Читать книгу Oceans For Dummies - Joseph Kraynak - Страница 87

Some bioluminescent sea creatures may use this skill as camouflage, illuminating their soft underbellies to blend in with light coming from the surface, while the tops of their bodies remain dark to blend in with the darkness below them. This application of bioluminescence, called counter-illumination, protects the creature from predators above and below. When predators from below look up, all they see is light. When predators from above look down, all they see is darkness. Take that, camo pants.

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FIGURE 4-6: Swordfish.

Source: Schmidt Ocean Institute – www.schmidtocean.org

FIGURE 4-7: Ctenophores.

The creatures that live here are too insane to make up, but they’re not the most colorful — just about everything is black or red, which makes them virtually invisible in water at these depths. (Certain wavelengths are filtered by water faster than others. Because red light has the longest wavelength and is absorbed quickest, once you go deep enough, anything red appears black.)

If you cut yourself diving at around 18 meters (60 feet) deep, your red blood may appear purple and, if you go any deeper, even black. Of course, we’re not recommending that you poke your finger when you’re diving, but if you happen to suffer a small cut underwater at that depth and you’re looking for a cheap thrill … .

Calling this zone their home are the weird and wonderful barreleye fish, giant isopods, viperfish, vampire squid, and anglerfish. Occasionally you can find sperm whales here, and if you’re really, really lucky, you can see one battling a giant squid (of course if you do, take a picture because no one has captured that epic battle on film yet). The deepest diving marine mammal, the Cuvier’s beaked whale, can also reach this zone. This elusive and strange-looking animal holds the record for the longest mammalian dive, plunging up to 3,500 meters (11,480 feet) deep (that’ll make your ears pop) in search of deep-water cephalopods and squid.

Many animals in this zone and deeper have adaptations to allow them to eat almost anything, including prey much larger than them. Gulper eels have specialized jaw structures that enable them to open their mouths incredibly wide (see Figure 4-8). Sharks and their relatives, including the Greenland shark (which can live for 400 years), ghost shark, frilled shark, and goblin shark can sometimes also be found in this zone, as well as the deepest living octopus, the dumbo octopus shown in Figure 4-9 (although some say it can be found at even greater depths).