Top 10 STRANGEST DEEP SEA CREATURES Ever Discovered! - Fish Facts

10 STRANGEST DEEP SEA CREATURES Ever Discovered! - Fish Facts

Throughout history many strange and unusual creatures have been discovered on Earth, but perhaps none stranger than those found in the deep sea.

Because little to no light is able to penetrate the deep, some pretty weird creatures have grown and evolved down there. Because 95% percent of the underwater world remains unexplored, more and more strange creatures are being discovered, every day.

In this article, I gathered the weirdest living things from the depths, to share with you all. So, here they are,

the 10 strangest deep sea creatures ever discovered.

Number one : The Goblin Shark

The Goblin Shark

Well, this is a promising start. Goblin sharks inhabit deep continental slopes and submarine canyons, and are sometimes called a living fossil as it's believed to have a prehistoric lineage that dates back 125 million years. They generally grow to about four meters long and are known for their sword-like snout and highly extendable jaw.

Like other sharks, it has several rows of teeth, can sense animals with electrosensitive organs, and has a body that's skinny yet flabby. Skinny-fat, if you will. Because of its rarity and low incidence of capture, not much else is known about it, except that you're pretty much guaranteed to think about it
next time you're in open waters. Go ahead, have a little dive-aroonski, I'm sure it's perfectly safe!

Number two : The Ocean Sunfish

The Ocean Sunfish

The ocean sunfish, or Mola mola, can be found in tropical and temperate waters around the world, and is the largest known bony fish on Earth. These behemoths weigh in at an average of 1,000 kilograms, and are so large that they are invulnerable to most predators in the ocean, except for sharks and killer whales.

Not only are they monstrously huge, but their entire bodies are flattened laterally, kind of like a giant fish pancake. Their diet consists of large quantities of jellyfish, which they use to maintain their massive size.

Luckily, they're harmless to humans, which is a good thing because your entire body could easily fit inside it's mouth. "Death by fish pancake".

Number three : The Black Swallower

The Black Swallower

The black swallower can be found in tropical and subtropical waters, and has the ability to swallow fish larger than itself, a lot larger. It's a small fish, measuring only about 25 centimeters, but it has a greatly distensible stomach, allowing it to swallow prey twice its size and 10 times its mass.

It does this by seizing its prey by the tail and then slowly walking its teeth over it until it's fully coiled inside its stomach where it slowly digests it whole. There have even been cases where the prey swallowed was so large that decomposition set in before it could be digested.

This fish is like that one guy at the all-you-can eat buffet that just packs his gullet full cause he wants to get his money-worth.

Number four : The Giant Isopod

The Giant Isopod

The giant isopod is the largest known member of the isopod family and is supremely creepy. Located in the cold, deep waters of the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans, this horrific crustacean can reach up to 40 centimeters in length  and weigh up to one point seven kilograms.

They're very closely related to those little pill bugs that you find in your garden, and just like them,
can roll themselves into a tight ball where they're protected by their strong armor-plated shells.

It spends its time scavenging the ocean floor for food and is carnivorous, meaning that, yes, it eats meat.
Perhaps yours if you get close enough.

Number five : The Vampire Squid

The Vampire Squid

The vampire squid's Latin name literally translates to vampire squid from Hell, because, well, look at it.
Found in various tropical and temperate oceans around the world, it's evolved the largest eyes of any animal in proportion to it's size in order to capture as much light as possible while hunting in the deep.
It can reach up to 30 centimeters in length, has a mouth full of teeth-like spines and can even wrap itself inside out to use them for defense.

In addition, when threatened, it releases a bio-luminescent ink that dazzles and confuses predators, while it escapes. It can also emit a blueish light to help camouflage itself, kinda like a hellish nightlight.

I feel like it doesn't need that many defense mechanisms, I mean, what kind of fish is going to dick with this thing? If sharks have nightmares, this is it.

Number six : The Atolla Jellyfish

The Atolla Jellyfish

Some how, this list continues to get stranger. The Atolla jellyfish, or Coronate medusa, is a specie of
deep sea crown jellyfish that lives in oceans around the world. It's typically red and has 22 tentacles, including one long one that it uses to capture prey. They average about 20 centimeters in length and can reproduce sexually and asexually. Interestingly, when attacked it will launch a series of bright flashes that will actually attract larger predators in hopes that it will scare off the original predator, earning it the nickname of alarm jellyfish.

But wouldn't that then present it with a much larger problem, quite literally? Hmm, yeah, Mother Nature you didn't quite think that one through, did you?

Number seven : The Anglerfish

The Anglerfish

The anglerfish can be found in tropical and temperate oceans and is hideous in oh-so-many ways. It gets its name from its long modified dorsal spine which is tipped with a light-producing organ known as a photophore. It uses it to attract prey, like a fishing pole, by flashing a light at its tip and then snaps up its prey with its long fang-like teeth.

Females are much larger than males, 18 centimeters, compared to only three centimeters. But the strangest thing is how they reproduce : Males engage in what's called parasitic reproduction, by joining blood vessels with the female, spending the rest of their life joined to her like a parasite. Males will continue getting all of their nourishment from the female's body throughout their entire life and if they don't join with a female, well, they simply starve to death.

Evolution's a cruel mistress.

Number eight : The Viperfish

The Viperfish

One of the fiercest predators of the deep, the viperfish can be found in tropical and temperate waters, around the world. Its fangs are so large that they can't fit in its mouth which it uses to injure its prey,
by swimming at it at high speeds.

Similar to the anglerfish, it has photophores on strategic places on its body, including one on a long dorsal fin, that serves as a lure for its unsuspecting meals.

They vary in color between green, silver, and black, and sometimes don't have any pigment at all.
They grow to lengths of up to 60 centimeters and can live up to 40 years in the wild, yet rarely live more than a few hours in captivity, suggesting that this thing probably lives to terrorize the ocean.

Number nine : The Stonefish

The Stonefish

Stonefish can be found in the coastal regions of the Indian and Pacific oceans, Florida and the Caribbean
and are the most venomous fish in the world. The most striking thing about the stonefish is that it's perfectly camouflaged to look like a stone on the floor of a coral reef. It has 13 spines along its back that release venom that can kill humans within only a few hours, so don't step on it.

Interestingly, they're a popular dish across parts of Asia as their venom is harmless once it's heated. They're usually cooked with ginger, into a clear soup or sometimes are served raw as sushi or sashimi.
Yeah, well, I love sushi but I'm not about to eat Grumpy McVenomspine over here, look at him. He's just hoping you'll undercook him.

Number 10 : The Carpet Shark

The Carpet Shark

Carpet sharks also go by the weird name tasselled wobbegong and that's just the first weird thing about them. They inhabit the shallow corral reefs off nothern Australia and New Guinea, and despite looking like a throw rug are actually quite dangerous. Reaching up to one point eight meters long, it has rows and rows of jagged, sharp teeth which give it the ability to eat other fish whole, including other sharks.

Because it's so well camouflaged, it can easily lure prey by simply wagging its tail to simulate a tiny fish, and then it pounces. Luckily, they hunt in areas that are too deep for most humans, but if you're a deep sea diver you're running the risk of being eaten by a rug. And we'll make sure that's on your tombstone.

Of course there were a lot of runners-up for this list. Honorable mention, the colossal squid, super creepy. If you want to learn more about these, just Google strange deep sea creatures, there's a lot more out there.

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