The mesopelagiczone (Greek μέσον, middle), also known as the middle pelagic or twilight zone, is the part of the pelagic zone that lies between the photic epipelagic and the aphotic bathypelagic zones.[1] It is defined by light, and begins at the depth where only 1% of incident light reaches and ends where there is no light; the depths of this zone are between approximately 200 to 1,000 meters (~656 to 3,280 feet) below the ocean surface.[1]
The mesopelagic zone occupies about 60% of the planet's surface and about 20% of the ocean's volume, amounting to a large part of the total biosphere.[2] It hosts a diverse biological community that includes bristlemouths, blobfish, bioluminescent jellyfish, giant squid, and a myriad of other unique organisms adapted to live in a low-light environment.[3] It has long captivated the imagination of scientists, artists and writers; deep sea creatures are prominent in popular culture.[4]
^ abdel Giorgio, Paul A.; Duarte, Carlos M. (28 November 2002). "Respiration in the open ocean". Nature. 420 (6914): 379–384. Bibcode:2002Natur.420..379D. doi:10.1038/nature01165. hdl:10261/89751. PMID 12459775. S2CID 4392859.
^Cite error: The named reference ICES2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference :12 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Hackett, Jon; Harrington, Seán, eds. (2018-02-02). Beasts of the Deep. John Libbey Publishing. doi:10.2307/j.ctt20krz85. ISBN 9780861969395.
The mesopelagiczone (Greek μέσον, middle), also known as the middle pelagic or twilight zone, is the part of the pelagic zone that lies between the photic...
other mesopelagic fish when it bites them with its dagger-like teeth. Bigeye tuna cruise the epipelagic zone at night and the mesopelagiczone during...
zone refers to the greatest depths, deeper than the abyssal zone. Some twilight occurs in the mesopelagiczone, but creatures below the mesopelagic must...
most abundant organisms thriving into the mesopelagiczone are heterotrophic bacteria. Animals living in this zone include swordfish, squid, wolffish and...
surface. It lies between the mesopelagic above and the abyssopelagic below. The bathypelagic is also known as the midnight zone because of the lack of sunlight;...
side of a planetary body Mesopelagiczone, or twilight zone, at a depth of 200–1000m below the ocean surface Twilight Zone, a nightclub in Toronto Entertainment...
oceanic zone. The open ocean is vertically divided into four zones: the sunlight zone, twilight zone, midnight zone, and abyssal zone. The Mesopelagic (disphotic)...
to the epipelagic zone. From 200 to 1000 metres lies the dysphotic zone, or the twilight zone (corresponding with the mesopelagiczone). There is still...
Praya dubia, the giant siphonophore, lives in the mesopelagiczone to bathypelagic zone at 700 m (2,300 ft) to 1,000 m (3,300 ft) below sea level. It...
fish in the genus Chauliodus. Viperfishes are mostly found in the mesopelagiczone and are characterized by long, needle-like teeth and hinged lower jaws...
of the family Pseudocarchariidae. A specialized inhabitant of the mesopelagiczone, the crocodile shark can be found worldwide in tropical waters from...
captured footage of an oarfish swimming in its natural habitat in the mesopelagiczone in the Gulf of Mexico. It is the first ever confirmed sighting of an...
dysphotic zone (dysphotic means "poorly lit" in Greek). The dysphotic zone is also referred to as the mesopelagiczone, or the twilight zone. Its lowermost...
are found worldwide, outside of the Arctic and Subantarctic, in the mesopelagiczone below a depth of 500 meters (1,600 feet). This genus once contained...
tropical and subtropical seas where the diel migrants stay down in the mesopelagiczone during the day and migrate to the surface to feed at night. Some species...
sunfish Mola alexandrini photographed in the north-west Pacific Ocean mesopelagiczone". Journal of Fish Biology. 96 (1): 278–280. doi:10.1111/jfb.14214....
inches, though some can be larger. They are most commonly found in the mesopelagiczone of the ocean, mostly at depths of over 300 meters (1,000 feet), and...
clouds obscure the moon. Most mesopelagic fish make daily vertical migrations, moving at night into the epipelagic zone, often following similar migrations...
appear like a strawberry with seeds. H. heteropsis live in the ocean's mesopelagiczone and are found in the California Current and the Humboldt Current. Little...
out of the mesopelagiczone (at approximately 1000 m depth) as the "sequestration flux". Once carbon is transported below the mesopelagiczone, it remains...
from the Greek μυκτήρ myktḗr, "nose" and ophis, "serpent") are small mesopelagic fish of the large family Myctophidae. One of two families in the order...
evermannellids. They are active, visual predators and confine themselves to the mesopelagiczone, about 400m - 1000m for adults. However, larvae and small juvenile...
the mesopelagiczone, but the benthic zone at mesopelagic depths has remained widely unknown. Benthic habitats at depths beyond the mesopelagic are also...
would have sat in dimly lit water, most likely at the edge, or in the Mesopelagiczone. The ecosystem was preserved by rapid mudslides that quickly buried...
production is exported out of the euphotic zone, which attenuates exponentially towards the base of the mesopelagiczone and only about 1% of the surface production...
the crocodile shark family. It is a specialized inhabitant of the mesopelagiczone, found worldwide in tropical waters from the surface to a depth of...
longfin mako generally remains in the upper mesopelagiczone during the day and ascends into the epipelagic zone at night. Off Cuba, it is most frequently...
Global Information