18 Deep Sea Creatures You Might Not Know

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Mysteriously, there are many strange and spooky deep sea creatures living in the seas and oceans that we don’t know of. We have only discovered just 3% of the whole percentage of the sea and ocean on our planet. And we never know what is living there in the deeper water that humans cannot reach. But the thing I’m sure is the deeper the water, the scarier the creatures look. Here are 18 eerie deep sea creatures that I want to introduce to you. And let us know which one you think is the best or the worse.

1Anglerfish

Anglerfish are known to have at least one long filament sprouting from the middle of their heads. That is called “illicium”. They use illicium to attract prey just like what you saw from Finding Nemo. This fish can grow from 20 centimeters to over 1 meter with a weight of 45 kilograms.

2Atlantic Wolffish

The strong and fang-like of the upper and lower jaws bring the name Wolffish to them. This type of fish likes cold water which is why they live in 20 to 500 meter deep. Their extremely strong jaws are powerful enough for them to ear hardshell molluscs, sea clams, and even large hermit crabs.

3Barreleyes

image: Globe Lite

Also known as Spook Fish, they got the name because of their barrel-shaped and tubular eyes. They always look so relaxed and chill as you can see. They have a small toothless mouth, and they live about 400 to 2500 meters deep in the water. The large dome-shaped transparent head allows the eyes to collect more light while protecting the eyes.

4Big Red Jellyfish

Yes, that is a jellyfish. Thank god they live at the depths of 600 to 1500 meters. This type of jellyfish can grow up to 76 centimeters. They have those thick fleshy oral arms in those long tentacles. Even if they are not that dangerous, they are still not a nice thing to get close to.

5Black Swallower

I am surprised by the fact that this fish right here can swallow other prey no less than twice its size. Black swallower lives at a depth between 700 to 2745 meters, and they feed on bony fishes. It has this distensible stomach that allows it to swallow prey over twice its size and 10 times its mass. So greedy.

6Dragonfish

image: ucsdnews

Dragonfish is a sea creature found in deep parts of the Atlantic Ocean. They live around 1500 to 4500 meters below the surface where no light reaches. This type of fish has a very minimalized skeleton except for the jaws and other feeding parts. They can also eat larger prey due to their gifted flexible head and sharp teeth. Dragonfish are carnivorous predators since they live where plants don’t grow.

7Blob Fish

image: Grufnik

You might know or hear about blobfish before. They have that face that resembles humans somehow, and they live at depths of over 1200 meters deep. And of course, they always look sad.

8Chimera

Chimera or ghost sharks are found down 2600 meters deep in the water. The thing is that ghost sharks are not actual sharks. They are a species of fish that are closely related to sharks and rays. They are cartilaginous, meaning their skeletons are primarily composed of cartilage. This gives them an eerie and ethereal quality and they can grow up to 150 centimeters. Ghost sharks are gifted with many sharp and replaceable teeth, but they don’t attack us at all.

9Fangtooth Fish

They look similar to Piranha for some reasons, but they are quite small and harmless to humans. They live between 200 to 2000 meters deep in the water. Their eyes are relatively small and locates high on the head. They don’t look that scary, but they don’t look that nice either. Look at those teeth and eyes and that is why!

10Frilled Shark

Yes, this is a shark. The frilled shark lives below 1200 meters in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. They have an eel-like body and a strange appearance as you can see in the photo. Some people thought they are the mythical sea serpent with their looks and habitats. Frilled sharks are caught in many locations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and they mostly come to feed on the surface at night.

11Giant Grenadier

Here is the vampire squid and squid hunter in deep water. Giant Grenadier lives at depths between 140 and 3500 meters, and they look so spooky. They are found in the North Pacific, and more locations since they are populated everywhere. But I wouldn’t want to meet one of them.

12Giant Isopod

Giant creatures are not likely to be pleasant to see. They can grow up 17 to 50 centimeters, and they have several legs. They live at the depth of 170 meters to 2500 meters where there is no single light reaches.

13Giant Spider Crab

Giant Spider Crab or Japanese Spider Crab is a creature that lives in waters around Japan. They have the greatest leg span estimated to be 5.5 meters from claw to claw. Pretty big for a crab, right? Not to mention that these crabzillas can grow to a size of 40 cm with a weight up to 19 kilograms, they are huge. They live 300 meters deep in the water, and they have great tolerant of cold conditions as well. Probably the least bizarre-looking deep sea creatures, but these crabs are so big they are intimidating.

14Giant Tube Worm

Nope, these are not corals! They are giant tube worms that live at the temperature of 2 to 30 degrees Celsius. They can reach the length of 2.4 meters, and can live for over a hundred years.

15Pacific Viperfish

image: MBARI

This is a nightmare I’m telling you. They mostly eat small fish, but their look is absolutely out of the earth. This type of fish has a large mouth, long fang-like teeth, and a long dorsal fin ray. They live between 200 to 5000 meters below the surface.

16Six Gill Shark

image: Imgur

Sharks are never nice, that is the common thing that we all know. And right here is the unique shark that has six pairs of gill slits along with comb-like yellow lower teeth. They can grow up to 8 meters long, and they are found at the depths of 760 meters underwater.

17Stargazer

That is a beautiful name for such an eerie deep water creature. Stargazer’s habit is under the sand where they bury themselves and catch prey. They can grow from 18 to 90 centimeters. The great thing is some of them can even deliver venom and electric shocks which make them even meaner.

18Vampire Squid

Vampire squid has a black cloak that covers the 8 arms that connects to a webbing skin. And that is how they got the name, they have the cloak. This type of squid lives in lightless areas deep under the water of about 600 to 900 meters, or more. These deep sea creatures are fast swimmers. They have glowing arms along with great movements that make it difficult for predators to identify.