1Far below the surface of the ocean lies a vast and silent world that never receives a single ray of sunlight.
2The water pressure in these depths is so enormous that it would instantly crush an ordinary submarine beyond recognition.
3Yet even in this freezing darkness, life has found extraordinary and ingenious ways to survive and flourish.
4Many fish that live down here produce their own light, which they use to attract prey or to find a mate.
5Others have evolved enormous mouths and stretchy stomachs, allowing them to swallow meals almost as large as themselves.
6Food is so scarce in the deep sea that some creatures manage to eat only a few times in an entire year.
7Near hot volcanic vents on the ocean floor, entire communities of animals live without any energy from the sun at all.
8Instead of sunlight, tiny bacteria there turn chemicals escaping from the vents directly into food for themselves.
9Giant tube worms, blind white crabs, and strange pale shrimps gather in dense crowds around these underwater oases.
10Scientists estimate that the great majority of deep sea species have never been seen or named by human beings.
11Almost every expedition to these depths returns to the surface with photographs of creatures that are completely new to science.
12For this reason, the deep ocean remains the largest and least explored habitat anywhere on our planet.