Click here to enlarge floor plan Grimpoteuthis sp. Dumbo octopus ( 20 cm) Scientists still know very little about these enigmatic octopuses. They are often observed resting on the bottom, with their mantle spread around themselves. What are they doing there, sitting so quietly in the dark? Nobody knows. Careproctus longifilis Threadfin snailfish (15 cm) When they are surprised or threatened, snailfish curl-up into a loop. Scientists think that this may be a defense tactic, allowing them to imitate jellyfish. In the dark environment of the deep, a stretched-out form suggests an edible eel to predators, whereas a circle evokes a stinging jellyfish that is best avoided. Himantolophus groenlandicus Atlantic football fish Females up to 46 cm On close inspection, it is possible to make out small pearl-like stitches dotting the body of this football fish. Each of these dots is a sensory organ, a “neuromast”, protruding through the surface of the skin and allowing the creature to detect the slightest movement of water. In surface-living fish, neuromasts are embedded under the skin, as these hypersensitive organs would be too stimulated by the environment if they were fully exposed. Ceratias holboelli Krøyer's deep-sea anglerfish Male up to 16 cm, female up to 1.2 m Depth: From 400 to 3,400 m This species of anglerfish shows extreme sexual dimorphism: a tiny parasitic male attaches itself to the belly of a large female and fuses his tissues with hers for eternity, in a manner comparable to a plants graft. The fishing rod hanging from the head has a bioluminescent lure to attract prey in a trick, which is well spread among anglerfish species. But the unique feature of this animal is its capacity to reel the prey in right up to the mouth by retracting its rod in a pouch, much like fly-fishermen do. Chimaera monstrosa Rabbit fish Up to 150 cm Depth: 40 to 1,000 m The sharp dorsal spine of this Rabbit fish is venomous. This fish, which is generally not found above 300 m, used to be thrown away as bycatch but with the decline of surface fish, and the subsequent decline of commercially valuable deep-sea fish such as orange roughies, fishermen started considering other species as targets. Now the rabbitfish is consumed in Europe, showing that in the absence of resource, the public can have an "elastic" response to food items and adapt to whatever is available. In that regard, it is interesting to remember that bluefin tuna, which is today as close to extinction as the giant panda because we eat so much of it, used to be rejected as bycatch! Bathynomus giganteus Giant isopod (40 cm) This giant“deep-sea woodlouse” is the largest of all isopods. A rather greedy carrion feeder, it is an enemy of fishermen: when it finds itself caught in a net it begins to devour the fish imprisoned around it, like a pillbug in a garden. Cottunculus nudus Bony skull toadfish Up to 65 cm Scientists know very little about this new species, which was discovered in 1989. Looking at its characteristics (large mouth, flattened body, absence of a swim bladder), it is possible to deduce that the bony skull toadfish lives on the bottom of the oceans, probably partly underground, waiting for prey to pass it by.