demersal

adjective

1. That lives near the bottom of a body of water.

   Unlike the more demersal (bottom-dwelling) cod, pollock will pursue schools of small fishes at any depth, occasionally driving them to the surface of the water where frantic splashing can be seen as the prey attempt to escape.

2. Taking place near the bottom of a body of water.

   demersal fishing [ = groundfishing⁠]

Where it comes from

From Latin demersus, past participle of dēmergō (“to sink”); compare demersed.

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry demersal (CC BY-SA 4.0).

← deluginousdemerse →

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