The sea contains untold numbers of strange and bizarre creatures. It is said that we know more about our own solar system than we know about our oceans.
Indeed, some creatures of the sea can seem more alien than anything you can imagine.
But even worse, some of them can seem more frightening than your worst nightmare.
Below we have collected pictures of 24 CREATURES FROM THE DEEP!
Chimaeras are cartilaginous fish related to the sharks and rays, and are sometimes called ghost sharks or rabbitfishes. For defense, most chimaeras have a venomous spine located in front of the dorsal fin.
This strange cartilaginous fish uses its long snout to scan over the sea floor for the electrical impulses of its prey that bury in the muddy sea floor, just like a metal detector. Like other chimaeras (such as ghost and elephant sharks), these animals lay horny egg cases in which their young are left to develop, potentially for up to one year.
A Viperfish is a deepwater fish with long, needle-like teeth and hinged lower jaws.
The pelican eel.
A squid found in a pelican eel’s stomach.
The Dana Octopus Squid.
They emit blinding flashes of light as it attacks prey. It is believed that this highly maneuverable squid uses bright flashes to disorientate potential prey. These flashes may also serve to illuminate the prey to make for easier capture as well as a courtship and territorial display.
The Colossal Squid, sometimes called the Antarctic or Giant Cranch Squid, is believed to be the largest squid species.
The ocean sunfish or common mola is the heaviest bony fish in the world, with an average weight of 1000 kilograms.
The stargazers have eyes on top of their heads (thus the name). They are venomous; they have two large poison spines situated behind the opercle and above the pectoral fins. They can also cause electric shocks.
Typified by large heads with large mouths and eyes, grenadiers (rattails) have slender bodies that taper greatly to a very thin caudal peduncle or tail.
This large species has a rounded head and a mouth which faces forward to catch squid and fish that swim up off the seafloor. As in most other rattails, the males of this species have a special drum machine on their swim bladder that is used to attract females. They have to be careful though, as other fish like morid cods have hydrophones on their swim bladders to hunt down the sources of such noises.
Oarfish are large, greatly elongated, pelagic Lampriform fish.
The megamouth shark is an extremely rare and unusual species of deepwater shark. Discovered in 1976, only a few have ever been seen, with 39 specimens known to have been caught or sighted as of 2007 and three recordings on film.
Fangtooths, also known as ogrefishes, are deep-sea, ferocious-looking beryciform fish.
Sea robins are bottom-feeding scorpaeniform fishes.
The Firefly squid.
The aptly-named Handfish.
Coffin fish are flabby bottom-dwelling fishes that occur in deep waters around the world. They can walk along the sea floor on short leg-like fins. These fish often come up in the nets swollen into a ball. Like the pufferfishes, they can swallow large amounts of water to inflate themselves, presumably making it harder for predators to bite into them.
A dragonfish.
The blue-ringed octopus is the size of a golf ball, but its venom is powerful enough to kill humans. There is no known antidote.
Blobfish are found at depths where the pressure is several dozens of times higher than at sea level, which would likely make gas bladders inefficient. To remain buoyant, the flesh of the blobfish is primarily a gelatinous mass with a density slightly less than water; this allows the fish to float above the sea floor without expending energy on swimming. The relative lack of muscle is not a disadvantage as it primarily swallows edible matter that floats by in front it.
The sea cucumber.
The lizardfish.
And I have no idea what these things are. Does anyone know?
