(from the article `benthos`) the assemblage of organisms inhabiting the seafloor. Benthic epifauna live upon the seafloor or upon bottom objects; the so-called infauna live ... The division and lateral compression of the shell into two valves is clearly related to the adoption of a burrowing mode of life, which is achieved ... [2 rel...
Aquatic animals living within the matrix of bottom sediment. ... (09 Oct 1997) ... 
Aquatic animals that live in the substrate of a body of water, especially in a soft sea bottom.
infauna, infaunal 1. The total animal life within a sediment; endobenthos. 2. Those bottom-dwelling forms that burrow.
the aggregate of organisms that burrow into and live in the bottom deposits of the ocean.