Includes bibliographical references (p. 251) and index.

The exploration of the deep / Cindy Lee Van Dover -- Midwater life : survival in a harsh environment / George I. Matsumoto -- A Chinese shadow theater -- The nocturnal ballet of deep-sea creatures / Marsh Youngbluth -- Living lights in the sea / Edith Widder -- Evolution caught red-handed -- Gelatinous but voracious predators / Laurence Madin -- From myth to reality : monsters of the deep / Clyde Roper -- Are deep-sea animals living fossils? / Robert C. Vrijenhoek -- The vampire squid from hell -- The deep seafloor : a desert devoid of life? / Craig M. Young -- The polar depths / Michael Klages -- The Monterey Canyon / Gary Greene -- Sharks of the dark -- Seamounts : Gal©Øapagos of the deep / J. Anthony Koslow -- Deepwater coral reefs : out of sight, out of mind -- Hydrothermal vents / Daniel Desbruy©Łeres -- Gas promotes mass : methane seeps / Lisa Levin -- A whale's end is the beginning of life at the deep seafloor / Craig R. Smith -- Deep trenches : the ultimate abysses / Kantaro Fujioka and Dhugal Lindsay.