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No sunlight reaches the midnight zone. Here, the only light that flickers comes from the bodies of fish, squid, jellyfish, and other creatures that make a "living light" called bioluminescence (click here to learn more about bioluminescence).
No sunlight reaches the midnight zone. Here, the only light that flickers comes from the bodies of fish, squid, jellyfish, and other creatures that make a "living light" called bioluminescence (click here to learn more about bioluminescence).
The midnight zone plunges from tabout 3,250 feet (1,000 m) to a depth of 13,100 feet (4,000 m). It's not only pitch black, it's also extremely cold: The temperature hovers around 39°F (4°C), just a few degrees above the freezing point of freshwater.
The midnight zone plunges from tabout 3,250 feet (1,000 m) to a depth of 13,100 feet (4,000 m). It's not only pitch black, it's also extremely cold: The temperature hovers around 39°F (4°C), just a few degrees above the freezing point of freshwater.
The pressure is also very intense. Scientific instruments have recorded pressure of more than 5,850 pounds per square inch (411 kg/sq cm). That amount of concentrated pressure is like having a hippopotamus stand on your thumb! Midnight-zone animals, however, are adapted to life under high pressure. Jellyfish, for example, consist mainly of water, which can't be squashed the way air can.
The pressure is also very intense. Scientific instruments have recorded pressure of more than 5,850 pounds per square inch (411 kg/sq cm). That amount of concentrated pressure is like having a hippopotamus stand on your thumb! Midnight-zone animals, however, are adapted to life under high pressure. Jellyfish, for example, consist mainly of water, which can't be squashed the way air can.
Animals in the midnight zone are faced not only with these intense conditions-they also face a lack of food. There just isn't much to eat here. Many animals depend of food that drifts down from the surface, such as dead plankton and dead fish. A dead whale sinking to the midnight zone is like a Thanksgiving feast!
Animals in the midnight zone are faced not only with these intense conditions-they also face a lack of food. There just isn't much to eat here. Many animals depend of food that drifts down from the surface, such as dead plankton and dead fish. A dead whale sinking to the midnight zone is like a Thanksgiving feast!
Other midnight-zone animals use li8ght to help them catch food. An anglerfish, for example, has a long lure on its head that bobs above its huge mouth. The end of the lure is filled with glowing bacteria. Prey attracted to the glow are grabbed in the anglerfish's toothy jaws and quickly gulped down into its big, stretchy stomach.
Other midnight-zone animals use li8ght to help them catch food. An anglerfish, for example, has a long lure on its head that bobs above its huge mouth. The end of the lure is filled with glowing bacteria. Prey attracted to the glow are grabbed in the anglerfish's toothy jaws and quickly gulped down into its big, stretchy stomach.
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