• Nature

    Posted on November 24th, 2008

    Written by enjoyhere

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    Leafy Sea Dragon

    leafy sea dragon 01 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    Leafy Sea Dragon

    leafy sea dragon 02 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    Leafy Sea Dragon

    leafy sea dragon 03 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    A Leafy Sea Dragon (phycodurus eques) has long leaf-like protrusions all over its body, serving as camouflage among different types of floating seaweeds of kelp beds. Neither prey nor predators recognize it as a fish.

    leafy sea dragon 04 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    It’s found along the coastline of Australia. A fully grown leafy sea dragon can reach about 45 cm (18 inch). During mating, the female deposits up to 250 bright pink eggs onto a special “brood patch” on the underside of the tail of the male where they are attached and fertilized.

    leafy sea dragon 05 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    A most distinguished portrait, worthy to be framed!

    Umbrella Mouth Gulper Eel

    umbrella mouth gulper eel 01 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    Umbrella Mouth Gulper Eel

    umbrella mouth gulper eel 02 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    The Umbrella Mouth Gulper Eel (Eurypharynx Pelecanoides) can open its “Umbrella Mouth” to Pelican-like proportion, accommodating prey much larger than its size.

    umbrella mouth gulper eel 03 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    Plus it can stretch and expand its stomach. The Eel itself can be almost one meter in length, and if it starts expanding. This means it can swallow and devour something more than 1.5 meters long.

    Firefly Squid

    firefly squid 01 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    This squid sees the world in color. And it makes deep-blue pretty light itself.

    firefly squid 02 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    The Firefly Squid (Watasenia Scintillans), also called the Sparkling Enope Squid has special deep-blue light producing organs called photophores. By flashing the lights on and off, it can attract prey before trapping it with its tentacles. It’s also only cephalopod species which have color vision!

    firefly squid 03 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    Each year off the coast of Toyama Bay, Japan, billions of these tiny squids will gather to spawn, creating a cool light show.

    Viperfish

    viperfish 01 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    Viperfish

    viperfish 02 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    Viperfish

    viperfish 03 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    The Viperfish (Chauliodus Sloani) can grow to over half a meter in size, which is simply not a comforting thought. Again, it attracts its prey with luminescent spots running from throat to tail, and attracts curious humans, who can not refrain from sticking a finger in its jaws to see what happens.

    viperfish 04 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    Viperfish can go without food for days. Beware of the sharp fangs, even if it’s dead.

    Angler Fish

    angler fish 01 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    Here is Angler Fish, with its stomach in its mouth. Decompression caused the stomach to invert.

    Fangtooth or Ogre Fish

    fangtooth 01 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    A Fangtooth (Anoplogaster Cornuta) or Ogre Fish, dwells mostly in the waters off the coast of Australia. By the way, the waters off Australia seem to teem with all kinds of monsters. It may be ferocious-looking, but it’s actually quite small - a maximum length of 17 cm.

    fangtooth 02 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    Its head contains several mucous cavities separated by serrated ridges. Its lower 94 mm teeth are engineered to neatly slide into mouth pockets, when the fish decides to close the gaping jaw.

    fangtooth 04 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    It is one of the deepest living organisms found yet. It seems to enjoy water temperatures near freezing state.

    Hatchetfish

    hatchetfish 01 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    A Hatchetfish has extremely thin body, resembling the blade of a hatchet, and tubular large eyes that are permanently fixed looking upwards. This helps them to search for food failling from above. It also gives them a psychotic look, with eyes rolled up and stuck there.

    hatchetfish 02 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    Light-producing photophores are used in a defensive behaviour called counter-lighting. Hatchetfish are abundant in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.

    Christmas Tree Worm

    christmas tree worm 01 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    Christmas Tree Worm

    christmas tree worm 02 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    The Christmas Tree Worm (Spirobranchus Giganteus) is a small polychaete worm most often found in the Black Forest Reef and other reefs near Grand Turk. They hide in the tubes, stick out their heads, and when threatened, pull their heads back into the tube. The feather-like tentacles resembling twin “Christmas Trees” are called radioles. They filter the plankton for food, aid in respiration, and allow this worm to sing Christmas carols, very very softly.

    christmas tree worm 03 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    The tube extends down across the surface of this Giant Star Coral. Each bump on the surface of the coral is one animal, called a polyp. Each Star Coral polyp was nearly 1/4 of an inch wide.

    christmas tree worm 04 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    You can see the “antennae” on the top of this worm’s head. These two “antennae”, called Radioles, work like a net to catch tiny plankton that float by in the ocean currents. The Radioles also work like gills, allowing the worm to breathe.

    Giant Basket Star

    giant basket star 01 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    The Giant Basket Star (Astrophyton Muricatum) is an early Mesozoic invertebrate, often found around British Virgin Islands. During the day, it curls up into a tight ball shape to protect itself from predators. At night, it climbs to an elevated point to feed on plankton by extending its intricately-branched feeding arms in a bowl-like shape. Then, it coils around its prey and the tiny hooks along the length of these arms will prevent its prey from escaping.

    giant basket star 02 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    Giant Basket Star

    astrophyton 01 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    Giant Basket Star

    Furry Sea Cucumber

    furry sea cucumber 01 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    Furry Sea Cucumber

    furry sea cucumber 02 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    The Furry Sea Cucumber (Astichopus Multifidus) can be seen crawling or rolling over the sea floor of the Caribbean, Bahamas, and Florida. If you tear it to pieces trying to find out what it is, it would not really mind. They can regenerate their body tissues. Potentially filling the ocean floor with furry cucumbers.

    furry sea cucumber 03 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    Furry Sea Cucumber

    Flamingo Tongue Snail

    flamingo toungue snail 01 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    Flamingo Tounge Snail

    flamingo toungue snail 02 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    The Flamingo Tounge Snail (Cyphoma Gibbosumn) is a small, colorful sea snail which lives on various species of soft corals in the Caribbean. This creature almost literally wears its heart (soul and colors) on its sleeve. The pretty color you see in these images is not in snail’s shell. Rather, it’s in a layer of live mantle tissue, connected to its foot. The snail pushes it out to cover the shell. The mantle tissue also works like a fish’s gill. When the snail is attacked, the mantle (and colors) are withdrawn. So you might say, this is the only marine animal that literally turns pale in fright.

    flamingo toungue snail 03 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    And they’re only beautiful with all that color while they’re alive. The dead ones are just ugly white shells.

    Piglet Squid

    piglet squid 01 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    Piglet Squid (Helicocranchia) caught off the shores of Nigeria.

    piglet squid 02 Weirdest sea creatures ever

    Photo Alan Kinnear This oceanic squids are small (100 mm ML), characterized by having a very large funnel and small paddle-like fins that attach to a portion of the gladius that rises above the muscular mantle. They exhibit a gradual ontogenetic descent from near-surface waters as paralarvae to lower mesopelagic depths as near-adults.

    More great images:
  • 30 Comments

    Take a look at some of the responses we've had to this article.

    1. Nov 26th
      Reply

      Great pics! My favorite is the hatchet fish. They have eerie human qualities.

    2. [...] Weirdest Sea Creatures [...]

    3. [...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onWeirdest sea creatures ever – Magazine 13Here’s a quick excerptThe Christmas Tree Worm (Spirobranchus Giganteus) is a small polychaete worm most often found in the Black Forest Reef and other reefs near Grand Turk. They hide in the tubes, stick out their heads, and when threatened, pull their heads … [...]

    4. [...] Weirdest sea creatures ever … of Australia. A fully grown leafy sea dragon can reach about 45 cm (18 inch). During mating, the female deposits up to 250 bright pink eggs onto a special “brood patch” on the underside of the tail of the male where they are attached and fertilized. A most distinguished portrait, worthy … [...]

    5. Terrifying creatures :P Some of them are cute, though… :)

    6. [...] Weirdest sea creatures ever … in length, and if it starts expanding. This means it can swallow and devour something more than 1.5 meters long. Firefly Squid This squid sees the world in color. And it makes deep-blue pretty light itself. The Firefly Squid (Watasenia Scintillans), also called the Sparkling Enope Squid has special … [...]

    7. Dec 1st
      Reply

      Nice list! Leafy Sea Dragon is very purdy. Umbrella, Viper, Angler, Fangtooth… Very scary eww! The firefly squid is pretty cool I guess. Hatchetfish are eerie like ghosts and almost cute in a very very creepy way!

      Christmas tree worm, Giant basket star and Furry sea cucumber… Not so purdy. Flamingo tongue snail is pretty cool and piglet squid is ridiculously cute!

    8. [...] deserves. shit i should be in the poker forum (but i cant talk about poker) I was looking at this Weirdest sea creatures ever – Magazine 13 The Hatchet Fish (why did you cut up all those fishes? As i don’t give a fcuk!’) A line from [...]

    9. [...] Weirdest sea creatures ever [...]

    10. indy coco
      Dec 4th
      Reply

      great pics.
      it’s amazing what we can find today.

    11. camouflage tattoo…

      Good job with Neatorama ” Blog Archive ” Camouflage Shirt.. camouflage tattoo are the best….

    12. Jerico Reyes
      Dec 26th
      Reply

      Those viper fish things are look really cool i want one too!

      it’s like a nightlight…that you have to feed

    13. K
      Dec 26th
      Reply

      Maybe it’s just a joke, but unless you’re diving several hundred meters under the ocean in the middle of the night, you really don’t have to worry about being bitten by a viper fish. So I think that rules out the “curious (more like stupid, who the hell would put their finger in there?) humans” thing.

    14. J
      Dec 28th
      Reply

      these little guys fascinate me, but this list needs these guys http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown-of-thorns_starfish

    15. tiggra
      Dec 29th
      Reply

      wow fish
      so cool
      like seriously get a fucking life
      find something else to stumble upon

    16. shirley
      Dec 30th
      Reply

      oh my gosh!
      this is weird but cool..:D
      i like it ..nice ..i think

    17. pisinomember
      Dec 30th
      Reply

      cojonudas las fotos!!

    18. efe
      Dec 31st
      Reply

      the hatchetfish pictures remind me of those triabl african masks. very cool. if you like this site you should try and check out the discovery channels blue planet documentary on deep see creatures. there is some very cool and strange stuff in it.

    19. efe
      Dec 31st
      Reply

      tribal*

    20. Harry Barracuda
      Jan 15th
      Reply

      I like the Blob Fish. What a great name.

      It looks like a really sad, big-nosed bald bloke.

      http://www.animalpicturesarchive.com/ArchOLD-7/1190362401.jpg

    21. Ben
      Jan 16th
      Reply

      there is no way these are real. I am offended that you think I am this stupid. I want my five minutes back.

    22. [...] Weirdest sea creatures ever Magazine 13 (tags: nature) [...]

    23. [...] Extrañas criatura del fondo del mar [...]

    24. [...] ones I found. Thought they look pretty cool when stoned. If anyone knows of any others add them. Link to original [...]

    25. nina
      Jan 25th
      Reply

      Wow .. really cool .. and even a bit scary

    26. [...] While browsing I found this website. [...]

    27. Feb 6th
      Reply

      makes me hungry…deep fried or broiled???

    28. skipper
      Mar 18th
      Reply

      These are fantastic photos and descriptions! Found them while doing some research for an art project. I also love that blob fish – kinda disgusting though with that goop dribbling out of it’s mouth. It makes me think of the Aussie expression “Face like a dropped pie” LMAO Flamingo – just gorgeous, piglet squid – hilariously cute and that viper fish is extraordinary! Thanks!

    29. alex
      Aug 27th
      Reply

      i hate viperfish! im very stupid i was scubdiving and then i say it and i put my finger in its jaw! it hurt! nearly took my finger off… *shudders*

    30. alex
      Aug 27th
      Reply

      correction, i saw it not say it lol

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