Cloaked in darkness and mystery, the creatures of the deep oceans exist in a world of unlikely profusion, surviving on scant food and under pressure that would crush human lungs. This extremely hostile environment, which will come under the spotlight at a major United Nations oceans summit in Lisbon this week, has caused its inhabitants to develop a prodigious array of alien characteristics and idiosyncratic survival techniques. A vast assortment of animals populate the sunless depths, from the colossal squid, which wrapped its tentacles around the imaginations of sailors and storytellers, to beings with huge cloudy eyes, or whose bodies are as transparent as glass. And the angler fish, with its devilish looks illuminated by a built-in headlamp, showing that the deep dark is alive with lights. 'Incredible' creatures Until the middle of the 19th century, scientists believed that life was impossible beyond a few hundred metres. "They imagined that there was nothing, … [Read more...] about Life in the abyss, a spectacular and fragile struggle for survival
