Secrets of the deep sea
20 July 2006
How do some deep-sea creatures grow to giant size? And how is Earth's ocean abyss similar to a desert island? This week, marine experts gathered in Southampton to share the secrets of one of our planet's most mysterious habitats. Antenna dives in for a roundup...

Image: Lance Horn, National Undersea Research Center

The deep-sea isopod is a giant of the ocean. At 45 centimetres in length it towers over the shallow-water isopods, which grow to about 5 centimetres.
Image: NOAA
How is the deep sea like a desert island?The deep ocean is home to a horde of exotic creatures, including some colossal critters that dwarf their shallow-water siblings. But how did these deep-sea giants evolve? |

Look at the difference between these three medium-sized shallow-water snails and the three tiny deep-sea snails.
Image: Craig McClain
To test the 'island rule' for deep-sea animals, a team of ocean experts compared the sizes of snails from shallow and deep waters. Sure enough, smaller shallow-water snails tended to have larger deep-water relatives, and deep-sea snails with large shallow-water relatives tended to be smaller. |

A deep-sea stone crab living on a blue whale bone on the ocean floor.
Image: Craig Smith
Whaling latestCovering more than 60% of the Earth's surface, the vast deep sea is the largest habitat on the planet. But this exotic world is under threat from human activities such as whaling. So far, deep-sea scientists have identified 28 new species that depend on whales for food. |

Craig Smith, ocean expert, University of Hawaii
Image: Craig Smith
This video was shot in the deep ocean west of Shetland. Squat lobsters are actually not lobsters at all - they're more closely related to hermit crabs and other crustaceans.
Video: Scott McGinn
Spotlight on Earth's ocean abyssThere's still much to be discovered at the bottoms of our oceans. This film footage of a squat lobster catching and eating krill is a first for marine science. Catching this behaviour on camera for the first time helps ocean scientists better understand the secrets of the deep. |
This potentially new species of squid was spotted in the deep sea of the Gulf of Mexico.
Video: Tony Kastropil
Watch this unidentified species of squid swimming 10,000 feet below the ocean surface. Marine scientists believe this monster from the deep might be a totally new species. The deep sea is full of mysteries - who knows how many new species there might be down there? |
This footage of a swimming shrimp was filmed 2000 feet beneath the sea's surface. Some species of shrimp can survive in depths of over 13,000 feet.
Video: Tony Kastropil
Watch this shrimp swimming through the lightless depths of the Gulf of Mexico. Close-up video like this helps ocean experts identify new species, and it can also help them capture the way marine creatures move in the high-pressure waters of the deep sea. |
