Most animals of the deep are of ordinary size. The ferocious-looking large-fanged viperfish, for example (see Midwater page), is typically only a few centimetres to 30 cm long. But an unusual feature of some animals of the deep is known as gigantism: a larger body size than their comparable relatives in shallower waters. For example:

• Huge oarfish (first photographed alive in 1998; probably the source of sea-serpent legends);
• Giant isopods;
• 2-meter (6-foot) hydrothermal-vent tubeworms

The most famous example of gigantism is of course the Giant Squidand the even larger Collosal Squid; information can be found at:

• Smithsonian Museum of Natural History Giant Squid site
• Collosal squid caught in 2003
• Univ. Washington's Giant Squid site