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The horrifying depths of the ocean remains vastly unexplored.
It seems the deeper down we submerge, the scarier and more horrifying the creatures
that live therein are.
From the giant squid, once thought to be nothing more than a myth, to bone eating worms, we
bring you our picks for the top 10 creepiest sea creatures you didn't know existed!
10.
Sarcastic Fringehead The sarcastic fringehead is just too cool
to not mention, and ok, sure it doesn't necessarily live in the deepest, darkest, coldest depths
of the ocean, but it's still down there a little, living 10 feet or 3 meters to 240
feet or 73 meters below sea level, outside the breaker zone, along the many open coastlines.
This fish usually grows to be less than 10 inches or 25 centimeters long, but have been
documented to reach 12 inches or 30 centimeters in length.
They are fearless and extremely aggressive fish; rushing towards anything that dare approach
their burrows.
Their body is elongated, slender and relatively compressed and have a long dorsal fin which
extends from the back of the head to almost the caudal fin.
Sarcastic fringeheads have large, rounded heads, with a huge jaw that can extend past
the eye, lined with numerous needle-like teeth.
9.
Frilled Shark Known as a "living fossil", the frilled shark
is such a unique, rare and unusual creature, that the two known species; the Frilled Shark
and the Southern African Frilled Shark, are placed in their own order.
The frilled shark usually lives in the deep marine areas of Japan, 200 to 4200 feet or
60 to 1280 meters in depth, but are also known to be throughout the Eastern Pacific, Eastern
Atlantic and Indian Oceans as well, and the more newly discovered species, the Southern
African Frilled Shark is found in the waters around Africa.
Unlike most sharks, the frilled shark has an eel-like, long, thin body, six gills covered
by frill-like skin flaps in which it derives its name, and typically grows to roughly 6.5
feet or 2 meters in length.
8.
Giant Squid These monster squids, believed once to be
nothing more than creatures of myth, survive in the icy, cold depths of 1,650 feet or 500
meters to 3,300 feet or 1,000 meters.
Though big, stories about their actual size have been so far, largely exaggerated; with
claims saying they get to 66 feet or 20 meters in length, though never documented; the largest
on record measures out to 43 feet or 13 meters in length.
Some researchers believe there are multiple species of giant squid, possibly up to 8 different
species, other researchers however, think there is just one.
Giant squids are thought to live worldwide, basing upon the shores they have washed up
on; commonly being the shores of New Zealand and Pacific Islands and have also made frequent
appearances throughout the eastern and western sides of the Northern Atlantic Ocean, and
along the southern coast of Africa.
7.
Oarfish The incredibly long, slender and strange-looking
oarfish is the largest known bony fish in the seas; getting as long as about 36 feet
or 11 meters and weigh up to 600 pounds or 270 kilograms.
Rarely, the oarfish has been known to swim up to shore, but they prefer the depths of
roughly 3000 feet or 914 meters.
A more modern day belief is that the Argus was the basis for the ancient myths about
the great and powerful sea serpents, but as fearsome as their mythological brethren may
have been, the simple truth of the matter is they posses no visible teeth, and live
primarily off of plankton.
The species is rarely observed by humans, encounters so uncommon, it is usually only
when they are washed up on shore that we get to see living samples of the creatures.
In fact, they so rarely come up to the ocean surface, it wasn't until 2001 when a live
oarfish would finally be captured on film, recorded by the US Navy.
6.
Barreleye Boasting a highly unique and transparent head,
the Pacific barreleye fish has a developed, and highly sensitive pair of barrel-like-eyes,
topped by green, spherical lenses, from which it derives its name.
The first barreleye to be discovered alive was found in the depths of California's central
coast, between 2,000 feet or 600 meters and 2,600 feet or 800 meters in depth, wherein
it makes its home.
Growing to lengths of 1.5 feet or half a meter, barreleye possess small mouths, and we've
observed they are very precise while striking at their small prey, usually that of smaller
fish, like plankton and jellyfish.
The barreleye seemingly tend to just float stationary in place, maintaining a near motionless
manner by utilizing their large, flat fins.
When it does spot food, however, it rotates its eyes towards the object, to include its
mouth in its field of view.
The first barreleye specimen, to have its soft and transparent head intact, was found
by the Monteray Bay Aquarium Research Institute in 2009.
5.
Chimaera First found around the 4200-foot or 1280-meter
depth, the fish known as the Chimaera looks as if it's stitched together from random parts
of other fish, and contains no bones in its body; having a skeletal structure made of
hardened cartilage.
Accustomed to lurking in the cold dark depths of the ocean, it utilizes its sensory organs
on either side of its head to detect electrical fields in the water to locate its prey.
Considered to be one of the oldest species of fish, most chimaera have mildly venomous
spines along their backs and are often called by other names like ratfish, rabbitfish and
ghost sharks, though they are no sharks themselves.
Their origin branched off from the shark, its closest relative, some 400 million years
ago and have mostly gone unchanged since their sharing of the Earth with the dinosaurs.
4.
Zombie Worms (Osedax) Ok, so they don't really crave brains, and
they can't come back to life; the Osedax, better known as the "Zombie Worm", gets its
nickname due to the way they seek out bones to devour and feast upon.
Growing to average lengths of 1 to 3 inches or 2 to 7 centimeters, they were first discovered
around 10,000 feet or 3,000 meters below the ocean's surface, feasting upon the decaying
bones of a gray whale.
They do this by secreting an acid from their skin, dissolving the bone which exposes the
protein and fat found within.
However, the Osedax has no mouth or stomach of their own, so they utilize symbiotic bacteria
that live inside the worm.
The bacteria digest the protein and fat and distribute it to the worm host in a currently
unknown manner.
3.
Giant Isopod Though it looks like something from an alien
planet, the giant isopod comes from the ocean depths, found some 550 to 7020 feet or roughly
170 to 2140 meters down and grows to average lengths of 12 to 16 inches or 30 to 40 centimeters,
making it the largest of the isopod family.
Being a carnivorous creature, the giant isopod scuttles across the deep sea floor where light
is scarce, scavenging for any food it may find as it feels around through the use of
its large antennae, eating anything from the decaying bodies of other marine life, to any
slow moving creatures, such as sea cucumbers and sponges.
2.
Tardigrades With about 800 different species known to
exist worldwide, tardigrades, also known as the "water bear", is a micro-animal and live
all over the world, in any sort of extreme condition.
These little guys are just pure awesome; they can breathe in anything and anywhere, including
the vacuum of space to 600 times that of normal atmospheric pressure, they can survive in
both extremely low temperatures and immense desiccation or severe dryness, being exposed
to extreme temperatures of -272° C or -458° F, rooms filled with helium gas, and suspended
in liquid air at -190° C or -310° F for 21 months and after all of this, emerged alive.
When the little guys finally decide to kick the bucket and die off... their body encases
itself in a glass like substance.
I mean, come on, that's just cool.
1.
Bobbit Worm Looking like a Sarlacc pit from hell; one
with powerful, retracting, barbed jaws that we think even Boba Fett couldn't escape; the
bobbit worm grows up to an astounding 10 feet or about 3 meters in length and intertwines
itself into the loose soils of the ocean floor, around 30 to 150 feet or 10 to 45 meters or
so in depth, where it lies in wait for prey to swim or crawl by.
They are typically found in the warm ocean waters, such as those that surround the Indo-Pacific
region.
If you happen to see one and want to touch it... don't.
No.. just..
No!
The Bobbit worm is covered in many bristles, all of which will cause permanent nerve damage.
The amazing speed, combined with sharp teeth, makes this worm a superior predator, and it
is not uncommon for them to slice fish in half with a single strike, and can even chew
through coral reef.
To us, it looks like something out of a nightmare... and we're pretty sure you'll agree.