Giant clam along the Great Barrier Reef.

Benthos are the organisms which live on, in, or near the seabed, also known as the benthic zone.^[1] Although the term derived from the Greek for "depths of the sea"^[1], the term is also used in freshwater biology to refer to organisms at the bottoms of freshwater bodies of water, such as lakes, rivers, and streams.^[2] Floridian seagrass bed From a USA government website that doesnt have a proclaimed copyright restriction: http://www. ... Palm trees in Islamorada The Florida Keys is an archipelago of about 1700 islands in the southeast United States. ... Giant clam or Tridacna gigas. ... Giant clam or Tridacna gigas. ... Binomial name Tridacna gigas Linnaeus, 1758 The giant clam (Tridacna gigas) or traditionally, pa’ua, is the largest living bivalve mollusk. ... The Great Barrier Reef in Australia is the worlds largest coral reef system,[1][2] composed of roughly 3,000 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for 2,600 kilometres (1,616 mi) over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres (132,974 sq mi). ... The seabed (also sea floor, seafloor, or ocean floor) is the bottom of the ocean. ... This article or section contains information that has not been verified and thus might not be reliable. ... Freshwater angelfish Freshwater biology is a field of biology that studies the life and ecosystems of freshwater habitats. ... Lulworth Cove in Dorset, England (Great Britain) A fjord (Lysefjorden) in Norway River Gambia flowing through Niokolokoba National Park Port Jackson, Sydney, Australia A tide pool on Gabriola Island, British Columbia showing ochre sea stars A body of water is any significant accumulation of water such as an ocean, a...

Animals belonging to the benthos are sometimes referred to as zoobenthos, while plants are referred to as phytobenthos. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Benthic zone. ...

Benthos can be categorized according to size:

• macrobenthos, size > 1 mm
• meiobenthos, size < 1 mm and > 32 µm
• microbenthos, size < 32 µm

• epibenthos lives on top of the sediment
• hyperbenthos lives just above the sediment

Benthic organisms play an important role as a food source for fish and some also for humans. Introduction Meiofauna are small benthic invertebrates that live in both marine and fresh water environments. ... For other uses, see Fish (disambiguation). ... This article is about modern humans. ...

Examples of benthic organisms are sea stars, oysters, clams, sea cucumbers, brittle stars and sea anemones Orders Brisingida (100 species[1]) Forcipulatida (300 species[2]) Paxillosida (255 species[3]) Notomyotida (75 species[4]) Spinulosida (120 species[5]) Valvatida (695 species[6]) Velatida (200 species[7]) For other uses, see Starfish (disambiguation). ... Crassostrea gigas, Marennes-Oléron Crassostrea gigas, Marennes-Oléron Crassostrea gigas, Marennes-Oléron, opened The name oyster is used for a number of different groups of mollusks which grow for the most part in marine or brackish water. ... Littleneck clams; the pictured mollusks are of the species Mercenaria mercenaria. ... Orders Subclass Apodacea Apodida Molpadiida Subclass Aspidochirotacea Aspidochirotida Elasipodida Subclass Dendrochirotacea Dactylochirotida Dendrochirotida The sea cucumber is an echinoderm of the class Holothuroidea, with an elongated body and leathery skin, which is found on the sea floor worldwide. ... Orders ME Oegophiurida Ophiurida Phrynophiurida Brittle stars are echinoderms, closely related to starfish. ... Families Many, see text. ...