*bathybius*

‖n. [ NL., fr. Gr. baqy`s deep + bi`os life ] (Zool.) A name given by Prof. Huxley to a gelatinous substance found in mud dredged from the Atlantic and preserved in alcohol. He supposed that it was free living protoplasm, covering a large part of the ocean bed. It is now known that the substance is of chemical, not of organic, origin. [ 1913 Webster ]