mesopelagic en · ADJ
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *me Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁-? Proto-Indo-European *-dʰe Proto-Indo-European *médʰi Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *médʰyos Proto-Hellenic *métsos Ancient Greek μέσος (mésos)der. English meso- English pelagic English mesopelagic From meso- + pelagic.
Meanings
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(not-comparable) Describing the pelagic zone of the ocean between the photic epipelagic and the aphotic bathypelagic zones, characterized by very minimal light.
For those animals living in the mesopelagic zone, where some light downwells from the surface, a visual predator looking up at them could see a silhouette.
2001, James Willard Nybakken, Marine Biology: An Ecological Approach, page 153:
Deriveds
Synonyms
Translations (2)
fi mesopelaginen (relating to the zone of the ocean between the photic epipelagic and the aphotic bathypelagic zones) · pt mesopelágico (relating to the zone of the ocean between the photic epipelagic and the aphotic bathypelagic zones)