Deep Sea Program : Discover the Most Terrifyingly Awesome Deep Sea Creatures

Let's be honest, the deep sea remains largely unveiled and mysterious even today. The deeper we explore, the more bizarre the creatures we encounter. We've curated a selection of 8 incredibly weird creatures from the deep sea for you. Bonus: you can also use these pictures with your students if they misbehave! 😅

They are some of the most weird and fascinating animals that live in the Earth’s largest habitat, the deep sea. They have special adaptations that help them survive in the extreme conditions of darkness, cold, pressure, and scarcity of food. Some of them are bioluminescent, meaning they can produce light from their own bodies. Others have large mouths, teeth, or jaws to capture prey. Some have transparent or dark bodies to blend in with their surroundings. They are all examples of the amazing diversity of life in the ocean.

#1 Ribbon sawtail fish

The ribbon sawtail fish is a type of deep-sea fish that belongs to the family of barbeled dragonfish. It has a long, slender body with a distinctive saw-like extension on its tail. It is a bioluminescent fish, meaning it can produce light from special organs called photophores. It uses this light to attract prey and mates, as well as to communicate with other members of its species

Image Credits : Adobe Stock

#2 Striped anglerfish

This Anglerfish has a giant head with a frowning mouth and a bioluminescent lure that hangs over its head to attract prey. Some species of anglerfish have parasitic males that fuse to the females’ bodies. For this year edition of the Polka Dot Dragon Festival, we made a bonus video - click here to learn how to make your own Anglerfish lantern

Image Credits : Striped anglerfish By NOAA/NMFS/SEFSC Pascagoula Laboratory; Collection of Brandi Noble, NOAA/NMFS/SEFSC. - NOAA's Fisheries Collection http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/htmls/fish4088.htm also available at NOAA Photo Library: fish4088, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8009568

#3 Vampire Squid

This squid has a dark, velvety body with red eyes and webbed arms. It can eject bioluminescent mucus to distract predators. Despite its name, it feeds on organic debris that falls from the surface.

Image credits : Internet Archive Book Images

#4 Barreleye fish

This fish has a transparent, dome-shaped head that encloses its eyes. Its eyes can rotate to look upward or forward. It can also see through its own head to detect prey or predators above it

Image credits : Barreleye By Kim Reisenbichler - https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Video-frame-grab-of-Macropinna-microstoma-at-a-depth-of-744-m-showing-the-intact_fig1_213774267, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=118472617

#5 Dumbo Octopus

This octopus has a round, umbrella-like body and large, ear-like fins that resemble the Disney character Dumbo. It can flap its fins to swim or hover in the water. It is the deepest-living octopus known, reaching depths of over 4,000 meters

Image credits : NOAA Okeanos Explorer

#6 Goblin Shark

This rare and elusive shark has a long, protruding snout and a mouth full of needle-like teeth. It can extend its jaws to snatch prey in front of it

Image credits : By Dianne Bray / Museum Victoria - http://www.fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3254, CC BY 3.0 au, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25593311

#7 Gulper Eel

This eel has a huge mouth that can swallow prey much larger than itself. It can also inflate its mouth like a balloon to intimidate predators.

Image credits : Wikipedia Public Domain Image

#8 Blobfish

This gelatinous fish was voted the World’s Ugliest Animal in 2013. It lives in the deep waters off of Australia and has a face that resembles a grumpy old man.

Image credits : Norman Yeend BlobfishvBy Dianne Bray / Museum Victoria - http://www.fishesofaustralia.net.au/home/species/3254, CC BY 3.0 here

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