We do not know much about those who live on the ocean floor

Life is infinite, like the universe itself. Today, with the development of scientific thought and technical means, this thesis is increasingly turning into a provable theorem. But two centuries ago a man who wondered who lived on the ocean floor would be looked at as a madman. The prevailing picture of the world did not think the existence of life in water without dissolved oxygen and sunlight. Therefore, the border was drawn along the ocean shelf, and it was believed that there were no representatives of the flora or fauna below it.

But time went by, and there were amazing proofs of the existence of life in the gloomy depths of the World Ocean. In 1850 several deep-water animals were caught from kilometer depth. Ten years later, a dozen new species of animals were discovered on a cable from two kilometers deep. In 1899, the scientific world was shown the first deep-sea fish, calmly floating at a depth of three kilometers, and convincing evidence of the existence of life is twice as deep.

During the next half century, scientists were sure that below the ocean bed (6000 meters), at the very bottom of the ocean, more precisely, its deep-water gutters, life is missing because of gigantic pressure. Then it took only three years to refute this postulate. In 1958, the Soviet hydrographic vessel "Vityaz" caught an unknown fish from a depth of 7.5 km, in 1959 they also raised shellfish from a 10-kilometer depth. Finally, in 1960, Don Walsh and Jacques Picard went to the bottom of the Marian Trench , the deepest point of the World Ocean, on the Bathyscaphe "Trieste". Repeating their feat alone, more than half a century later, the famous film director James Cameron, like them, equated such an immersion in flight to another planet. All three saw with their own eyes who lives at the bottom of the ocean.

Yes, a peculiar, frightening by its appearance, but still life is flourishing and here, where there is no sunlight (it completely dissipates even at a kilometer depth), the pressure of 1072 atmospheres is twice as much as on Venus, the inhospitable planet of the Solar System, and The water temperature is only a few degrees above the freezing point.

Creatures on the ocean floor have a soft skeleton: at this depth there are few calcium salts for its construction, and even if it is not needed, there is no excitement, accidental collisions with rocks are excluded. In some fish, eyes without light atrophied completely, others occupy almost half of the head. Some of the representatives of the deep-sea fauna look like a uniform descent of hell. But this appearance is not at all to intimidate homo sapiens. Moreover, in 52 years they were visited here four times less than in 4 years on the Moon. Just predators here are difficult with sustenance, hence the long sharp teeth (so that the prey does not break out) and huge mouths.

Among those who live on the ocean floor, many have luminous organs. With the help of them, the inhabitants of the depths illuminate their path, lure the prey, frighten off enemies, communicate with each other and orient themselves. The most original adapted fish are those related to archers. They have an outgrowth on the body, at the end of which a colony of luminous fungus lives. Waving at him like a flashlight, the anglers attract closer to the careless fish who are going to feed them. And the name of the luminous cheater speaks for itself: this predator enough to open the mouth, wait for the fish to swim into this living trap and slam it!

Quite recently, in March 2013, a message appeared about the successful diving of the deep-water robot to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Of all the diversity of those who live on the ocean floor in extreme conditions, scientists are interested in the colony of bacteria. Studying them, researchers are trying to find out if these life forms could exist on other planets. After all, according to the latest data, on the satellite of Jupiter, Europe, and the satellite of Saturn, Enceladus, under the thick ice crust, there are likely oceans ...