We always wonder what kind of strange places there are in the world or even outside our planet. But very few people or researchers wonder about the aquatic world, i.e., what is hidden in the deep sea where sunlight hardly reaches.
According to scientists, about 80% of the ocean is still unknown, so there is a possibility of finding various aquatic animals that may be foreign to us because we do not know anything about them. We cannot know anything about unknown creatures but we can talk about some of the most mysterious deep sea creatures that have already been discovered.
Squid Worm
The squid worm is a mysterious deep-sea creature found approximately 3000 meters below the surface, where sunlight is inaccessible and nutrient-rich food is scarce.
- This creature is native to the Coral Triangle, between the Philippines and Indonesia, Malaysia, and Papua New Guinea.
- The squid worm is a mixture of squid and worm. It has a worm-like structure and squid-like appendages extending up to its head, which is how the creature got its name.
- The squidworm uses its appendages to feel and touch its food. It also has 25 pairs of translucent paddles that help it swim.
Dinner Plate Jellyfish
The dinner plate jellyfish is a mysterious deep sea creature native to Monterey Bay California but can also be found in the Gulf of Mexico. This creature is found about 2000 meters below the sea surface.
- This jellyfish is completely translucent and has multiple long, string-like tentacles. These tentacles extend from the edge of a dinner plate-like bell of a jellyfish.
- This jellyfish is considered one of the apex predators as it actively hunts its prey.
- It has a diverse diet but mostly eats gelatinous marine animals. Along with this, its tentacles have stinging cells that help in paralyzing the prey.
- It has a flat-shaped bell and this creature can grow up to a maximum of 20 cm.
Pink Sea Through Fantasia
Another deep sea creature is the pink sea through Fantasia which is found about 2500 meters below the sea surface. The other name of this creature is Enypniastes Eximia and because of its appearance, it is also called a headless chicken fish and chicken monster.
- This creature is a sea cucumber native to the Celebes Sea of the western Pacific Ocean.
- It produces its soft glow that illuminates the innards which helps scare off potential predators.
- This organism feeds on nutrients found at the bottom of the sea by filtering sediments.
- This creature was discovered recently in 2007 and its body is completely transparent with a pinkish hue.
Frilled Shark
The frilled shark is a type of shark native to the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. It is found about 2500 meters to 5000 meters below the sea surface.
- This shark is a primitive shark with primitive physical traits that’s why this is also known as a living fossil.
- It is called a frilled shark because of the frilly appearance of its gills.
- This creature hunts in cold dark water in the deep sea and preys on smaller sharks, fish, and squids.
- Its long jaw reaches the end of its head, and it has 300 trident-shaped teeth arranged in 25 rows. These sharp teeth help it tear apart its prey.
Sea Angel
This mysterious deep sea creature has an angelic appearance and that is why it is called a sea angel. It is usually found at a depth of 500 meters to 1800 meters below the sea surface where very little sunlight reaches.
- Sea Angel is found worldwide in cold and temperate waters. Mostly, found in the Arctic Ocean and North Atlantic Ocean.
- Sea angels are cute-looking sea slugs that have fin-like appendages that help them swim in water.
- This angelic sea creature is an active predator that preys on small sea snails or sea butterflies.
- Sea angels also produce a certain type of chemical that can be poisonous to potential predators.
- Sea angels have small, semi-transparent bodies. They live in low light, where they can hide from predators. They also sometimes glow in the dark.
Nudibranch
Nudibranch, a mysterious deep sea creature, is a type of slug that is considered one of the most beautiful sea creatures. The name nudibranch means naked gills, meaning it has no gills.
- This organism is found in the bathypelagic region of the sea at a depth of 2500 meters from the sea surface where sunlight never reaches.
- It has a transparent gelatinous body and bioluminescence.
- There are about 3000 species of nudibranchs and some of them produce solar energy.
- Interesting fact, nudibranchs have both male and female organs.
- To distract predators and protect themselves, nudibranchs detach their glowing fingers from their bodies, which regrow after some time.
- Interestingly, nudibranchs are carnivorous and their body color depends on the food they consume.
Bioluminescent Octopus
This mysterious creature is found at the bottom of the sea at a depth of 500 to 4000 meters from the sea surface. This creature is native to the North Atlantic Ocean.
- It is the only known octopus to be bioluminescent as it has rows of light-producing organs on its body and arms.
- This mysterious creature uses light to communicate with others, defend against predators, and find food to survive.
- Sometimes these creatures add clouds of ink to their bioluminescence light to scare or disorient the predators.
- Bioluminescent octopuses were discovered in 1997 and are mostly found in oceanic waters.
Arctic Hydromedusa
Arctic Hydromedusa, another mysterious deep sea creature, was found 1000 meters from the sea surface. As the name suggests, it is found in the Arctic Ocean. This creature is a recent discovery as it was first discovered in 2010.
- Like other deep sea creatures, it also has bioluminescence and has adapted its body structure to live in harsh conditions.
- Interestingly, these organisms produce their sperm and eggs outside their bodies.
- As this creature was found recently, it is still under active research.