benthic

Also benthal,

[ben-thik]

adjective

1. of or relating to a benthos.

2. of or relating to a benthon.

benthic

1. Relating to the bottom of a sea or lake or to the organisms that live there.

Word History and Origins

Origin of benthic¹

benth(os) + -ic

Example Sentences

The researchers looked at carbon and oxygen isotopes in multiple species of planktonic and benthic foraminifera.

From Science Daily

Instead, anglerfish achieved high levels of phenotypic disparity, greater than their benthic relatives in both shallow and deep waters.

From Science Daily

Most living shark species are still bottom dwellers, occupying what scientists refer to as the benthic zone.

From Science Daily

“Urchins are critical components of benthic ecosystems, and there are pretty tight tipping points: We don’t want too many or too few,” Harvell says.

From Science Magazine

Their analyses show that the rapid transition of ancestrally bottom-dwelling, or benthic, anglerfishes into open-ocean, or pelagic, habitats occurred during a period of major global warming 50 to 35 million years ago.

From Science Daily