10 Creepiest Deep Sea Creatures (22 Photos)

Seas and oceans occupy more than half the area of ​​our planet, but they are still shrouded in mysteries for humanity. We strive to conquer space and are looking for extraterrestrial civilizations, but at the same time, only 5% of the world's oceans have been explored by humans. But this data is enough to be horrified by what creatures live deep underwater, where sunlight does not penetrate.

The chauliod family includes 6 species of deep-sea fish, but the most common of them is the common hauliod. These fish live in almost all waters of the world's oceans, with the exception of the cold waters of the northern seas and the Arctic Ocean.

Chauliodas got their name from the Greek words “chaulios” - open mouth, and “odous” - tooth. Indeed, these relatively small fish (about 30 cm in length) have teeth that can grow up to 5 centimeters, which is why their mouth never closes, creating a creepy grin. Sometimes these fish are called sea vipers.

Howliods live at depths from 100 to 4000 meters. At night they prefer to rise closer to the surface of the water, and during the day they descend into the very abyss of the ocean. Thus, during the day, fish make huge migrations of several kilometers. With the help of special photophores located on the hauliod's body, they can communicate with each other in the dark.

On the dorsal fin of the viper fish there is one large photophore, with which it lures its prey directly to its mouth. After which, with a sharp bite of needle-sharp teeth, the hauliods paralyze the prey, leaving it no chance of salvation. The diet mainly includes small fish and crustaceans. According to unreliable data, some individuals of hauliods can live up to 30 years or more.

The longhorned sabertooth is another fearsome deep-sea predatory fish that lives in all four oceans. Although the saber tooth looks like a monster, it grows to a very modest size (about 15 centimeters in length). The head of the fish with a large mouth occupies almost half the length of the body.

The long-horned sabertooth got its name due to its long and sharp lower fangs, which are the largest in relation to body length among all fish known to science. The terrifying appearance of the sabertooth earned it the unofficial name - “monster fish”.

Adults can vary in color from dark brown to black. The younger representatives look completely different. They are light gray in color and have long spines on their heads. The sabertooth is one of the deepest-sea fish in the world; in rare cases, they descend to depths of 5 kilometers or more. The pressure at these depths is enormous, and the water temperature is about zero. There is catastrophically little food here, so these predators hunt for the first thing that gets in their way.

The size of the deep-sea dragon fish absolutely does not fit with its ferocity. These predators, which reach a length of no more than 15 centimeters, can eat prey two or even three times its size. Dragon fish live in tropical zones of the World Ocean at depths of up to 2000 meters. The fish has a large head and a mouth equipped with many sharp teeth. Like the Howlyod, the dragonfish has its own bait for prey, which is a long whisker with a photophore at the end, located on the fish's chin. The hunting principle is the same as for all deep-sea individuals. Using a photophore, the predator lures the victim to the closest possible distance, and then with a sharp movement inflicts a fatal bite.

The deep-sea anglerfish is rightfully the ugliest fish in existence. There are about 200 species of anglerfish, some of which can grow up to 1.5 meters and weigh 30 kilograms. Because of its creepy appearance and bad character, this fish was nicknamed the monkfish. Deep-sea anglerfish live everywhere at depths from 500 to 3000 meters. The fish has a dark brown color, a large flat head with many spines. The devil's huge mouth is studded with sharp and long teeth curved inward.

Deep-sea anglerfish have pronounced sexual dimorphism. Females are tens of times larger than males and are predators. Females have a rod with a fluorescent appendage at the end to attract fish. Anglerfish spend most of their time on the seabed, burrowing into sand and silt. Due to its huge mouth, this fish can completely swallow prey that is twice its size. That is, hypothetically, a large individual anglerfish could eat a person; Fortunately, there have never been such cases in history.

Probably the strangest inhabitant of the deep sea can be called the bagmouth or, as it is also called, the pelican-shaped largemouth. Due to its abnormally huge mouth with a bag and a tiny skull in relation to the length of the body, the bagmouth looks more like some kind of alien creature. Some individuals can reach two meters in length.

In fact, bagmouths belong to the class of ray-finned fish, but these monsters do not have too many similarities with the cute fish that live in warm sea backwaters. Scientists believe that the appearance of these creatures changed many thousands of years ago due to their deep-sea lifestyle. Bagmouths have no gill rays, ribs, scales or fins, and the body is oblong with a luminous appendage on the tail. If it were not for the large mouth, the bagmouth could easily be confused with an eel.

Bagworms live at depths from 2000 to 5000 meters in three world oceans, except the Arctic Ocean. Since there is very little food at such depths, bagmouths have adapted to long breaks in eating, which can last more than one month. These fish feed on crustaceans and other deep-sea brethren, mainly swallowing their prey whole.

The elusive giant squid, known to science as Architeuthis dux, is the world's largest mollusc and is thought to reach a length of 18 meters and weigh half a ton. To date, a live giant squid has never been captured by humans. Until 2004, there were no documented cases of encountering a living giant squid, and the general idea of ​​these mysterious creatures was formed only from the remains washed ashore or caught in fishermen’s nets. Architeuthis live at depths of up to 1 kilometer in all oceans. In addition to their gigantic size, these creatures have the largest eyes among living creatures (up to 30 centimeters in diameter).

So in 1887, the largest specimen in history, 17.4 meters long, washed up on the shores of New Zealand. In the next century, only two large dead representatives of the giant squid were discovered - 9.2 and 8.6 meters. In 2006, Japanese scientist Tsunami Kubodera managed to capture on camera a living female 7 meters long in her natural habitat at a depth of 600 meters. The squid was lured to the surface by a small bait squid, but an attempt to bring a live specimen on board the vessel was unsuccessful - the squid died from multiple injuries.

Giant squids are dangerous predators, and their only natural enemy is adult sperm whales. There are at least two described cases of fight between squid and sperm whale. In the first, the sperm whale won, but soon died, suffocated by the giant tentacles of the mollusk. The second fight took place off the coast of South Africa, then a giant squid fought with a baby sperm whale, and after an hour and a half fight, it still killed the whale.

The giant isopod, known to science as Bathynomus giganteus, is the largest species of crustacean. The average size of a deep-sea isopod ranges from 30 centimeters, but the largest recorded specimen weighed 2 kilograms and was 75 centimeters long. In appearance, giant isopods are similar to woodlice, and like the giant squid, they are a consequence of deep-sea gigantism. These crayfish live at a depth of 200 to 2500 meters, preferring to bury themselves in silt.

The body of these creepy creatures is covered with hard plates that act as a shell. In case of danger, crayfish can curl into a ball and become inaccessible to predators. By the way, isopods are also predators and can feast on a few small deep-sea fish and sea cucumbers. Powerful jaws and durable armor make the isopod a dangerous opponent. Although giant crayfish love to feast on live food, they often have to eat the remains of shark prey that fall from the upper layers of the ocean.

The coelacanth or coelacanth is a large deep-sea fish whose discovery in 1938 became one of the most important zoological finds of the 20th century. Despite its unattractive appearance, this fish is notable for the fact that for 400 million years it has not changed its appearance and body structure. In fact, this unique relict fish is one of the oldest living creatures on planet Earth, which existed long before the appearance of dinosaurs.

Coelacanth lives at a depth of up to 700 meters in the waters of the Indian Ocean. The length of the fish can reach 1.8 meters with a weight of more than 100 kilograms, and the body has a beautiful blue tint. Since coelacanth is very slow, it prefers to hunt at great depths, where there is no competition with faster predators. These fish can swim backwards or belly up. Despite the fact that the meat of the coelcanth is inedible, it is often the target of poaching among local residents. Currently, the ancient fish is in danger of extinction.

The deep sea goblin shark, or goblin shark as it is also called, is the most poorly studied shark to date. This species lives in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans at depths of up to 1300 meters. The largest specimen was 3.8 meters long and weighed about 200 kilograms.

The goblin shark got its name due to its eerie appearance. Mitsekurina has movable jaws that move outward when bitten. The goblin shark was first accidentally caught by fishermen in 1898, and since then 40 more specimens of this fish have been caught.

Another relict representative of the sea abyss is a one-of-a-kind cephalopod-detritus feeder, which has an external resemblance to both a squid and an octopus. The hellish vampire got its unusual name thanks to its red body and eyes, which, however, depending on the lighting, can be blue. Despite their terrifying appearance, these strange creatures grow to only 30 centimeters and, unlike other cephalopods, eat exclusively plankton.

The body of the hellish vampire is covered with luminous photophores, which create bright flashes of light that scare away enemies. In case of exceptional danger, these small mollusks turn their tentacles along the body, becoming like a ball with spikes. Hellish vampires live at depths of up to 900 meters, and can thrive in water with an oxygen level of 3% or lower, critical for other animals.