• From giant-mouthed sharks to glow-in-the-dark octopus, we count 15 deep sea creatures both
fascinating and often times terrifying found thousands of metres below the ocean surface
15 - Fangtooth (or Ogrefish), • Although these ones are too small to harm
humans, they have a nightmarish face you'll find commonly developed in the deep sea
• Their teeth are known to be the largest of any sea creature, so big in fact that a
Fangtooth can never close their mouths fully • They're also one of the deepest-living
fish, found as far as 5,000 metres below the surface of the ocean
14 - Stargazer, • These are fish that have evolved a head
tilted forever upwards, and this is because they're trapdoor predators - they bury themselves
in sand and shoot upwards to ambush prey that pass overhead
• Some species of Stargazer even have a little worm-shaped lure growing out of their
mouths to attract prey before they strike • Likewise, the Stargazer is also deadly
poisonous and have been known to cause electric shocks from time to time
13 - Giant Isopods, • This is like a giant woodlouse, one that
only appears in the deep ocean as a result of deep-sea gigantism and even curl into a
rigid ball when threatened • They're mostly carnivorous feeding on
dead whales, fish and squid, but they also hunt slow-moving prey like sea cucumbers,
sponges, nematodes and some fish • You'll mostly find them off the coast
of Australia, but they've also been sighted in Mexico and India
12 - Terrible Claw Lobster, • The scientific name for this one is Dinochelus
ausubeli, named for its "terrible or fearful" pale-red claws
• This is a relatively new species of blind lobster, one of only four discovered between
two similar species - both in Australia • The first lobster was found during the
Aurora mission is 2007 led by the U.S and French natural history museums
11 - Dragonfish, • This tiny 6-inch sea creature is, as evident
purely from its appearance, a deadly predator • It has a large head and rows of jagged
teeth lit by its long barbel attached to the chin, one with a light-producing organ known
as a photophore • It flicks the light on this organ on and
off to attract unwitting prey, then strikes • You'll find these 5000 feet below the
shoes of small children 10 - Pacific Hatchetfish,
• You'll find these in tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian
Oceans, and over the years they've evolved a peculiar body "hatchet" shape with bioluminescent
photophores used to escape predators lurking in the depths by matching what light there
is for camouflage • Unlike their appearance, they're perfectly
harmless and only coming in at 5 inches in size - but they're just another example of
deep sea aesthetic craziness 9 - Dumbo Octopus,
• This was first discovered in 1999, the deepest-living octopus species seen so far
coming in at 7,000 metres below the surface of the ocean
• This one hovers down under tremendous pressure of water, no sunlight, siphoning
up snails, crustaceans and the like to feed • The dumbo name clearly comes from its
appearance, one crazy to imagine it can maintain that far below an ocean
8 - Megamouth Shark, • These are an extremely rare species of
shark, in fact only 58 specimens have been found in the entire world to date
• They have an enormous jaw used for scooping up plankton and jellyfish
• These things can grow up to 5.5 metres in length and the average size of their mouth
alone is 1.3 meters - seriously not something you want to get swallowed by
7 - Pacific Blackdragons, • These ones are peculiar, 60cms long with
fang teeth and a long whisker attached to their chin
• They don't have any teeth, no chin barbel and no stomach to process food
• But curiously, males survive only long enough to mate - it's up to the females to
hunt other fish and crustaceans in the role of a predator
6 - Basking Shark, • Another big-mouthed ocean shark, another
passive feeder filtering zoo plankton, small fish and invertebrates from up to 2,000 tons
of water per hour • These are often mistaken for plesiosaurs
the long-necked reptile from the age of the dinosaurs, and these are harmless to humans
• However, humans are VERY harmful to the Basking Shark - they're generally hunted for
food and hide leather, but rapidly declining numbers have seen this shark close to extinction
5 - Red Octopus, • You'll find these in the deep Atlantic
waters off the U.S Coast, with eight arms connected by a colourful webbing used to swim
• It has rows of bioluminescent suckers down its arms that glow in the dark - widely
believed to attract planktonic prey and insects to the light
• Although we've known about these for a hundred years, it was only recently we discovered
they glow 4 - Gulper Eel
• This has a mouth loosely hinged to its jaw, like a pelican - but just as with a snake,
it can open it to swallow prey much larger than itself
• Not to mention it can stretch its stomach too, which comes in handy when it appears
to swallow your entire family while they sleep • It grows to a total length of two to six
feet and found all over the world 3-6000 feet below the ocean surface
3 - Blobfish • Crazy, ridiculous-looking fish from deep
beneath the ocean - one that looks very much different when in its natural environment
• But because it needs to adapt to all that pressure, it has weak muscle tissue and when
exposed to our environment it turns into this crazy mess
• It lives off the coast of Australia and New Zealand, and having gelatinous skin means
it can swim without exerting energy 2 - Squat Lobster
• Found at a depth of 4 and a half thousand feet, it looks somewhat like a headcrab but
with large frontal claws and compressed bodies • They have a large skill-set comprising
detritus-feeders, algal grazers, scavengers and predators - adapting to their environment
• We don't know much else about this one, it's still a mystery
1 - Colossal Squid • Something from a nightmare, folk tales
from those lost sea - but it's very much real • They grow in lengths beyond 14 metres,
the size of a long bus, and they've been known to attack those giant sperm whales and feed
on fish and squid • In 2007, a specimen was found in the Ross
Sea, and is now on display at New Zealand