Featured Image Source: The Irish Times
Like people, ocean animals come in all shapes and sizes. When we think about these ocean critters we often think of dolphins, sharks, sea turtles, crabs, and the run of the mill fish. But that’s not all that’s swimming around in the deep blue. Little do we know that there are tons of bizarre-looking creatures that also call the ocean their home.
This jiggly looking fish was deemed the world’s ugliest animal in 2013. The Blobfish resides at the bottom of the ocean where it’s skin has become as dense as the high-pressured water it swims in. Thanks to its lack of density, feeding time requires minimal energy. The Blobfish simply opens its mouth while floating along swallowing any critter that crosses its path.
Deep Sea Hatchetfish
These scary-looking fish got their name from their silver-colored thorax, which resembles a hatchet’s blade. The Hatchetfish can be found in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans 50 meters underwater. Their bioluminescent properties allow them to lurk in the dark depths of the ocean to hunt their prey.
Flamingo Tongue Snail
The Bruce Willis of the ocean suffers no harm and is truly unbreakable. In fact, the snail becomes toxic by absorbs venom from sea fans, much to the demise for their predators. They also lack a hard exterior shell, unlike other mollusks. Instead, they have vibrant colored tissue, which scuba divers can easily identify.
Don’t let their chompers scare you away. The Fangtooth, who has the largest teeth among others their size in the ocean, is actually not as terrifying as it looks. Since the Fangtooth is nearly blind, in order to catch a predator it needs to basically bump into them to find them. Not to mention this deep ocean dweller lives 16,400 feet below the ocean’s surface.
The flexible echinoderm has the same mental capacity as the vegetable it received its name from. Sea Cucumbers live without any true brain or sensory organs. However, their high level of collagen allows them to wedge through tiny surfaces by liquefying themselves and moving to the area they desire. The sea cucumber also uses a peculiar defense mechanism, in which they push their organs out of their anus to scare off predators.
This fascinating fish is also quite terrifying to ocean creatures and humans alike. The Angler Fish has a spine that extends out of their bodies and over their heads that grows pieces of glowing flesh used to lure their prey into an attack. When a male angler finds a female to mate with the male bites onto the bottom of the female’s skin, fusing the two bodies together and stays there for the rest of its life.