The Deep Sea Fishes
Below, I provide a BRIEF introduction to the deep-sea habitat which we must understand in order to comprehend the strange adaptations of the fishes. There are several good books which are either devoted to deep-sea biology or have good chapters on the subject (see bibliography below). Most of these describe a few species of deep-sea fishes to illustrate particular traits but none of them can convey the diversity of the whole menagerie. So here I have tried to include at least a little bit of information on each of the families of fishes for which there are deep-sea representatives. This page is arranged in the form of a field guide rather than a text book. Interesting aspects of the biology of families and/or species are given under their separate headings. The families are listed in alphabetical order. Common names for these are also in the list and clicking on them will take you to the appropriate family. This is a work in progress so please check back now and again. I will continue to post more photos and add information.