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We took the spook-tacular celebration to the depths
of the ocean, where some of the craziest—and scariest—looking creatures
lurk in the dark. Be thankful that these monsters live at pressures
humans could never survive at.
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Frilled Shark
Frilled sharks usually lived thousands of feet below the surface, but
occasionally come up to our level just to remind us how freaky the ocean
can be. They look like some basic model of a shark, before sharks
learned how to shark.
Why they are terrifying: Because they have three-pointed teeth, like one
point just isn’t enough. |
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Gulper Eel
An eel with a mouth like a pelican, little is known about this deep sea
monster. It lives around 3000 metres below and grows up to 6 feet long.
Why they are terrifying: Their weirdly enlarged jaws, and super stretchy
stomachs, allow them to swallow prey as large as itself. Eek. |
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Fangtooth fish
The fangtooth fish is one of the deepest living fish ever discovered and
has been seen as far down as 5000 metres below sea level. At this depth
the pressure would be 500 times greater than on land. Humans would be
crushed to human pancakes at these pressures.
Why they are terrifying: Because although they are only around 15 cm
long they have the largest teeth in proportion to their body size of any
fish. |
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Pacific Viperfish
Pacific viperfish live 4500 metres below the surface. They hunt by
attracting prey with their glowing bellies.
Why they are terrifying: Because their teeth are so big they can’t close
their mouths. |
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Humpback Anglerfish
Living 2000 metres below the surface, the anglerfish lures its prey with
light, like the viperfish, but this time glowing from the strange
antenna sticking out from its head.
Why they are terrifying: I mean just look at it.
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Stargazer fish
Stargazer fish bury themselves in the sand, and wait for a fish to swim
right over their face, at which point they spring out and eat it. They
have a permanently upwards pointing head, perfectly adapted to this
hunting technique.
Why they are terrifying: Just imagine looking down to the sea bed and
seeing that face.
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Giant Spider Crab
The largest crab on earth lives up to 1000 ft below sea level, and can
measure up to 12 ft from claw tip to claw tip.
Why they are terrifying: Because have you ever been nipped by a normal
size crabs? It hurts. Imagine being nipped by a giant crab, it might be
able to nip your toe off.
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Giant Isopod
Giant isopods are like massive sea woodlice that has been found in
depths of up to 2000 metres, and grows to around 30 cm long. They are
mainly scavengers but have also been known to catch live prey.
Why they are terrifying: These guys are the ultimate survivors. They
have been around since all the continents were stuck together in one
lump known as Pangea, and they can go four years without eating, so
really it’s only a matter of time before they take over the earth.
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Goblin Shark
Goblin sharks live up to 1300 metres below sea level. They have eel-like
tails, similar to the frilled shark and grow to around 3.5 metres long.
They scan the sea bed with their super long snouts, detecting the tiny
electrical currents given off by all living things.
Why they are terrifying: Because they seem to detach their whole mouth
from their body to grab their prey.
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Giant Squid
The Giant squid can grow up to 18 metres long. That’s the same as a six
storey building. That is very very big. And their eyes are as big as
beach balls.
Why they are terrifying: Because some people think they might eat small
whales. And small whales aren’t very small.
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