In the oceans, living space has both vertical and horizontal dimensions: with an average depth of 3800 meters, the oceans offer 99% of the space where life can develop. And the deep sea, immersed in total darkness since the dawn of time, occupies 85% of ocean space, the planet's largest habitat. Yet the deep sea is mostly uncharted--only about 5% of the seafloor has been mapped with any reasonable degree of detail--and we know very little about the creatures that call it home. Current estimates about the number of species yet to be found vary between ten and thirty million. The deep sea is without doubt Earth's largest reservoir of life. Combining the latest scientific discoveries with astonishing color imagery, this book takes readers on a voyage into these dark realms, with more than two hundred color photographs of sea monsters, living fossils, and ethereal bioluminescent creatures.--From publisher description.

The exploration of the deep /Cindy Lee Van Dover -- Midwater life : survival in a harsh environment / George I. Matsumoto -- A Chinese shadow theater -- The nocturnal ballet of deep-sea creatures / Marsh Youngbluth -- Living lights in the sea / Edith Widder -- Evolution caught red-handed -- Gelatinous but voracious predators / Laurence Madin -- From myth to reality : monsters of the deep / Clyde Roper -- Are deep-sea animals living fossils? / Robert C. Vrijenhoek -- The vampire squid from hell -- The deep seafloor : a desert devoid of life? / Craig M. Young -- The polar depths / Michael Klages -- The Monterey Canyon / Gary Greene -- Sharks of the dark -- Seamounts : Galápagos of the deep / J. Anthony Koslow -- Deepwater coral reefs : out of sight, out of mind -- Hydrothermal vents / Daniel Desbruyères -- Gas promotes mass : methane seeps / Lisa Levin -- A whale's end is the beginning of life at the deep seafloor / Craig R. Smith -- Deep trenches : the ultimate abysses / Kantaro Fujioka and Dhugal Lindsay.