Feature Stories - Aliens of the Deep (75) More files...
The deep sea is the largest and most mysterious habitat on our planet. Taking up 95% of the Earth’s living space, it remains largely unexplored. It’s hard to imagine anything surviving in the pitch black, icy cold, crushing environment of the deep ocean, yet scientists are discovering a habitat rich with life. The creatures being uncovered are often so bizarre they might seem, at first glance, like aliens.

In November 2015, photographer Solvin Zankl accompanied a scientific expedition to the Cape Verde Islands in the eastern tropical Atlantic, where his mission was to document the strange creatures living beyond the reach of the sun. ‘There is no other place on earth where you can photograph such interestinglooking animals,’ says Zankl, a trained marine biologist with a lifelong fascination for life under the waves.

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Narcomedusa jellyfish (Solmundella bitentaculata), Atlantic Ocean off Cape Verde.  Captive.
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Solvin Zankl / Narcomedusa jellyfish (Solmundella bitentaculata), Atlantic Ocean off Cape Verde. Captive.
Brachiolaria larva, late larval stage of starfish with sea star rudiment. Deep sea species from Atlantic Ocean off Cape Verde. Captive.
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Solvin Zankl / Brachiolaria larva, late larval stage of starfish with sea star rudiment. Deep sea species from Atlantic Ocean off Cape Verde. Captive.
Juvenile deep water pelagic octopus (Vitreledonella richardi) semi-translucent species, from Atlantic Ocean off Cape Verde. Captive.
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Solvin Zankl / Juvenile deep water pelagic octopus (Vitreledonella richardi) semi-translucent species, from Atlantic Ocean off Cape Verde. Captive.
Pram bug (Phronima) female with young in nest made from salp body, Atlantic Ocean off Cape Verde. Captive. Highly commended in the GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017.
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Solvin Zankl / Pram bug (Phronima) female with young in nest made from salp body, Atlantic Ocean off Cape Verde. Captive. Highly commended in the GDT European Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2017.
Flatfish (Bothidae sp) larva with upright swimming and bilaterally symmetric bodies. When the larva develops to an adult asymmetric vertebrat, the right eye migrates from the right side of the body to...
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Solvin Zankl / Flatfish (Bothidae sp) larva with upright swimming and bilaterally symmetric bodies. When the larva develops to an adult asymmetric vertebrat, the right eye migrates from the right side of the body to...
Deep sea eel Leptocephalus larva (Elopomorpha) deep sea species from Atlantic Ocean off Cape Verde. Captive.
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Solvin Zankl / Deep sea eel Leptocephalus larva (Elopomorpha) deep sea species from Atlantic Ocean off Cape Verde. Captive.
Deep sea eel Leptocephalus larva (Elopomorpha) deep sea species from Atlantic Ocean off Cape Verde. Captive.
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Solvin Zankl / Deep sea eel Leptocephalus larva (Elopomorpha) deep sea species from Atlantic Ocean off Cape Verde. Captive.
Boxer snipe eel (Nemichthys curvirostris) portrait, deep sea fish from Atlantic Ocean close to Cape Verde. Captive.
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Solvin Zankl / Boxer snipe eel (Nemichthys curvirostris) portrait, deep sea fish from Atlantic Ocean close to Cape Verde. Captive.
Boxer snipe eel (Nemichthys curvirostris) deep sea fish, Atlantic Ocean close to Cape Verde. Captive.
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Solvin Zankl / Boxer snipe eel (Nemichthys curvirostris) deep sea fish, Atlantic Ocean close to Cape Verde. Captive.
Scaless black dragonfish (Melanostomias biseriatus) deep sea fish from Atlantic Ocean close to Cape Verde. Captive.
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Solvin Zankl / Scaless black dragonfish (Melanostomias biseriatus) deep sea fish from Atlantic Ocean close to Cape Verde. Captive.
Deep sea Threadtail (Stylephorus chordatus). This deep sea fish is a mesopelagic species with eyes modified to detect the slightest traces of light. Atlantic Ocean off Cape Verde. Captive.
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Solvin Zankl / Deep sea Threadtail (Stylephorus chordatus). This deep sea fish is a mesopelagic species with eyes modified to detect the slightest traces of light. Atlantic Ocean off Cape Verde. Captive.
Photophores of Diaphanous hatchetfish (Sternoptyx diaphana), photographed from underneath. Deep sea species from Atlantic Ocean off Cape Verde. Captive.
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Solvin Zankl / Photophores of Diaphanous hatchetfish (Sternoptyx diaphana), photographed from underneath. Deep sea species from Atlantic Ocean off Cape Verde. Captive.