10 Bizarre Deep Sea Creature
Hot, Odd 11:31 PM
Deep sea is still an alien world to us. Modern research has shown that, despite the pitch-blackness of the water, the freezing cold, and the crushing pressure, some amazing and bizarre creatures have adapted to life in the depths of the sea. Here are 10 bizarre creatures that live in crushing, dark, cold waters of the deep sea.
01. Viperfish
A viperfish is a deepwater fish in the genus Chauliodus, with long, needle-like teeth and hinged lower jaws. They grow to lengths of 30 to 60 cm (12 - 24 inches). Viperfish stay near lower depths (250–5,000 feet) in the daytime and shallow at night. Viperfish mainly stay in tropical and temperate waters. It is one of the fiercest predators in the very deep part of the sea and is believed to attack its prey by luring the victim close to itself with a light producing organ. This organ is called a photophore and is located on the end of its dorsal spine. It flashes this natural light on and off while at the same time moving the dorsal spine around like a fishing rod and hanging completely still in the water, and also uses the voluntary natural light producing organ to communicate to its potential mates and rivals.
02. Fangtooth
Fangtooths are ferocious-looking deep-sea beryciform fish of the family Anoplogastridae (sometimes spelled "Anoplogasteridae"). With a circumglobal distribution in tropical and cold-temperate waters, the family contains only two very similar species, in one genus, with no known close relatives: the common fangtooth, Anoplogaster cornuta, found worldwide; and the shorthorned fangtooth, Anoplogaster brachycera, found in the tropical waters of the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean.
03. Dragonfish
The black dragonfish is part of the Malacosteid family. This fish has bioluminescent capabilities. The black dragonfish, unlike almost all the other bioluminescent organisms in the ocean, can glow and perceive a red or blue-green light. Most other marine organisms glow blue because that wavelength of light transmits furthest underwater and most marine organisms lack the pigments which can absorb longer or shorter wavelengths of light and are sensitive only to blue light. The light of the black dragonfish can be such long wavelengths that it is nearly infrared and barely visible to the human eye. The ability to produce this type of light gives the black dragonfish an enormous advantage over its prey. This fish can shine a light to avoid predators or search for prey that does not alert the prey or the predator to the presence of the fish since they cannot see the light of the black dragonfish. This fish lives 1500 meters below the surface. The Viperfish is its cousin.
04. Angler
The deep sea angler, known also as Melanocetus johnsoni, is a grotesque-looking fish that lives in the extreme depths of the ocean. Its round body resembles a basketball, and indeed, it looks like it could easily swallow one. It has a large mouth likes with sharp, fang-like teeth. Its appearance has earned it a second name of "common black devil". Despite its ferocious appearance, the angler only reaches a maximum length of about five inches. The angler gets its name from the long, modified dorsal spine which is tipped with a light producing organ known as a photophore. Like many other deep-water fish, the angler uses this organ like a lure to attract its prey. It will flash its light on and off while waving it back and forth like a fishing pole. When the prey fish gets close enough, the angler snaps it up with its powerful jaws. A strange fact about the deep sea angler is the fact that the male is smaller and different in appearance from the female, which is pictures above. The male of the species is about the size of a finger and has small hook teeth, which it uses to attach itself to the female. Once attached, its blood vessels join with that of the female and it will spend the rest of its life joined to her like a parasite, getting all of its nourishment from her body. If the male is unable to attach to a female, it will eventually dies of starvation. The deep sea angler is found throughout the world at depths of over 3000 feet.
05. Gulper Eel
Saccopharyngiformes is an order of unusual ray-finned fish superficially similar to eels, but with many internal differences. Most of the fish in this order are deep-sea types known from only a handful of specimens such as the Umbrella Mouth Gulper Eel. Saccopharyngiformes are also bioluminescent in several species. Some, such as the swallowers, can live as deep as 10,000 feet (3,000 m) in the ocean, well into the aphotic zone.
06. Giant Isopod
A giant isopod may be one of approximately nine species of large isopods (crustaceans related to the shrimp and crabs) in the genus Bathynomus. They are thought to be abundant in cold, deep waters of the Atlantic.[1] Bathynomus giganteus, the species upon which the generitype is based, is the largest known isopod and is the one most often referred to by the common name "giant isopod".
07. Coffinfish
Coffinfish are a family, Chaunacidae, of deep-sea anglerfishes. They are bottom-dwelling fishes found on the continental slopes of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, at depths of up to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft). They have large globose bodies and a short compressed tail, and are covered with small spiny scales. The largest are about 30 centimetres (12 in) in length. Their first dorsal fin ray is modified into a short bioluminescent lure which dangles forward over the mouth, which is turned upwards so as to be nearly vertical. The sensory canals of the lateral lines are especially conspicuous.
08. Vampire squid
The vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis, lit. "vampire squid from 'Hell'") is a small, deep-sea cephalopod found throughout the temperate and tropical oceans of the world. Unique retractile sensory filaments justify the Vampire Squid's placement in its own order: Vampyromorphida (formerly Vampyromorpha), which shares similarities with both squid and octopuses. As a phylogenetic relict it is the only known surviving member of its order, first described and originally classified as an octopus in 1903 by German teuthologist Carl Chun, but later assigned to a new order together with several extinct taxa.
09. Rhinochimaeridae
Rhinochimaeridae, commonly known as long-nosed chimaeras, is a family of cartilaginous fish. They are similar in form and habits to other chimaeras, but have an exceptionally long, conical or paddle-shaped, snout. The snout has numerous sensory nerve endings, and is used to find food such as small fish.[2] The first dorsal fin includes a mildly poisonous spine, used in defence.
10. Frilled Shark
The frilled shark (Chlamydoselachus anguineus) is one of two extant species of shark in the family Chlamydoselachidae, with a wide but patchy distribution in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This uncommon species is found over the outer continental shelf and upper continental slope, generally near the bottom though there is evidence of substantial upward movements. It has been caught as deep as 1,570 m (5,150 ft), whereas in Suruga Bay, Japan it is most common at depths of 50–200 m (160–660 ft). Exhibiting several "primitive" features, the frilled shark has often been termed a "living fossil". It reaches a length of 2 m (6.6 ft) and has a dark brown, eel-like body with the dorsal, pelvic, and anal fins placed far back. Its common name comes from the frilly or fringed appearance of the gill slits, of which there are six pairs with the first pair meeting across the throat.
Info Source: Wikipedia
The vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis, lit. "vampire squid from 'Hell'") is a small, deep-sea cephalopod found throughout the temperate and tropical oceans of the world. Unique retractile sensory filaments justify the Vampire Squid's placement in its own order: Vampyromorphida (formerly Vampyromorpha), which shares similarities with both squid and octopuses. As a phylogenetic relict it is the only known surviving member of its order, first described and originally classified as an octopus in 1903 by German teuthologist Carl Chun, but later assigned to a new order together with several extinct taxa.
09. Rhinochimaeridae
Rhinochimaeridae, commonly known as long-nosed chimaeras, is a family of cartilaginous fish. They are similar in form and habits to other chimaeras, but have an exceptionally long, conical or paddle-shaped, snout. The snout has numerous sensory nerve endings, and is used to find food such as small fish.[2] The first dorsal fin includes a mildly poisonous spine, used in defence.
10. Frilled Shark
The frilled shark (Chlamydoselachus anguineus) is one of two extant species of shark in the family Chlamydoselachidae, with a wide but patchy distribution in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This uncommon species is found over the outer continental shelf and upper continental slope, generally near the bottom though there is evidence of substantial upward movements. It has been caught as deep as 1,570 m (5,150 ft), whereas in Suruga Bay, Japan it is most common at depths of 50–200 m (160–660 ft). Exhibiting several "primitive" features, the frilled shark has often been termed a "living fossil". It reaches a length of 2 m (6.6 ft) and has a dark brown, eel-like body with the dorsal, pelvic, and anal fins placed far back. Its common name comes from the frilly or fringed appearance of the gill slits, of which there are six pairs with the first pair meeting across the throat.
Info Source: Wikipedia
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