In the deep sea, everything starves. Space is depthless and barren here, life scarce, and meals few and far between. The water averages 40 degrees Fahrenheit, slowing metabolisms to a trickle and ensuring animals hold on to their fat as long as they can. The large creatures go weeks, even months, without eating in their aimless foraging. Giant isopods, lavender pill bugs the size of casserole dishes, can survive for two months between meals. The apple-sized white snail Neptunea amianta can last for three months. These stretches, not as grand as the purple octopus’s, are a way of life.
