In this updated and expanded edition of Creatures of the Deep, award winning nature and science writer Erich Hoyt gives readers a glimpse of the amazing variety of creatures found in the deepest parts of the ocean. Weaving together details from the latest scientific research about sharks, giant squid, dragonfish, huge tube worms, clams and tiny microbes of the deep sea vents, Hoyt embarks on a magical journey roaming across the abyssal plains and descending into deep sea trenches more than 20,000 feet down. Hoyt unravels the complex predator-prey relationships, from "killer" copepods to battles between giant squid and sperm whales, presenting compelling portraits of animals that are superbly adapted denizens of a dark high pressure world. There are life forms, independent of sunlight and photosynthesis, which flourish around the hot, sulfurous deep sea vents in the magnificent rift valley of the mid ocean ridge, the world's longest mountain range. Surviving in conditions that appear to be close to the very soup of primordial Earth, these microbes have become the basis for the latest research into Earth's origins. Fully illustrated with fantastic underwater imagery.