Why did Jaws give us all the same eerie feeling about the ocean? It was our fears of those unimaginable creatures lurking below the surface that fuel our curiosity more. We’ve compiled a list of our favorite strange creatures of the deep that will seem as if they came out of your nightmares and have you scratching your head in disbelief.
Barreleye
Our first creature looks as if the imagination of a science fiction writer came to life. One would have to take numerous charter services to maybe catch a glimpse of this guy once in their lifetime. If you tried to hide from this fish when you found it, well you can’t. The Barreleye gets its name from its ability to see in almost any direction as its eyes can move 360 degrees. Its fair to say if you’re caught by a Barreleye he’ll find a way to swallow you up. Ya, they consume their pray in one massive gulp, whole. Now you’re thinking, next flight out of here I’m on it.
Barreleye
Giant Isopod
If you start sweating and getting uncomfortable when you see big insects like centipedes and roaches, run. The Giant Isopod is every creepy crawly combined into one…and giant. Although it’s habitat is far below our accessible depths and far from our shores in the waters of the North Atlantic and the Arctic Circle, it still gives us the shivers. They are bottom feeders and due to the extreme pressure difference that far down, these creatures suffer from a form of ‘gigantism’ whereas near our level they would much smaller than the 2.5 foot recorded ones. Just reeling one of these in on a deep sea fishing trip would still horrify anyone.
Giant Isopod
Giant Squid
Yes, its real. Now, before you go ahead a plan that yacht trip in the Caribbean just remember this guy will be just underneath the water with you. Even though this squid has a history of being mythical or the product of scruffy sailor tales, in 2005 researcher Tsunemi Kubodera succeeded in filming a live specimen. Records show that the largest recorded was a whopping 59 feet long and are considered the largest living invertebrates on Earth. With eight tentacles, enormous eyes and a fearsome beak, its no shock these creatures are able to feed on small whales, yes whales. Can anyone say calamari?
Giant Squid
Dragonfish
Although it would be really cool, this fish doesn’t breath fire and anything along those lines. It does look as if a fish died and this thing is its next hellish form. Having buoyant eggs, the life of the Dragonfish begins close to the surface but as it hatches, it travels more than 1.5 miles down to the dark depths. Not unlike others that inhabit these black waters, they develop a bio-luminescence on a protruding needle just under their jaw that is used for hunting and one can only suppose defense from predators. Its then fair to say then that this would scare us aware much faster than any predator.
Dragonfish
Blobfish
This is his happy face. The Blobfish is the product of a life more than 2000 ft below sea level of the coast of New Zealand, Australia and Tasmania. The pressure at these levels allow for the structure of the fish to look much different in its habitat, which is 60-120 times greater than the surface.
Blobfish
Gulper Eel
Besides the numerous reason for this eel to freak us out, its also 6ft long. The Gulpler Eel has a long and slender body with an enormous pelican like mouth that opens with a loose hinge. This feature allows it to adjust its jaw to whatever size its meal happens to be, even if the meal is the length of its entire 6ft body. Delicious!
Gulper Eel
Stargazer
If you were thinking the name must mean this one has to be at least a little cute, nope! This creepy little guy gets his name from the way it hunts. After burying itself on the ocean floor, it gets its name from the placement of its eyes, which it uses to spot pray above its hiding spot. If an unlucky fish or diver swims by, the stargazer explodes out of the sand to grasp its prey. Some of the species of Stargazer even have the ability to produce an electric shock that in some cases could be lethal. Eyes to the sand when you’re diving, people.
Stargazer
Frilled Shark
If your imagination has ever managed to combine the horrifying aspects of a shark and snake together then nature has brought this abomination to life. Constricting ability and rows of teeth sounds amazing right? The Frilled shark grows up to almost six feet and has a long slender snake-like body. This creature, with its 25 (yes, 25) rows of teeth, widened skull and accurate jaw is the definition of nightmarish fish.
Frilled Shark
Megamouth Shark
Our next shark is a more mysterious and rare specimen rather than freakish. Discovered in Hawaii around 1976, the Megamouth Shark is black and brown sporting a massive mandible (mouth) and feeds on all types of little sea critters akin to the prey of basking or whale sharks. Its size is the reason we’ve chosen it for our list as it sits at a whopping 18 feet long with gigantic lifeless eyes, not something an average Joe would voluntarily swim towards.
Megamouth Shark
Pacific Viperfish
Another ‘beautiful’ creature on our list is the adorable Pacific Viperfish. Yes, this is in the water when you swim, just not anywhere near the depth you swim at as these fish swim at depths of 2.7 miles below the surface, yes miles. Down there the Viperfish attracts its prey using its glowing underbelly and finishes them off with its huge jaws.
Pacific Viperfish
Humpback Anglerfish
Although he seems like a character from Finding Nemo (which he is), the Humback Anglerfish is a deep sea savage in real life. Its super wide jaws are able to finish its prey in a flash after the luring device that grows out of its head uses bio-luminescence to trick its prey into coming close enough for an attack.
Humpback Anglerfish
Blue Ringed Octopus
Beautiful and deadly, this interesting creature is known as the Blue Ringed Octopus. Although they are small and colorful little guys, do not let that fool you. The power of the venom in their bodies is strong enough to kill almost 7 adult men, and no cure is available anywhere.
Blue Ringed Octopus
Giant Spider Crab
When they say giant, they mean giant. These enormous deep sea crabs who live 1,000 below the surface are the Godzillas of crustaceans. They hold the title of the largest crab on earth with a claw to claw measurement of 12 ft, and they’re fast.
Giant Spider Crab
Goblin Shark
Simply for aesthetic reasons, this morbid looking shark sits high on the creepy scale of our list. The Goblin Shark is considered a living fossil due to its lineage going back almost 125 million years. If the outward facing teeth, giant mouth and 12 ft length doesn’t freak you out, the seemingly useless brow stick out of its head like a spike should push you over the freakish edge. Not to mention that when it eats, its mouth expands to a very disproportionate size- very nightmarish.
Goblin Shark
Comb Jelly
Its just a jelly right? Well, while this species has an interesting colorful show it displays, it remains a scary fellow to bump into. The combs on its exterior are used as its propulsion mechanism but only seem to have bio-luminescence due too the light refracting through the comb(cilia) tissue.
Comb Jelly
Vampire Squid
Although it may sound like you would need to fear this cephalopod, it does not consume blood. This small deep sea Squid is found in tropical and warm oceans around the world and has similar features as if a squid and octopus mixed themselves together. Its name derives from its blood red eyes but that’s about as close to a vampire that this little guy gets.
Vampire Squid
Fangtooth
Found between cold to tropical waters, this vicious looking fish is actually quite harmless to humans. Its the fangs, over-sized head and simply grotesque look that gives this Fangtooth its fearsome look.
Fangtooth
Scorpionfish
This is actually a classification of a family of some of the world most venomous fish that includes the well known Lion-fish. They get their name from the set of venomous spines that protrude from their dorsal. Although there are hundreds of different members of this family, they are mostly found in the Indo-Pacific Oceans.
Scorpionfish
Snaggletooth
Tough to take seriously once one hears his name, his face re-instills the fear that his name lacks. In this family of deep sea fish, there is a bio-luminescent barbel on the chin that is used to attract prey and needle-like teeth that put fear right back into our minds when referring to this little guy.
Snaggletooth
Deep Sea Pompeii Worm
A deep sea worm, who feeds off the byproducts of the hydrothermal vents along the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Discovered by French marine biologists back in the 1980’s is referred to as a bristle worm.
Pompeii Worm
Monkfish
The ‘Monk’, otherwise known as the Monkfish is not a very pious fish (if there could be something like that). It’s rather an enormous fish with a mouth that stretches the entire length of its head around. If that intimidating mandible doesn’t scare you enough then maybe the lines of long pointed pearly whites will put the fear right back into you.
Monkfish
Grenadier
Hailing from a family of fish that is said to be one of the most abundant of deep dwelling fish, the Grenadier can be found in the cold dark depths of both arctic poles. Almost albino, this effect is due to the lack of light particles that could penetrate to the depth this fish resides at.
Grenadier
Deep Sea Hatchetfish
Tough to guess how one couldn’t determine how this ax shaped fish got its name, the Hatchetfish swims the subtropical, temperate and tropical waters of three oceans: Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian. Although they may be tiny, they have their own bio-luminescence that they use for various reasons called photosphores.
Hatchetfish
Big Red Jellyfish
Something out of Stanley Kubrick’s imagination, this giant red fella is the first of his genus to be discovered back in 2003. They can live as deep as 2000-4000 ft, grow up to 30 inches in diameter and are found in the Pacific Gulf of California, Hawaii and Japan.
Big Red Jellyfish
Nudibranch
Nightmarish…no. Cool…very! This soft-bodied mollusk has over 2,300 confirmed variant species that literally come in all types of shapes and forms with crazy psychedelic coloring’s.
Nudibranch
Glass Squid
Also known by a few names such as the cockatoo squid or cranch, the Glass squid has about 60 different species in its family. Some of the species in this family of squid live quite close to the surface while the others, through evolutionary changes that occurred within this species, live as far down as 6,500 ft below the surface.
Glass Squid
Dumbo Octopus
Ok, this one is adorable, and he got his name from a nostalgic character deep in our hearts. This little octopus lives down deep in the sea and get their names from the dumbo-like ear fins just above their eyes. Inside they either have a V shaped or U shaped inner shell giving them the appearance of a bell and either have spines, suckers or both on their 8 stubby tentacles.
Dumbo Octopus
Coffinfish
Back to creepy ones, this Coffinfish who is actually a form of a sea toad can be found at depths of 150-950 ft in the waters of the southwestern Pacific and the coast of Australia. Not unlike the Anglerfish, the Coffinfish has a little illicium that protrudes from its face then retracts into a groove to protect it.
Coffinfish
Chimaera Fish
If you can fathom it, this was once the shark’s closest relative. Nowadays, these little fish are only found in very deep waters due to their branching off from the shark pool approximately 400 million years ago.
Chimaera Fish
Amphipod
No, its not a shrimp. This Amphipod has almost 10,000 cousin species that have be discovered to date and live in almost any aquatic environment but most remain marine environments as has been documented.
Amphipod
Pacific Blackdragon Fish
Like it’s cousin the dragonfish, this species lives so deep down in the depths of the Atlantic that neither light particles or any plant life survive, at a depth of up to 2.8 MILES below the surface.
Pacific Blackdragon Fish
Stonefish
If you ever have the misfortune of seeing this fish, run, swim or fly- what ever you do, get away. This is one of THE MOST DEADLY fish known to man. They frequent the coastal areas of the Indo-Pacific.
Stonefish
Sea Pig
With a name like Scotoplanes, Sea Pig just rolls off the tongue better. These little critters live in the lifeless deep ocean bottoms at depths of typically 4,000 ft to a staggering 16,000 ft in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. How they eat though – sifting through deep sea mud- is what got them their cut pet name.
Sea Pig
Sea Cucumber
A rather well known seapal, the cucumber are sea floor dwelling creatures with an elongated body and a leathery type skin around them. With over 1200 different species, there are plenty of different types of sea cucumbers you could run into while out for a swim or a dive.
Sea Cucumber
Sarcastic Fringehead
A little fish but nonetheless interesting. Although it may seem like the little neck-winged dinosaur from Jurassic Park that scared us all as kids couldn’t exist, this little California based species is quite similar and an aggressive one to boot, known for having combative territorial disputes with other males. Referred to as a tube blenny, these guys get their classification from their living quarter habits, sometimes even being observed inside glass bottles and other non-organic structures.
Sarcastic Fringehead