Lanternfish
Lanternfish (family Myctophidae) are small — usually a few centimetres to about 15 cm long — but staggeringly numerous. There are around 250 species, and by some estimates they make up a large share of all the fish biomass in the deep sea. Rows of light organs called photophores line their bodies; the pattern differs between species and is thought to help them recognise each other in the dark. Many lanternfish migrate towards the surface every night to feed.
Hatchetfish
Deep-sea hatchetfish (family Sternoptychidae) are thin, silvery and shaped like the blade of a hatchet. Their bellies carry downward-pointing photophores that match the faint light coming from above. This counter-illumination erases their silhouette when seen from below, an elegant form of camouflage. Some species also have tubular eyes that point upward to spot the shadows of prey.
Anglerfish
Deep-sea anglerfish carry a modified fin ray on their head, tipped with a glowing lure called the esca. The light is often produced by symbiotic bacteria living inside it. Curious prey swim towards the glow and are swallowed by an enormous mouth full of inward-pointing teeth. In some species the tiny males permanently fuse to a much larger female, sharing her bloodstream — one of the most unusual reproductive strategies known.
Viperfish
Viperfish (genus Chauliodus) have fang-like teeth so long they don't fit inside the closed mouth. They grow to roughly 30 cm, carry photophores along their undersides and have an elongated dorsal fin ray that may act as a lure. Like many twilight-zone fish, they are thought to move to shallower water at night to hunt.
Giant squid
The giant squid (Architeuthis dux) was a creature of legend for centuries — the likely origin of the kraken. Large females are estimated to reach 12–13 metres including their long feeding tentacles, and their eyes, up to about 27 cm across, are among the largest in the animal kingdom. The first photographs of a live giant squid in the wild were taken in 2004 near Japan, and the first video in its natural habitat followed in 2012. In 2019, researchers filmed one in the Gulf of Mexico using a camera lit by red light — which most deep-sea animals can't see — and a lure that imitated a glowing jellyfish.
Gulper eel
The gulper or pelican eel (Eurypharynx pelecanoides) is almost all mouth. Its loosely hinged jaws open into a pouch much larger than its thin body, which grows to roughly 75 cm–1 m. Despite its fearsome look it seems to feed mostly on small crustaceans. The tip of its whip-like tail has a light organ that glows, possibly to attract prey — the pink light on the tail of the game's Gulper Eel is a nod to that.
Ghost shark (chimaera)
“Ghost sharks” are chimaeras (order Chimaeriformes), cartilaginous fish related to sharks and rays. Their lineage split from sharks roughly 400 million years ago. They have large eyes, smooth pale skin and visible lateral-line canals running across the head like stitched seams — the inspiration for the glowing lines on the game's Ghost Shark. Many species live on or near the deep sea floor and are rarely seen alive.
Leviathan Ray
The Leviathan Ray is our own invention, but it has real-world inspirations. Manta rays, usually seen near the surface, have been tracked diving to depths beyond 1,000 metres, and many species of skate live on the deep abyssal plains. We imagined what a giant ray adapted to the hadal trench might look like, and added glowing edge lines so players could spot it in the dark.
Jellyfish
Many deep-sea jellyfish produce light. The “alarm jellyfish” Atolla wyvillei flashes a spinning ring of blue light when attacked. One theory, the burglar alarm hypothesis, suggests the display attracts larger predators that might eat the attacker. That is the same trick researchers used to lure the giant squid into view in 2019.
And the surface fish?
Sardines are small schooling fish that form huge, shimmering shoals. Mackerel are fast, streamlined swimmers, with wavy dark stripes across their backs. Barracuda are sleek ambush predators that in reality prefer shallower, warmer water than in our game — we took some artistic licence to give the twilight zone a fast, chrome-bright hunter.
Meet them all in the game: play Abyssal Drift and fill your Codex.