The most unusual inhabitants of the deep sea. Unusual inhabitants of the deep sea

The ocean is a boundless expanse of trillions of liters of salt water. Thousands of species of living beings have found refuge here. Some of them are thermophilic and live at shallow depths so as not to miss the rays of the sun. Others are accustomed to the cold waters of the Arctic and try to avoid warm currents. There are even those who live at the bottom of the ocean, adapting to the conditions of the harsh world.

The last representatives are the greatest mystery for scientists. After all, just recently they could not even think that someone could survive in such extreme conditions. Moreover, evolution has awarded these living organisms with a number of unprecedented features.

Beneath the oceans

For a long time there was a theory that there is no life at the bottom of the ocean. The reason for this is the low water temperature, as well as high pressure, capable of compressing a submarine like a soda can. And yet, some creatures were able to withstand these circumstances and confidently settled at the very edge of a bottomless abyss.

So who lives at the bottom of the ocean? First of all, these are bacteria, traces of which were found at a depth of more than 5 thousand meters. But if microscopic creatures are unlikely to surprise ordinary person, That giant clams and the monster fish deserve due attention.

How did you find out about those who live at the bottom of the ocean?

With the development of submarines, diving to a depth of two kilometers became possible. This allowed scientists to look into a world hitherto unprecedented and amazing. Each dive provided an opportunity to discover yet another and see more and more new species.

And the rapid development of digital technology has made it possible to create ultra-durable cameras that can shoot underwater. Thanks to this, the world saw photographs depicting animals living at the bottom of the ocean.

And every year scientists go deeper and deeper in the hope of new discoveries. And they are happening - many amazing insights have been made over the past decade. In addition, hundreds, or even thousands of photographs depicting the inhabitants of depths of the sea.

Creatures living at the bottom of the ocean

Well, it's time to go on a little journey into the mysterious depths. Having passed the threshold of 200 meters, it is difficult to distinguish even small silhouettes, and after 500 meters pitch darkness sets in. From this moment the possessions of those who are indifferent to light and warmth begin.

It is at this depth that you can find a polychaete worm, which drifts from place to place in search of profit. In the light of the lamps it shimmers with all the colors of the rainbow, the word is made of silver plates. There is a row of tentacles on its head, thanks to which it orients itself in space and senses the approach of prey.

But the worm itself is food for another inhabitant underwater world - angelfish. This amazing creature belongs to the class gastropods and is a predator. It gets its name from the two large fins that wrap around its sides like wings.

If you go even deeper, you can stumble upon the queen of jellyfish. Hairy Cyanea, or Lion's Mane- the largest representative of its species. Large specimens their diameter reaches 2 meters, and their tentacles can stretch almost 20 meters.

Who else lives at the bottom of the ocean? This is a squat lobster. According to scientists, it can adapt to life even at a depth of 5 thousand meters. Thanks to its flattened body, it can easily withstand pressure, and its long legs allow it to move along the muddy ocean floor without any problems.

Deep-sea fish representatives

Over hundreds of thousands of years of evolution, fish living on the ocean floor have been able to adapt to existence without sun rays. Moreover, some of them have even learned to produce their own light.

So, at around 1 thousand meters there lives a monkfish. There is a process on its head that emits a slight glow that attracts other fish. Because of this, it is also called the “European anglerfish”. At the same time, it can change its color, thereby merging with the environment.

Another representative of deep-sea creatures is the blob fish. Her body resembles jelly, which allows her to transfer pressure to great depth. It feeds exclusively on plankton, which makes it harmless to its neighbors.

At the bottom of the oceans lives a stargazer fish, the second name is the celestial eye. The reason for this pun was that the eyes are always directed upward, as if looking out for the stars. Her body is covered with poisonous spines, and near her head there are tentacles that can paralyze the victim.

Incredible facts

Perhaps we should stop looking for aliens on other planets, since there are enough people living in the ocean amazing and strange shapes life, more like aliens.

4. Goblin Shark

The goblin shark is rarely seen on the surface as it primarily lives at depths from 270 to 1300 meters.

It is easily recognized by its elongated and flattened muzzle with retractable jaws with teeth sharp as fingernails. These sharks reach 3-4 meters in length, but can grow more than 6 meters.

5. Sea Spider

If you thought there were no spiders in the ocean, you were very mistaken. However, sea spiders have no relation to terrestrial spiders, despite their external similarity. These are not spiders or even arachnids, but chelicerates - a subtype arthropods.

They live in the seas, especially in the Mediterranean and Caribbean, as well as in the Arctic and Southern oceans. There is more 1300 species of sea spiders, ranging in size from 1-10 mm to 90 cm.

6. Pompeii worm

Pompeian worms ( Alvinella pompejana) live in very hot water near hydrothermal vents of the Pacific Ocean and can withstand extreme temperature and pressure.

7. Drop fish

Drop fish ( Psychrolutes marcidus) although it is considered the most ugly creature in the world, looks like a completely normal fish, being in its normal environment at a depth of 600-1200 meters.

At this depth, the pressure is 120 times higher than at the surface. Unlike other fish, it does not have swim bladder, skeleton or muscles, which allows it to swim at depth. If you raise it to the surface, it acquires saggy and sad looking.

Sea creatures

8. Bobbit's polychaete worm

Purple Australian polychaete worm, also known as the Bobbitt worm, can grow up to 3 meters long.

He hunts his prey in the most diabolical way, burrowing into sea ​​bottom, leaving a small part of its body on the surface and waiting for the victim. Using its antennae, the worm senses passing prey, quickly captures it with its strong muscular throat, and splits a fish in two.

9. Jellyfish "flower cap"

These jellyfish, with beautiful multi-colored tentacles emanating from a translucent umbrella, feed small fish, and sometimes with each other.

They can increase or decrease in size depending on food supplies.

10. Rag-picking seahorse

These slow-moving fish are related to seahorses. They rely mainly on their appendages, which resemble seaweed, thanks to which rag pickers camouflage and protect themselves from predators.

11. Siphonophores

Siphonophores are animal colonies, consisting of individual representatives called zooids, connected common trunk. Such a colony can reach several meters in length.

12. Corona jellyfish

This atoll jellyfish or crown jellyfish is very similar to a UFO, because, like most jellyfish, it does not have a digestive, respiratory, circulatory or central nervous system.

She lives in the deep 1000 - 4000 meters where sunlight does not penetrate. Being scared, this jellyfish "connects" bioluminescent blue lights, which spin like flashing lights on a police car.

13. Pike blenny

These fish usually hide inside shells on the seabed. These are small (up to 30 cm), but fierce fish with big mouth And aggressive behavior.

When two pikes blennies fighting for territory, they press their widened mouths against each other as if in a kiss. This helps them determine who is bigger.

14. Glass squid

There is about 60 types of glass squid or crachniid. Most of them, as the name suggests, are transparent, which helps them camouflage.

15. Pteropods

Pteropods are small sea ​​snails which swim in the water on two wing-shaped legs. They are born males, but become females when they reach a large size.

16. Sea cucumber

These floating deep sea cucumbers are transparent, so you can see their digestive system.

Deep sea inhabitants

17. Squid Worm

Scientists first discovered this deep sea creature in 2007. It was nicknamed the squid worm because of its 10 tentacle-like appendages on the head, each of which is longer than the entire body. He uses them to collect food.

18. Lobster's menacing claws

This type of lobster Dinochelus ausubeli, which means "formidable claws", was discovered at depth 300 meters in the Philippines in 2007. It reaches a length of only 3 cm, and its toothy claws are its only frightening feature.

19. Sea anemone Venus flytrap

This sea anemone Actinoscyphia aurelia, was named after Venus flytrap plants due to their similar shape and feeding method. She folds her disk in half, trapping food and digesting it with her mouth located in the center of the disk.

1. Angler / Fish Angler / Monkfish / European anglerfish/ Angler Fish

This deep-sea monster can easily become the nightmare of any diver and is rightfully considered the ugliest fish on planet Earth.

As if ashamed of their ugliness, anglerfish live in the depths of the sea, where the sun's rays do not penetrate.

There are 200 species of anglerfish, which are widespread in the cold waters of the Atlantic and Antarctic oceans. The depths at which these creatures live are truly amazing: in 2006, a female monkfish was discovered in Mediterranean Ocean at a depth of 1.86 km.

Fishing fish spend most of their lives at the very bottom, where they bury themselves in silt or sand.

Due to their deep-sea habitat, the skin of these fish is dark gray or dark brown, which would make them inconspicuous if not for the huge flat head studded with spines and a giant mouth opening. The roof of the mouth and jaws have several rows of razor-sharp, inward-curved teeth.

Some angler fish can reach 2 meters in length and weigh up to 28 kilograms.

On the head of females there is a small process with a fleshy bilobed appendage (rod), which behaves like a float and great depths begins to fluoresce, which is why this little fish got this unusual name. The rod, as a rule, is 4 times longer than the fish itself, and the fleshy appendage, filled with mucus, in which bacteria that emit light live, is located directly in front of the predator’s mouth. The angler fish's mouth is truly gigantic compared to the rest of its body, and combined with its soft, elastic body, this 'baby' fish can wholeheartedly swallow prey that is twice its size.

That. It turns out that this monster, if desired, can easily swallow an adult!

A female fishing fish can harbor up to 10 partners on her body throughout her life, but most often their number is limited to 5-6.

To better imagine how this process happens, look at this short comic:

Spawning takes place at great depths, but the eggs are lighter than water and float to its surface. Here they hatch into larvae, which begin to feed intensively, grow quickly and gradually drown until they return to their homeland - the seabed.

The monkfish is extremely aggressive and any person swimming too close to it will be immediately attacked. The bites of this fish are very deep and painful, so do not approach this monster under any circumstances.

In Italy, the meat of this monster is eaten.

2. Viperfish / Sea viper / Deep sea viper / Viperfish

An indigenous inhabitant of the mesopelagic, the deep-sea viper can be found in tropical and temperate regions of the World Ocean at depths from 80 to 1600 meters.

The viper fish belongs to the Chauliodontidae family, all members of which are excellent freaks and bloodthirsty predators.

Individuals living closer to the surface are pitch black, and their deeper-sea counterparts are completely transparent, as are most inhabitants of the depths, where the sun's rays do not penetrate.
Viper fish lure prey using a special luminous organ - a photophore, which is located along their dorsal fin.
This fish has simply gigantic eyes, in comparison with the size of its body, thanks to which it can see well even in the pitch darkness of the sea depths. The mouth is armed with huge sharp teeth protruding several centimeters from the mouth.

As a rule, the prey of the deep-sea viper are fish that are two or even three times larger than themselves. The predator, with lightning speed, grabs the victim's muzzle with a death grip with its teeth-sabers, and waits until the fish, struggling in agony, is exhausted, after which, grabbing it with its teeth, it begins to literally put itself on it until it swallows it whole.

After a hearty meal deep sea viper looks like an inflated balloon bristling with sharp teeth.
The fish is stupid and aggressive to the point of disgrace. Oceanographer Stanley Dzhimnirski said that in 2006, while diving in the waters of the Pacific Ocean, he witnessed how a viper fish attacked a humpback whale, but due to its modest size, it could not defeat the gigantic mammal, which simply - simply ignored all the attacks of the brainless fish.

3. Alepisaurus / Alepisaurus

The large, toothy creatures, which carry the legacy of prehistoric times into the present day, can reach a length of two meters and weigh more than 8 kg.

The fish is extremely smart and is caught in fishing nets very rarely, and, according to fishermen, it is simply impossible to catch an alepisaurus with a hook.

Lives mainly in open ocean waters.

This species was first described in 1741 by one of the participants in the Second Kamchatka Expedition, Georg Wilhelm Steller, who discovered a sea monster washed up on the shore of one of the Aleutian islands.

4. Saberfish / Saberfish / Fangtooths

The saberfish or horned fish is another monster that lives in ocean depths Oh.

Despite its formidable appearance, this fish has truly miniature sizes, reaching a length of only 15.24 cm.

The sabertooth has a short body, a large head and a huge mouth, with powerful jaws lined with sharp fangs.
Sabertooth fry are strikingly different from adult individuals - they have a lighter color, a different body structure and a head crowned with long spines. Adults range in color from jet black to dark brown.

Sabertooth fish is one of the most deep sea fish in our world, which feels comfortable at depths of over 4,875 meters, where they are subject to pressure of over 425 atm.

These tiny predators attack anything that moves and are capable of swallowing whole prey that is two to three times their size. Some scientists suggest that the extreme aggressiveness of saber-tooths is a hereditary reflex developed as a result of extreme food shortages at such depths.

Sabertooth fish live in temperate and tropical oceanic regions, including waters off the coast of Australia.






5. Dragonfish / Sea dragon / Grammatostomias flagellibarba

The deep sea dragon fish is a ruthless predator that attacks anything that can be eaten. The aggression of this fish does not fit at all with its size - body length sea ​​dragon only 15.24 cm.

The miniature monster has a large head and a large mouth, lined with sharp, fang-like teeth.

The dragon fish has a long whisker on its chin, at the end of which there is a photophore that acts as a fishing bait. Blinking and waving it back and forth in front of its toothy mouth, the predator waits until the unsuspecting prey swims close enough to it, after which, with a lightning-fast movement, it slams its powerful jaws on its head if the prey is large enough, otherwise it simply swallows it entirely.

In addition, like most deep-sea fish, the body and head of the dragon fish are dotted with photophores, which serve for communication with other representatives of its species (for example, during the mating period).

Sea dragons can be found in tropical regions of the World Ocean at depths of 1,500 meters.

6. Largemouth / Eurypharynx pelecanoides

First place in the category of the strangest and most clumsy-looking creature on planet Earth is awarded to a representative of the order of sacs - the largemouth, whose mouth looks truly gigantic in comparison with the rest of the body.

Most of the largemouth skull bones were reduced or simply disappeared due to their uselessness. As a result, it is impossible to determine what genus of fish the largemouth belongs to. Only the appearance of the fry, similar to eels, hints at the relationship of these two species.

During hunting, the lower jaw of the largemouth folds down and takes the shape of a net, into which prey that is several times larger than the hunter can easily be placed.
Many explorers of the deep sea have noticed that the largemouth, carrying prey in its mouth, looks like a flabby pelican. That's why it's sea ​​creature often called pelican eel.

The largemouth stomach is also adapted to receiving large foods and is capable of stretching.

Another distinctive feature of this inhabitant of the deep sea is its long, whip-like tail. Often the tails of largemouths caught in fishing nets were tangled into many knots.

Largemouths grow up to 2 meters in length and live at depths from 915 to 1830 meters.

7. Atlantic giant squid / Architeuthis dux

The Atlantic giant squid (Architeuthis dux) of the giant squid family, which is nicknamed the 'kraken', is the largest invertebrate in the world.

An adult female giant squid can reach 18 meters in length and weigh more than 900 kg.

About these mysterious sea ​​monsters practically nothing is known, because They were only seen alive a couple of times. The study of sea 'krakens' is limited exclusively to the dissection of their half-decomposed corpses washed ashore.

Giant squids are carnivorous and eat whatever they can catch. During World War II, many surviving crew members of sunken ships told stories of giant sea monsters that dragged their shipmates under the water. In addition, these creatures are credited with attacks on submarines and small ships. Confirmation of this has never been found, which does not exclude the possibility that hungry deep-sea creatures rise to the surface in search of food.

The Atlantic squid is armed with eight long tentacles (up to 5 meters) with suction cups with which it holds its prey and two powerful jaws that form a sharp beak that can easily pierce the skull of a white shark.

The sworn enemies of these monsters are sperm whales, whose strength and mass the ‘krakens’ have nothing to oppose. This can be confirmed by the fact that remains are often found in the stomachs of dead sperm whales. giant squid.

Representatives of this species of giant squid live mainly in temperate and subtropical zones Atlantic Ocean at a depth of up to 1100 meters.

8. Giant isopod / Giant isopod / Bathynomus giganteus

One of largest members family of crustaceans, the giant isopod (Bathynomus giganteus), also known as the giant isopod, reaches a length of 45 cm and weighs up to 2 kg.

The closest relative of this animal is not far removed from its prehistoric ancestors, considered to be woodlice.

When threatened, the giant isopod curls up into a ball, protected by a tough, calcareous exoskeleton of overlapping segments covering its back.

The giant isopod has 7 pairs of legs, the first of which at a certain stage evolutionary development turned into jaws, which serve to capture, crush and deliver food into a mouth equipped with four jaws.

These giants live in sea ​​water at a depth of over 600 meters.

9. Sea Coffin / Coffin Fish / Sea Toad / B.melanostomus

Soft spherical body and short tail This inhabitant of the ocean depths is covered with many small poisonous spines, which pose a serious danger even to humans.

Length adult sea ​​toad does not exceed 12 cm.

The elastic skin allows this type of fish to swell, thereby more than doubling in volume.

The sea toad belongs to the suborder of anglerfish and has a small, mobile photophore on its snout.

These fish spend most of their lives buried in the mud, only occasionally sticking their snout out of it, luring prey with a luminescent photophore.

Sea toads live in the continental regions of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans at depths of up to 2000 meters.

10. Hellish Vampire / Vampyroteuthis infernalis

The hellvampire is a relict squid and the only member of the order Vampyromorphida.

Its jelly-like body, studded with photophores, makes it look more like a jellyfish than a squid.

He is the owner of the largest eyes among animals, in comparison with the rest of the body proportions. They are located on the sides, have a spherical shape and can reach a diameter of 25 cm.

Typically, the length of an adult hellish vampire does not exceed 15 cm, but there are also 30 cm specimens.

Photophores serve for intraspecific communication, defense and attack. Thanks to them, the hellish vampire is able to generate light pulses lasting from hundredths of a second to several minutes. In addition, it can control the brightness and size of color spots.

The hellish vampire is able to change the color of his body and eyes. Depending on the lighting, the eyes can be blue or red, and the body can be velvety black, red, purple or brown.

The blood of the Hell Vampire contains the pigment hemocyanin, which contains copper, which gives it a bluish tint.

Metabolism occurs so slowly in his body that he needs a minimal amount of food and oxygen to live. Thanks to this, the hellish vampire manages to comfortably survive at depths of over 1000 m.

This animal is capable of developing incredible speeds, reaching 30 cm/s.

11. Long-nosed chimera / Harriotta raleighana

In the lane from Greek "chimera" - monster

A distinctive feature of this sea creature, belonging to the order Chimaeriformes, is a long nose, which has ideal hydrodynamic properties. The long-nosed chimera is one of the fastest underwater creatures maximum speed whose movements have not yet been established.

Large Round eyes allow the chimera to see clearly even where the sun's rays practically do not penetrate.
Long-nosed chimeras are considered distant relatives sharks, so in South Africa They are often called 'ghost sharks'.

They live in ocean waters temperate climate at depths from 200 to 2600 meters.

Touch poisonous thorn, located on the dorsal fin, can kill a person, although this is unlikely to ever happen at a depth of 2600 meters.

12. Black Crookshanks / Chiasmodon niger

The chiasmodon genus includes five species of the most disgusting creatures, each of which could easily become an adornment to any low-budget horror film.

The most common member of this marine 'Adams family' is the black crook.

The length of these monsters is only 15-25 cm, but thanks to their wide mouth, crowned with large movable fangs, they can easily swallow a half-meter fish.

In order not to become a victim himself during the hunt, the crooked swallower swallows prey, starting from the tail, then, intercepting it with his teeth, pulls it into his stomach, which is elastic and capable of accommodating everything that fits into the mouth of this sea monster.

The crookfish is helped to find prey in pitch darkness by the lateral line organ system, which allows it to detect water vibrations.

In addition, to attract prey and communicate with potential mating partners, there are photophores on its body.
Black crabbills live in tropical and subtropical waters of the World Ocean at a depth of 700-2700 meters.

13. Frilled shark / Chlamydoselachus anguineus

The frilled shark is one of two species of the family Chlamydoselachidae, found primarily in the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

It lives at a depth of 50 to 200 meters, but can dive to 2000 meters if desired.

Most often, scientists call this animal a living fossil, because. it has undergone virtually no changes during its evolutionary development and is the brightest representative of a species that originated in the prehistoric period.

Frilled sharks reach two meters in length, with females larger than males, and have a dark-colored, snake-like body that makes them look like eels. Their gill openings are decorated with skin frills, from which these sharks get their name.

This dangerous predator takes full advantage of all the advantages of its snake body during the hunt. With a lightning-fast movement, he pounces on the victim and coils around it like a snake. Flexible jaws allow it to swallow prey that is several times larger than itself, and teeth that are sharp at the ends and curved inward completely eliminate the possibility of the victim escaping from a fatal grip.

Frilled sharks feed mainly on cephalopods, fish and other sharks.

These deep-sea animals hatch from eggs that are gestated by the female for 2-3.5 years, the longest gestation among vertebrates.

And in conclusion, I want to introduce you, although not a sea hunter, and not so scary in appearance, but still an extremely dangerous river hunter who does not even disdain human flesh.

Pacu

Pacu is a fish from the piranha family, which, like the dragon fish, attacks everything it sees, only its habitat is not the depths of the sea, but shallow river backwaters.

Pacu are much larger than piranhas - the weight of an adult can reach 30 kg. Extremely sharp teeth Its somewhat human-like and powerful jaws make this pretty fish the most dangerous river predator in the world.

In order to provoke a pack to attack, it is enough to approach it at a distance of two meters.

The main habitat of these fish is concentrated in the waters of the Amazon.

Is it difficult for you to believe that such a ‘cute baby’ could cause you any harm? But in vain! Just recently, a pacu castrated two local fishermen in Papua New Guinea who died from loss of blood. More than a month This bloodthirsty creature single-handedly terrorized the residents of nearby villages until it was caught by an experienced fisherman from England, Jeremy Wade.

The waters of the World Ocean occupy more than 70% of the entire surface of planet Earth, however, today the inhabitants of the depths of the ocean remain the least studied by ichthyologists due to difficult access to their habitat. IN lower layers The seas and oceans contain many of the deepest-sea fish and creatures, surprising and sometimes simply shocking with their appearance or way of life. A significant part of them was discovered relatively recently, and many have yet to come to the attention of researchers of the deep sea.

general characteristics

Deep-sea fish live on the slopes and in the ocean floor, within 200-6000 m of the depth of the World Ocean. About 2000 of these are known, and there are about 10-15 species of those that live below 6000 m, which is 2% of the total number of the deepest sea creatures.

Categories

All of them can be classified according to the presence of specific organs:

• truly deep-sea - characterized by luminous organs, telescope eyes, and other adaptive elements;
• Shelf-deep-sea - they do not have such manifestations, they are located on the slopes of continents.

According to the nature of nutrition, the division takes place into 3 groups:

1. Planktivores - the diet is based on plankton.
2. Benthophages - feed on carrion and invertebrates.
3. Predators - attack and attack other marine inhabitants with the aim of further eating.

An interesting fact is that such categories do not inhabit any of the large lakes in the world, except Baikal, which is considered the deepest on the planet.

Description

Among the creatures that live on the ocean floor, there are those that are completely blind or, conversely, have sharp eyesight to track prey, which is due to the constant darkness in these layers of water. Since the seabed is mostly muddy, many living organisms are characterized by specific structure body for convenient and quick movement – ​​flat body, long legs, the presence of needles or huge claws.

Some creatures may be distinguished by the presence of bioluminescence as illuminated body parts (processes, fins, tails). This way of adapting to environment provides some opportunities for successful life activities, for example, it can serve as bait for prey, as lighting in dark waters. It is often used for camouflage on the seabed or to scare away predators.

The closer to the bottom of the ocean, the stronger the pressure becomes and the temperature of the water decreases, and there is significantly less food for food. All these factors significantly influenced the structural features of some fish species. In these places you can find the most unusual inhabitants of the ocean, which have huge mouths and heads, the size of which can be several times greater than the length of their own body.

Rating of the most common types

The list of TOP 10 deep-sea fish includes the most incredible and unusual representatives sea ​​depths. The appearance of many of them is so unusual that they resemble aliens from other planets. However, this list is much wider and can be supplemented with other equally interesting specimens due to great variety who live in the depths of the World Ocean.

Another name - goblin shark - is derived from unusual shape heads: there is a beak-shaped outgrowth and long jaws extending forward. Also has an unusual pink color due to its proximity blood vessels to the surface of the skin.

Lives deeper than 200 m in almost all oceans, maximum depth diving is 1300 m, food consists of crabs, fry and squid. Catching prey is carried out by extending its jaws and swallowing it along with water.

There are several rows of teeth - separately for hunting prey and splitting the strong shells of various crustaceans.

The length of males is 2.4-3.7 m, females - 3.1-3.5 m. Maximum parameters, known to researchers, were 3.8 m in length and 210 kg in weight.

This is a representative of the ghostly black cat sharks that live in the north of the Atlantic Ocean, can be found at a depth of 600-1900 m. The first description by specialists dates back to 1979.

Most often caught in nets off the coast of Japan, they have large eyes and are distinguished by a large head, small fins and tail.

The average length of a female is 76 cm, the largest known size value that is documented is 85 cm.

According to versions of some researchers, it is considered the deepest-sea fish in the world, since there is an officially known case of catching a specimen of this genus of the erugine family from the ship "John Eliot".

Research work was carried out on the ship, during which fish were brought on board from a depth of 8370 m. This happened near the trench in Puerto Rico.

In the works of many ichthyologists, Bathysaurus is considered the most deep-sea species of all those thoroughly studied to date.

Its habitat is located at a level of 3500 m, its body is elongated (almost 65 cm). There is also the name “fierce head”, which was given to him for his unattractiveness and threatening appearance.

It is also called pelican fish (Eurypharynxs pelecanoides), sac-eater, black eater, black crab-eater, belongs to the order of sac-mouths. Closest relatives are eels.

The specific structure of the body - a huge mouth and a short body - makes it possible to swallow prey many times larger than the size of the predator itself. Crookshanks have no scales, no ribs, and no air bladder.

The length of individuals varies from 4.8 cm (the most small representative suborder) up to 161 cm, the maximum recorded specimen reached 2 m.

In 1939, Wilbert Chapman made the discovery and description of probably one of most interesting fish deep water. And only in 2004 the world saw photographs depicting macropinna, which surprised many, since the fish has a transparent head.

Distributed in the waters of the Pacific Ocean near the coasts of Canada, the USA and Japan at a depth of 500-800 m, the largest individuals live much lower.

The body length is about 15 cm, covered with large scales, and the fins are massive. The head is protected by a transparent dome-shaped shell; inside there are cylindrical eyes in a separate chamber. Green colour. Well-developed ocular muscles ensure the movement of the eyes from a vertical to a horizontal position, which makes it possible to productively monitor and capture prey.

Another name sounds like “monkfish”, obtained due to terrifying appearance. Live in eastern region Atlantic Ocean at a depth of up to 550 m, it is considered commercial, because of its white dense meat, dishes with it are widely popular in national cuisine France.

Individual specimens up to 2 m and weighing 57.7 kg can be found, the average length is 1-1.5 m. The body is without scales, everything is covered with skin growths and tubercles. The monkfish is interesting because it has a rod-like growth on its head with a luminous bait at the end to attract prey; its luminescence is provided by specific bacteria that live with this monster in symbiosis.

It is found in almost all ocean areas in deep layers at a level of 500-5000 m. It has relatively small sizes– weight 120 g and length up to 15-18 cm. Looks terrifying – powerful head with 4 sharp fangs. The teeth are located on both jaws, resemble construction nails, and protrude forward.

The sabertooth is a predator that, when catching a prey, copes with it in almost a matter of seconds, biting it several times in a row with its needle-teeth. When the jaw is closed, the lower teeth fit into a sheath on either side of the brain.

It is interesting to know that in 2008, environmentalists put the saber tooth first on the list of the 10 most terrible animals on the planet.

It lives at a depth of 200-1000 m and has some resemblance to a stingray, as it has a large head and a small tail. Their shell is similar in strength to that of a turtle and serves as protection against sea predators.

Almost does not swim, moves along the bottom on fins adapted to environmental conditions, which over time have become similar to the limbs of land animals.

Soft-bodied whalefish (Flabby Whalefish)

Considered one of the deepest living species, its habitat is at 3500 m and below. The length reaches 40 cm, and in appearance they resemble the cetacean family.

Habitat: the lower layers of the waters of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans up to 1450-1570 m. It has a snake-like body of dark brown color up to 2 m long.

The name is derived from the available 6 skin folds- gill slits. The hunt is almost like that of snakes - the shark bends its body and makes a lightning-fast leap forward towards the victim. Strong, long jaws allow you to reliably squeeze prey, as several rows of sharp teeth help hold it.

It is probably true that it is considered the most bizarre of the deep-sea specimens, as it has an unusual body shape.