Mac Prince P.

Ramilo October 17, 2023

Grade 8 – Kalaw Sir Ronald Ibajan

Creatures of Abysmal Depths

The Ocean is a huge place, with all sorts of habitats, terrain,

organisms, and mysteries. There are many interesting places you can find in
the oceans and this one is deeper than most of them. The Mariana Trench is
in the western Pacific Ocean and reaches 2,550 kilometers and a maximum
width of 69 kilometers. The maximum known depth is 10,984 meters or
36,037 feet which is why it gains the title of the deepest point of the ocean.
The water pressure at the bottom of the trench is more than 1,071 times the
normal atmospheric pressure at sea level. And even through all these factors
it seems impossible for anything to live down there, but life finds a way.

Some species rely on bioluminescence because of how dark the trench

is. Take for example the Angler fish, it has light protruding from its head
that it uses to lure in prey. It has sharp teeth and an unusually shaped
body. Another light producing fish is the Deep-sea Dragonfish. Like the
Angler fish the Deep-sea Dragonfish has sharp teeth and is a predator even
if it’s only six inches long. It also has special photophores that it uses as
searchlights emitting red-shifted light that only it can see. Aside from
bioluminescent species, there are also transparent ones. The Barreleye fish
has a transparent skull that it uses to see if any predators or prey are above
it. Its eyes are barrel shaped and can move upwards. The Telescope Octopus
is completely see through and has eight arms that are the same size,
moreover it is the only known Octopus to have tubular eyes. On the topic of
cephalopods, the Dumbo Octopus also lives in the Mariana Trench and is a
genus of pelagic umbrella octopuses. It was named this way due to its
similarity to the 1941s Disney film named “Dumbo”. Sharks have been
around the earth for over 420 million years therefore making them older
than the formation of the Mariana Trench which formed about 180 million
years ago. Even with this colossal gap some shark species dwelled their way
into trench like the Frilled Shark which is more than 80 million years old. It
is referred to the living fossil due to its appearance. It has an eel-like body
that has a brown to gray pigment and has an Amphistylic jaw suspension
where the upper jaw is braced against the cranium and is also supported by
hyomandibular ligaments. A different shark that is found in the Mariana
Trench is the Goblin Shark. It has pink-toned skin and has a protruding jaw
with incredibly sharp teeth.

In conclusion, we have learned that even in the harsh environment of

the Mariana Trench multiple species still find their way to survive even
though they evolved very differently than each other. The Angler fish and the
Deep-sea Dragonfish utilize bioluminescence in hunting. The Barreleye fish
and Telescope Octopus both have cylindrical eyes and have some or
completely of their body transparent. The Dumbo octopus is one of the few
deep-sea octopuses. The Frilled Shark and the Greenland Shark are some of
the most unique and strange looking sharks. They may look out of place and
alien-like, they are living beings nevertheless that adapted to their harsh
surroundings that we humans could never withstand without the aid of
technology.

Sources:

https://oceaninfo.com/list/mariana-trench-animals/

https://byjus.com/question-answer/jaw-suspension-of-mammals-
isamphistylicautodiastylichyostyliccraniostylic-7/