Lanternfish
Depth: 500 m · Twilight Zone
Lanternfish are the most common vertebrates on Earth, numbering in the billions. All over their bodies they carry rows of small blue glowing dots. Every night they rise up from the deep to feed.
For scientists
Myctophids take part in the largest migration on Earth: at night they rise to feed in the nutrient-rich surface water, by day they sink hundreds of meters back into the protective dark. Their pattern of photophores is unique to each species and helps them recognize their own kind and counter-illuminate. With their huge biomass they carry enormous amounts of carbon into the deep every day.
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