Benthic, a term meaning bottom is the name of the ocean zone
ranging from the deepest parts of the ocean to the tidal affected areas. The most productive region of the benthic
zone is the area over the continental margin, which is unaffected by the 
tides. Many groups and
varieties of animals live here, a few are worms, sea pens, crustaceans, stars, and protozoa.
The life in this zone is mostly made up of bottom dwellers which get
most of their food from dead and decaying organisms. Therefore most of the organisms in the
benthic zone are scavengers because they depend on dead flesh as their main
food source.