Brainy Dose Presents Top 10 Creepy Deep Sea Creatures
About seventy percent
of our planet is covered by water. There
are all kinds of strange and creepy
species that inhabit our oceans. Many
strange things live there, including
these creepy sea creatures on our list.
Number One - Anglerfish
The Anglerfish is named after its characteristic mode of
hunting prey. The long filaments
sprouting from the center of the fish's
head is called Escott or Elysium, and
some of the deep sea anglers can even
emit light from it. It is movable in all
directions and it can be wiggled to
resemble a prey animal to other
predators. The Anglerfish's jaws are
triggered automatically by contacts in
its tentacles. Once predators come close
enough, the Anglerfish can devour them
whole. This creepy fish is also able to
stretch its jaws and stomach big enough to
swallow prey up to twice the size of its entire body.
Number Two - Blobfish
Found off the coast of mainland Australia,
Tasmania and New Zealand, the Blobfish
lives at depths between 2,000 and 3,900
feet, where the pressure is 60 to 100
times higher than at sea level.
Some say that this is the ugliest
creature in the sea, yet aside from
possessing a face that only a mother
could love, the Blobfish's distinctive
appearance is the key to its survival.
This fish has no muscles, instead it's
made up of a gelatinous substance,
slightly less dense than water.
This allows the Blobfish to hover over
the sea floor without expending energy.
Number Three - Giant Isopod
This creepy sea creature looks like a giant
underwater bug, but it belongs to the
crustacean family. It has seven pairs of
legs, four sets of jaws, and large fixed
eyes.
The antennas located on the front of
its head are used to sense the
environment, while the thick segmented
shell acts as a protective shield. The
Giant Isopod curls into a ball when
threatened. The Giant Isopods is also
known for always being in a state of
semi hibernation.
This allows it to limit its energy
expenditure and this contributes to the
Isopods gigantic size and long life span.
It can live up to 25 years.
Number Four - Goblin Shark
The long snout, pink color
and retractable jaws distinguish the
Goblin Shark from any other shark
species. It lives at depths of 1,000 to
4,300 feet in the ocean. The Goblin
Shark has 26 teeth on its top jaw and 24
on the bottom. The long flattened snout
above the jaw is covered with
electroreceptors used for hunting.
Because of its flabby body shape, the
Goblin Shark is not a fast swimmer. It
lazily feeds on bottom-dwelling fish.
When prey comes its way, the Goblin Shark
shoots its jaw forward and snatches up its victim.
Number Five - Pelican Eel
The Pelican Eel is found at depths between
1600 to 9600 feet in tropical and
temperate seas.
It's a ray-finned fish and only resembles
an eel in appearance.
It's black but some subspecies may have
a thin lateral white stripe.
The Pelican Eel has a long thin body and a large
head with huge jaws that have many rows
of tiny teeth. It gets its name from the
incredible extent to which its jaws can
open. But due to its strange body shape,
the Pelican Eel is a bad swimmer and it
cannot hunt for fish like other
predators do. It relies on its 'tail light'
to attract prey, which has a
bioluminescent organ at the end of it.
Once its prey has been lured, the Pelican
Eel opens its mouth wide and uses it
as a net to make the catch.
Number Six - Red-Lipped Batfish
Red lips can be attractive, but not when it comes
to the Red-lipped Batfish. This creepy
sea creature lives in tropical climates
about 10 to 250 feet deep in the ocean
and those red pouty lips on its dark
face paired with those bulging eyes make
the Batfish anything but attractive.
However, scientists believe that the red
lips help the males show off for the
females during mating season, and just
like the Anglerfish, the Batfish also
lures in its prey by using the
appendage on its nose that acts just
like a fishing rod.
It also has unique pectoral and pelvic
fins that it uses to walk across the ocean floor.
No... this creepy fish doesn't swim, it walks!
Number Seven - Basking Shark
The basking shark is known to be the second
largest species of sharks and it's found
all over the world. This creepy giant is
very recognizable by its tremendously
large mouth. In fact, the mouth of the
Basking Shark can be well over three feet
wide and it has several rows of tiny teeth.
In order to eat, The Basking Shark keeps
its mouth open while it swims and sifts
the plankton from the water.
Number Eight - Snakehead Fish
Native to China, Russia,
and Korea, the Snakehead Fish managed to
find its way to the United States. This
bizarre fish has the ability to survive
in and out of water for long periods of
time. Upon inhabiting a pond or a lake,
the Snakehead Fish will eat pretty much
anything, from plankton, insects carp to
mollusks. Once these food sources get
depleted, it simply jumps out and travels
to other nearby bodies of water.
Shamelessly eating up whatever comes its
way. Including frogs, mice, rats, and even small birds.
Number Nine - Vampire Squid
While the Vampire Squid possesses a fearsome
appearance, this vampire does not suck blood.
The name comes from it's intensely
creepy red eyes and cloak-like webbing
between its arms.
It also has two extra filaments that can
retract and fins on its mantels that
stick out like ears. And unlike other
squid, the Vampire Squid uses Fin
Propulsion over Jet Propulsion.
It doesn't having ink sacs, and doesn't change color.
When threatened, it shoots out
light orbs instead of black ink, dazing potential predators.
Number Ten - Viperfish
This creepy sea-dweller is one of
the fiercest ocean predators. It inhabits
the sea at depths of 1,500 to 9,000 feet.
The large eyes and even larger mouth,
take up most of the Viperfish's head. It
has sharp glass like teeth, some of which
are so long they have to curve backward
in order for the Viper Fish to close its
mouth. The long dorsal spine of this
fearsome looking creature is tipped with
a light producing organ, which is used
to lure prey. While remaining motionless,
the Viperfish turns those lights on and
off and then snags its prey with one
powerful bite. The Viperfish also has a
hinged skull which it can rotate up to
swallow bigger prey, while its stomach
can expand up to twice it's normal size
allowing it to eat a lot more food when available.
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