mesopelagic

[ mez-uh-puh-laj-ik, mes-, mee-zuh-, -suh- ]

adjective

, Oceanography.

1. of, relating to, or living in the ocean at a depth of between 600 feet (180 meters) and 3,000 feet (900 meters).

mesopelagic

/ ˌmɛsəʊpəˈlædʒɪk /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or inhabiting the intermediate depths of the ocean between approximately 100 and 1000 metres

Word History and Origins

Origin of mesopelagic¹

First recorded in 1945–50; meso- + pelagic

Example Sentences

Also known as the mesopelagic, it makes up a fifth of the ocean’s total volume, and much of it remains largely unexplored.

From National Geographic

“How old are they when they spawn? How old do they get? Where do they reproduce?” says Iglesias, who also co-leads the Mesopelagic Fisheries Working Group at the Deep-Ocean Stewardship Initiative.

From National Geographic

Ms. Justino has excavated fibers and beads from the digestive tracts of lanternfish, hatchetfish and other fish that migrate up and down in the mesopelagic, 650 to 3,300 feet down.

From New York Times

Superflex chose to highlight the siphonophore as a representative of the mesopelagic zone of the sea, known as the twilight zone, which receives little to no sunlight.

From New York Times

Two hundred meters under the sunny waves of the ocean lies the mesopelagic zone, a cold, dark section of water where humans rarely venture.

From Science Magazine