The most terrible sea inhabitants. The most terrible inhabitants of the sea abyss
Most people associate the ocean with whales, dolphins and sharks. However, in deep waters lurking creatures much more terrible and bizarre
Translation for – Sveta Gogol
1. Horned box
This cute creature very similar to Pokemon. However, sensing danger, the fish begins to secrete a deadly toxin.
2. Mediterranean tarsier
Their distinctive feature are disproportionately large pectoral fins. Contrary to their name, they cannot fly.
3. Ophiura
This is one of the most wonderful creatures that can be found in the sea. In addition, the life expectancy of brittle stars is 35 years, which characterizes them as a very hardy species.
4. Red glowing jellyfish
In order to lure prey, the jellyfish has tentacles that flash red. But scientists’ special attention was attracted by the fact that this is the first invertebrate creature known to science that can emit red.
5. Black Crookshanks
He is also called the “great glutton” because... he can eat fish twice his size and ten times his weight. Sometimes he swallows so much big fish that they are not digested until complete decomposition due to which gases are formed and the crabbill floats to the surface.
6. Common sea dragon
The animal, which is depicted on the coat of arms of the Australian state of Victoria, is found only in the eastern part Indian Ocean. It can reach 45 centimeters in length. In fact, the dragon is a relative of the seahorse.
7. Cancerscorpio
Racoscorpions or eurypterids are the largest extinct order of arthropods that ever lived on earth. Fossils containing their remains have been found all over the world. Even though this photo is photoshopped, it gives you an idea of what these creatures would actually look like.
8. Tongue-Eating Woodlice
9. Fish with a human face
However, the similarities do not end there: some individuals even have eyes and ears that are shaped like humans.
10. Speckled Stargazer
This fish is certainly not the nicest creature you can find in the ocean. Burying itself in the sand, it waits to attack when the victim swims nearby.
11. Brachiopod
This representative of the bat family grows up to 10 centimeters. Its bait, unlike most anglerfish, does not glow, but releases an enzyme that lures the prey.
12. Axolotl
This neotenic salamander is close to extinction. However, scientists are showing great interest in it due to its ability to regenerate limbs. The axolotl feeds on worms, insects and small fish.
13. Moon fish
Is the heaviest of all known bony fish: average weight an adult can reach 1 ton. She mainly feeds on jellyfish.
14. Blue Dragon
Also known as "Glaucus atlanticus" - species gastropods from the order nudibranchs. Swallowing a bubble of air, which is subsequently stored in its stomach, it floats upside down on the surface of the ocean.
15. Sea butterfly
The most common gastropod mollusk found in the ocean. As a result of evolution due to higher level acidity sea butterfly a calcified shell has formed, shaped like a shell.
16. Hairy crab
Better known as "Kiwa hirsuta". This creature lives in hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor. Males prefer warmer water, while females and juveniles prefer colder water.
17. Rag-picking seahorse
Representatives of this species of fish have their entire body and head covered with processes that imitate algae, which serves as a kind of camouflage. In addition, the raghorse is the maritime emblem of the state of South Australia.
18. Skeleton Shrimp
Thanks to its filamentous body and thin limbs, it can disappear among algae, hydroids and bryozoans. It is also called "ghost shrimp".
19. Sparkling Squid
And although it looks like a common squid, representatives of this species grow up to seven and a half centimeters in length and die a year after their birth. In Japan it is mined in industrial scale. After a storm, when squids wash ashore, they literally illuminate coastline, which is why there is great interest in them.
20. Carpet shark
If you look at the photo, it becomes clear why it was called that. And although not all representatives of this species are similar to a carpet, some are extremely similar.
21. Angelfish
Also known as the "warty anglerfish". Oddly enough, this fish does not swim, but rather moves along the ocean floor. Its modified fins closely resemble human hands.
22. Porpoise
These strange creatures live at depths of over a thousand meters, in particular on the deep plains of the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans. Some related species live in Antarctica.
23. Predatory Sponge
At first glance, you won’t understand that this is a carnivorous creature. In 2012, it was discovered by a group from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. The sponge lives at depths of up to several kilometers below sea level. Its menu includes crustaceans and other crustaceans.
24. Living stone
It is a delicacy in Chile. At close range, it resembles an organ system that feeds on microorganisms by sucking in water.
25. Pike blenny
This fish is extremely aggressive. To find out who is more important, the males open their mouths wide and press their lips to each other. The one whose mouth is larger wins.
Almost the entire surface of the Earth has been studied by humans. And here depths of the sea keep mysteries that are revealed gradually. With the advent of opportunities to dive deeper into the abyss, we find unusual deep sea creatures. We would like to present some of them to you. Not all of them are beautiful to look at, but they cannot be denied their originality.
Jellyfish Atoll- a rather predatory creature living at a depth where Sun rays do not penetrate, let alone divers. Its peculiarity is the ability to glow bright red. This happens when the jellyfish senses danger is approaching.
Blue Angel- Very small creature, which easily fits in the palm of a person. It has an amazing shape and color color: looks like a floating angel, or a miniature dragon, blue on top and silver underneath. This camouflage helps him protect himself from predators, both in water and in the air. An angel can easily float to the surface of the sea by swallowing an air bubble.
Another sea creature- Sponge-harp. As the name suggests, it is shaped like a harp, which clings to sea mud and uses its upper sticky tips to catch small prey.
Funny octopus Dumbo got its name due to its resemblance to the baby elephant from the Disney cartoon, although it is much smaller in size than an earthly mammal. When an octopus swims, it waves its fins, which are exactly like elephant ears. There is very little information about it, since its habitat is very deep.
The hairy crab Yeti lives in the cold depths of the sea. Its claws are covered with fur, making looks like a crab on Bigfoot. Living at great depths, where there is no light, made the yeti completely blind.
Strange fashionista fish The pipistrelle bat lives at a depth of 200 meters. She does not know how to swim, but only moves her shell-covered body along the bottom, using her fin legs to move. She is called a fashionista for the bright red color of her slightly protruding lips, making her look quite funny.
Handsome slug Felimare Picta lives among. What makes it extravagant is the coloring and shape of the body: the rich blue-yellow color of the body, framed by a frill. It does not have its own house (like an ordinary mollusk), because it uses a special remedy for protection - acidic sweat secreted throughout the body. It is unlikely that anyone would want to get involved with such prey.
A mollusk lives in the Atlantic Ocean, which was nicknamed "Flamingo Tongue". He is inseparable from his shell, which he carefully guards own body, and into which he hides in case of danger.
Seahorses whose bodies are “seated” with many leaves, they are called deciduous dragons. They are one of the best masters of mimicry. The leaves do not interfere at all and do not help it swim; the dragon moves with the help of two small fins.
In the depths of the seas and oceans, a completely different world reigns: special flora and fauna, represented by many varieties, have not yet revealed half of their secrets to humanity. Every year, thanks to developing technologies, scientists are able to explore new areas and discover unique species deep sea animals.
The creatures that live in little-explored waters often amaze with their appearance - not always cute, but certainly entertaining and mysterious. We invite you to immerse yourself in a strange and wonderful underwater kingdom with its extravagant inhabitants.
1. Moonfish (Mola-mola)
The sunfish (sunfish, headfish) is the world's largest bony fish. The laterally flattened and somewhat elongated body shape, combined with its impressive size, makes a strong impression; in addition, many individuals of this species reach three meters, if you calculate the distance between the fins. This huge fish found in all oceans located in tropical and temperate climates. The giant feeds on zooplankton, and also, most likely, small fish and algae.
2. Giant isopod
The giant isopod, without a doubt, can be called one of the strangest creatures encountered by man in the world. underwater world. Known to science like Bathynomus giganteus, it belongs to the group of crustaceans, being the most major representative family Bathynomus, related to shrimp and crabs.
3. Pelagic megamouth shark
It is difficult to describe the largemouth shark better than its name does - a shark with a huge mouth. Her head streamlined shape somewhat lost behind the scale of the jaws protruding forward. The shark's body is decorated with white spots covering the tips of the fins, as well as a dark triangle at the throat. The average length of this strange sea creature is 4.5 m, although scientists have discovered specimens larger than five meters. Weighs largemouth shark about 750 kg.
4. Long-horned sabertooth
Famous scientific world Like Anoplogaster Cornuta, this fearsome creature lives in the deep waters of many of the world's oceans. Sabertooth got its eloquent name because of the very impressive appearance of its fanged mouth. The teeth of this fish are considered to be the longest in proportion to body size among all sea inhabitants. For its grotesque appearance, the saber tooth earned the nickname “ogre fish.”
5. Hauliod (viperfish)
One of the most violent underwater predators is the hauliod. His teeth are so large that they do not fit into his mouth, curving down to his eyes. It is believed that so formidable weapon helps the fish inflict critical wounds on its victims while chasing them on high speeds. This creepy-looking creature has a long dorsal fin topped with a photophore, a light-producing organ.
6. Grenadier fish
This species lives just above the level seabed. Slowly swimming along its surface, the fish looks for live prey for food, although it turns out that it is not at all averse to tasting underwater carrion. In addition to its rather impressive appearance, the grenadier has the ability to secrete a specific chemical compound with an extremely pungent odor. So it’s really not easy to get close to this small underwater monster.
7. Deep Sea Glass Squid
Extremely interesting species can be found in the middle ocean depths ah, where the rays of light that reached through the water in combination with translucent bodies underwater inhabitants The latter creates a spectacular camouflage. For even better camouflage, some creatures, such as the glass squid, have acquired bioluminescent organs located under their eyes.
8. Monkfish (football fish)
In addition to its interesting appearance, the monkfish also has other interesting features. For example, the males of this fish cling to the body much more large female and carry out most life in this situation. While the lady takes care of her harem, gets food and builds a nest, her task is numerous husbands consists only of fertilization.
9. Pacific Black Dragon
Female Pacific black dragons grow up to 61 cm in length and have rather menacing-looking fangs, as well as a small beard. In comparison with their impressive female friends, males cannot boast of their size (about 8 cm), teeth, mustaches or beards. They don’t even have a stomach, so they are not destined to eat in their short lives. The only mission of the brownish male Pacific black dragon is to have time to mate with the female, who then also uses the body of her former friend as bait for prey.
10. Largemouth (pelican fish)
The long body of the pelican fish turns into an equally long tail with a light-producing organ at the end. On average this ancient inhabitant seas can grow up to 80 cm. Its habitat is the waters of tropical and temperate climates.
1. Angler / Fish Angler / Monkfish / European Angler / 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 appendage with a fleshy two-bladed appendage (rod), which behaves like a float and begins to fluoresce at great depths, which is why this 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 on great depth, 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.
Angler is extremely aggressive and any person who swims 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. Viper fish / sea viper/ Deep sea viper / Viperfish
An indigenous inhabitant of the mesopelagic region, the deep-sea viper can be found in tropical and temperate regions The world's oceans 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, like 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 quite well even in pitch darkness 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 the ocean depths.
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. Flashing and waving it back and forth in front of his toothy mouth, the predator waits until the unsuspecting prey swims up to him at a fairly close distance, after which, with a lightning-quick movement, he slams his powerful jaws on her head, if the prey is large enough, otherwise he simply swallows it whole.
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 appearance eel-like fry hints at the relationship of the 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 is why this sea creature is often called the pelican eel.
The largemouth stomach is also adapted to receiving large foods and is capable of stretching.
One more distinctive feature This inhabitant of the deep sea has a 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, who dragged their colleagues 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 the remains of giant squid are often found in the stomachs of dead sperm whales.
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 made up 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 representing serious danger even for a person.
Adult length 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 a depth 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.
Is the owner of the most big eyes among animals, in comparison with other 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 in his body proceeds so slowly that he needs a minimal amount of food and oxygen to live. Thereby, hellish vampire manages to survive comfortably 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 its 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 well 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, somewhat similar to human ones, 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.