With every dive into the ocean, explorers are finding rare species thriving in the deep seas. For a long time, it was believed that no life form could thrive beyond depths of 1800m in the deep sea, where even light fails to reach. We have only explored 5% of the total ocean cover of the planet, which is why with each deep sea dive, newer species are surfacing. These strange looking alien-like creatures appear to have arrived from a different world. Here are the 15 rarest creatures of the sea.
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Polychaete Worm
Image Source : Australianmuseum.Net.Au
This alien looking worm can be found at depths of 1200m in hydrothermal vents on ocean floors. These pink worms rarely grow beyond 10cm but are ferocious predators. They sense the prey with the tentacles on their heads and turn the pharynx inside out for a sudden grab of the prey.
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Pink See-through Fantasia
Image Source : OurBreathingPlanet.Com
Found in the Celebes Sea, this organism was only recently discovered. Freely floating in the deep sea waters of the western Pacific Ocean, this cucumber like pink organism is completely see-through.
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Dumbo Octopus
Image Source : AquariumofPacific.Org
Living at depths well beyond 23,000 feet below sea level, this umbrella octopus is a strange looking organism. With ear like fins for swimming, the Dumbo Octopus is a rare creature that inhabits the deep sea.
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Red-lipped batfish
Image Source : R.Ddmcdn.Com
One of the strangest creatures inhabiting the deepest part of the ocean off the Galapagos islands, the red-lipped batfish has pectoral fins. These fins allow them to walk on the ocean floor.
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The goblin shark
Image Source : Kids.NationalGeographic.Com
First discovered in 1985 in the waters of eastern Australia, more than a hundred goblin sharks were reported in the north-eastern waters of Taiwan after an earthquake. This slow-moving, deep sea creature is still a mystery to scientists. It has a unique set of dentition to serve dual purposes and can grow up to 3.8 meters or more.
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The vampire squid
Image Source : Pmdvod.NationalGeographic.Com
Living at depths of 600-900m, this squid is a relatively low-level dweller when considering squids. It has large eyes in terms of its body size proportions and has a unique defense mechanism. The squid releases a bioluminescent ink to confuse the other animals and escape.
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Eastern Pacific Black Ghost Shark
Image Source : Teninsider.Com
This mysterious shark belongs to a group of primitive sharks known as chimeras, which reportedly branched away from sharks about 400 million years ago. Using fins to ‘fly’ through water, this shark has been sighted deep of the coast of California. The male has a spiky, club-like, retractable sexual organ that protrudes from its forehead.
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Narwhal
Image Source : Kids.NationalGeographic.Com
Looking like unicorns swimming in thewater, the narwhal has a large nerve-filled tusk on its forehead for electromagnetic sensing of the environment.
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Sarcastic fringehead
Image Source : Factzoo.Com
These tiny fishes might have a funny name, but they are aggressive predators, known to attack crustaceans. Native to deep sea waters of Southern California and Baja, Mexico, they have a large mouth and are extremely territorial.
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Tardigrade
Image Source : Ichef.Bbci.Co.Uk
The world’s toughest known creatures are a micro-species known as water bears. These are classified as extremophiles, meaning they can thrive in conditions that are completely unfavorable for all life on Earth. They are reported to have lives spanning more than 200 years.
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Mola mola
Image Source : Wpengine.Netdna-Cdn.Com
The heaviest bony fish of the world, an adult mola mola has an average weight of 1000kg. native to temperate and tropical waters, this fish lives on a diet of jellyfish and poses no threat to humans.
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The colossal squid
Image Source : Images.NationalGeographic.Com
About the size of a bus (12-14m), the largest known specimen of this slow-moving ambush predator was captured in the Antarctic Waters of the Ross Sea. The colossal squid attracts large fish and other squids with its bioluminescent ink release to capture and prey on them.
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Rainbow eel
Image Source : Messersmith.Name
The colorful look of the rainbow eel might be a perfect cover for its ferocious predator instincts. These eels can change colors and sex during their life.
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Blobfish
Image Source : Mnn.Com
Very little is known of this rare and exotic looking creature that is so excruciatingly ugly and haunting in appearance. It lives off the coast of Australia and Tasmania at depths of 600-1200m.
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Deepstaria engimatica
Image Source : Bogleech.Com
Recently identified by marine biologists as a type of deep-sea jellyfish, there was a lot of speculation on the sightings of this creature.
The deep seas are completely unexplored treasure chests of the planet’s bulk of diversity. A handful of this rich diversity occasionally surfaces once in a while to astonish us with its uniqueness.
