The Deep: Extraordinary Creatures Book

The Deep The Extraordinary creatures of The ABYSS CLaIre NouvIan Condition: New However, The book outside sleeve has some tips. Explore the wonders of the abyss with 'The Deep'. Features stunning imagery of deep-sea creatures. From the introduction: On dry land, most organisms are confined to the surface, or at most to altitudes of a hundred meters-the height of the tallest trees. In the oceans, though, available living space has both vertical and horizontal dimensions. With an average depth of 3800 meters, the oceans offer 99% of the space where life can develop on Earth.... The deep sea, which has been immersed in total darkness since the dawn of time, occupies 85% of this space, and thus forms the planet's largest habitat. And what do we know about it? Compared to what remains to be discovered, practically nothing.... For the last twenty-five years, a new deep-sea species has been described every two weeks, on average. Current estimates about the number of species yet to be discovered vary between 10 and 30 million. By comparison, the number of known species populating the planet today, whether terrestrial, aerial, or marine, is estimated at about 1.4 million. The deep sea no longer has anything to prove; it is without doubt Earth's largest reservoir of life. The University of Chicago Press www.press.uchicago.edu