was thought to have gone extinct around 65 million years ago in the late cretaceous, during the great extinction.