Mysteries of the Deep

Hey kids, what do you think is the most unexploredhead is a long tentacle with a sac on the end filled with
part of our planet? It's not the depths of the rainforest.glowing bacteria. The anglerfish hides itself on the
It's not the burning deserts. It's not even the frozenocean floor, and wiggles its tentacle around.
Arctic waste. The most unexplored parts of our planetUnsuspectitng fish are attracted to the worm-like
are our oceans! We're just beginning to realize whattentacle, thinking it might make a tasty meal, and snap!
kind of incredible mysteries are hidden in the deep,They are chomped up by the anglerfish's jaws, which
dark waters.look just like a mouth full of knives!
Our oceans make up a huge part of our planet - overHave you ever seen those little gray pillbugs that you
70% of the Earth's surface is covered by them! Theycan find in the garden? They look like tiny grey tanks,
help control the temperature of the planet, shape theand roll up into an armoured ball if they are threatened.
weather, and are home to millions of living things.Well at the bottom of the ocean, you can find an
The deepest part of our planet is the Mariana trench,animal that looks just like one of those pillbugs - only it's
near Japan and the Philippines. At it's deepest point, itover a foot long!
reaches 10,924 metres (or 6.78 miles) deep. ThatBut one of the most fearsome creatures in the ocean
means if you were to take Mount Everest, the highestis the famous giant squid. For many years, people
mountain on Earth, and stick it at the deepest part ofthought the giant squid was just a legend. Then whale
this trench, there would still be more than 2 kilometerswatchers started to notice marks on the sides of
of water over the top of it!some whales, like they'd been caught by a suction cup
Fortunately, scientists have invented special deepthat was the size of a dinner plate! Finally, the bodies
water research cameras and vehicles that can reachof some squid washed up on the shores of
into the cold, dark, high-pressure world of the deepNewfoundland, and the squid went from science fiction
sea. And what we're starting to discover is that theseto science fact! They can grow up to 13 metres long,
dark, deep, freezing waters are filled with living things.and are wicked predators, snaring prey with the
Go down deep enough, and the living things you findserrated suction cups on their tentacles and devouring
look like aliens from another world; it's discoveringthem with their sharp beaks.
these strange creatures that makes science fun!Even though we think we've explored the planet,
Imagine yourself stranded on the bottom of the ocean,we've really just scratched the surface. There's a
with cold black water all around you. Suddenly, youwhole world left to explore under the sea!
see a light wiggling around in front of you. You'reDiscover more kids science articles, look up amazing
drawn toward it, and wonder if maybe it's somethingfun facts, do animated science quizzes with talking
good to eat. You reach for it... and find yourselfcharacters, meet friends in virtual worlds, play games
face-to-face with a mouthful of razor sharp teeth!and do fun science activities at Science Score - the
You've just met an anglerfish.world's most fun online elearning product for kids. Join
An anglerfish is a hunter whose body is camouflagedthe thousands of kids to play with Science Score and
to look like the floor of the ocean. In the middle of itsdo well in Science.