Researchers discover a completely new ocean zone swimming with new species

The aphotic zone plays a vital role in the overall functioning of the marine ecosystem: Biodiversity and Species Interactions: Despite the challenging conditions, the aphotic zone supports a surprising diversity of organisms, including fish, cephalopods, deep-sea corals, and countless other unique species.. Midnight Ocean (Aphotic) Zone Animal Printouts The deepest layer of the world's oceans gets no sunlight at all. This dark ocean layer is called the midnight zone or the aphotic zone (aphotic means "no light" in Greek). The depth of this zone depends on the clarity or murkiness of the water.

Let's find out what animals are found in the aphotic zone: Benthic organisms: the benthic zone is the area containing the bottom sediment and is located at the deepest limit of the aphotic zone in sufficiently deep bodies of water.. Some animals that live in the aphotic zone include the gulper eel, giant squid, smaller squids, anglerfish, vampire squid, and numerous jellyfish. The aphotic zone is broken into two levels: the bathypelagic zone and the abyssopelagic zone. The bathypelagic zone extends from around 3,300 ft (1 km) below the surface to 13,000 ft (4 km) below.