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The Mesopelagic zone is directly underneath the Epipelagic zone. Other names for the Mesopelagic zone are also the Twilight zone, or the mid-water zone. The range is at least 200 meters or 656 feet. There is barely any light in this zone. In this zone you will mostly the bioluminescent creatures.
Known as the twilight zone, the mesopelagic zone meets the phonic zone above and becomes very dark as depth increases. Animals that produce bio luminescence, or light, inhabit this sub-zone. Because nutrients are limited here, some animals rise to the phonic zone at night for food. Many animals in this sub-zone can eat animals larger than themselves because they are equipped with large sharp teeth with expandable jaws and stomachs. Animals in the mesopelagic zone include the bigscale fish which lives in the depths between 150-1,000 m, an animal with oversize scales and bony plated head. Similar to other fish in this zone, the bigscale relies on specially developed lures to catch its prey off guard and to save energy in a nutrient poor subzone. The ctenophore is a relative of the jellyfish and is also a bioluminescent organism and has adapted its iridescent cilia, used for locomotion, to scare away its predators. Ctenophores come in many forms and typically capture crustaceans and fish with long tentacles. A more complicated bioluminescent organism is the Firefly squid, an animal with one photophore on its head, another around the eyes, one on the body surface and the remaining one on the tips of its tentacles. Possible uses for the photophores are predator deterrence, communication, rules for prey and a flashlight to see in the dark when hunting.
The hatchet fish looks frightening but it is only a few inches long with a huge jaw and long teeth. With photophores underneath their body and under their eyes, it is thought that this fish may also be hiding its silhouette so that it's invisible to predators swimming below. Dragon fish and viperfish are very similar in that they both have an enormous mouth, sharp pointy teeth, big eyes, and large stomachs. They are thought to swim up at night to hunt. Both species have been found hunting in the deep sea and in surface waters with their bioluminescent lures.
Adult snipe eels look like a long piece of silly putty stretched out with a flat little head at one end. The jaws of the snipe eel curve out to trap shrimp antennae in the teeth. Also present in the mesopelagic zone are siphonophores, animals related to the jellyfish that stun their prey with a special tentacle. Siphonophores can also form a gas-filled float.
Known as the twilight zone, the mesopelagic zone meets the phonic zone above and becomes very dark as depth increases. Animals that produce bio luminescence, or light, inhabit this sub-zone. Because nutrients are limited here, some animals rise to the phonic zone at night for food. Many animals in this sub-zone can eat animals larger than themselves because they are equipped with large sharp teeth with expandable jaws and stomachs. Animals in the mesopelagic zone include the bigscale fish which lives in the depths between 150-1,000 m, an animal with oversize scales and bony plated head. Similar to other fish in this zone, the bigscale relies on specially developed lures to catch its prey off guard and to save energy in a nutrient poor subzone. The ctenophore is a relative of the jellyfish and is also a bioluminescent organism and has adapted its iridescent cilia, used for locomotion, to scare away its predators. Ctenophores come in many forms and typically capture crustaceans and fish with long tentacles. A more complicated bioluminescent organism is the Firefly squid, an animal with one photophore on its head, another around the eyes, one on the body surface and the remaining one on the tips of its tentacles. Possible uses for the photophores are predator deterrence, communication, rules for prey and a flashlight to see in the dark when hunting.
The hatchet fish looks frightening but it is only a few inches long with a huge jaw and long teeth. With photophores underneath their body and under their eyes, it is thought that this fish may also be hiding its silhouette so that it's invisible to predators swimming below. Dragon fish and viperfish are very similar in that they both have an enormous mouth, sharp pointy teeth, big eyes, and large stomachs. They are thought to swim up at night to hunt. Both species have been found hunting in the deep sea and in surface waters with their bioluminescent lures.
Adult snipe eels look like a long piece of silly putty stretched out with a flat little head at one end. The jaws of the snipe eel curve out to trap shrimp antennae in the teeth. Also present in the mesopelagic zone are siphonophores, animals related to the jellyfish that stun their prey with a special tentacle. Siphonophores can also form a gas-filled float.