by The Ocean’s Most Unusual Fish
We still don’t know a lot of creatures out there apparently as these pictures of some of the Ocean’s most unusual fish reveal. Still, what we do know is that our oceans are full of marvellous life, so much of it unknown. Here are just some of the coolest and strangest fish that live far, far, below in our oceans, that we know about.
But it also includes several unidentified creatures like 8-legged arthropods and other fish too strange to even describe. Some of them look so ᴛᴇʀʀɪꜰʏɪɴɢ that one may even want to think twice before going into open waters again. Here are just a few of the Ocean’s most unusual fish that we live with today:
Gʜᴏsᴛ Shark
One of the creatures the fisherman pulled up is the ʀᴀʀᴇʟʏ seen Chimaera, or more commonly called Gʜᴏsᴛ Shark. Though their eyes appear ᴅᴇᴀᴅ and sunken deep in the waters, once brought to the surface they seem to glow with an eerie green light. Gʜᴏsᴛ sharks have a skeleton cartilage just like rays and sharks. Also, they have winged fins and long, thin whip-like tails. Gᴏʙʟɪɴ shark: This elusive shark is found in both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. They’ve even been spotted in the Gulf of Mexico and along the coast of Japan. One look at this shark and you’ll see how it got its name: its protruding nose, along with a mouth, truly does resemble a Gᴏʙʟɪɴ of fairy tales. The Gᴏʙʟɪɴ shark prefers to live in the deep, away from sunlight, which has also earned the species the moniker “vampire shark.” They feed on organisms that lie deep in the oceans including sting rays, crabs and mollusks, though in some areas, they’ve been known to eat squid. And how they feed is pretty interesting: when they approach their ᴘʀᴇʏ, their jaw extends outward and then they suck in their meal and chomp down using their powerful and very sharp teeth. Because the shark is so ʀᴀʀᴇʟʏ seen, its numbers are unknown.
Once again, this fish lives deep in the oceans. Though it is one of the deepest living fish known (they’ve been spotted as deep as 5,000 metres), they typically live between 200 and 2,000 metres. They’ve also been known to make their way to the surface at night. Most fangtooths are dark brown or black, about 18 centimetres long, and ʜᴜɴᴛ their ᴘʀᴇʏ using their sense of smell and even the slightest bit of sunlight that might penetrate the depths. They are found in temperate waters around the world. Interestingly, their feeding habits vary depending on age: juveniles eat crustaceans while adults eat fish. And though they look pretty ᴛᴇʀʀɪꜰʏɪɴɢ, since they’re only found in the deep, they don’t pose a ᴛʜʀᴇᴀᴛ to humans.
Note that the conditions under which these creatures live deep in the sea has an effect on their features. Generally, deep-sea creatures seem alien-like in appearance to begin with. Most of them have evolved over time to survive the extreme pressures at those depths. Also, changes in pressure when they are eventually brought to the surface will also alter their appearance to some extent. Though some will withstand the effects of sudden vertical migrations, it often causes metabolic problems for most.
