The depths of the sea are now the most inaccessible and mysterious part of our planet. It is there that researchers and tourists have not yet been able to penetrate, it is there that marine animals can feel safe from curious people. At the same time, the depths of the ocean hide their inhabitants quite reliably, although we managed to get acquainted with some of the most terrible.
1. European anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius) 
If you ask someone to describe the angler, the easiest way to do this is by calling it "mouth with a tail." It seems that his mouth smoothly passes into the tail, and the body is basically absent. At the same time, all fish are covered with various outgrowths and outgrowths, which help it to disguise itself among the sand and thickets of aquatic vegetation. They are distributed in the Atlantic Ocean from Black to North Sea at depths of 18-550 m.
The dimensions of the angler are impressive - up to two meters long and more than 20 kg in weight. But his way of getting food is amazing. The first rays of the dorsal fin of the anglerfish in the process of evolution have changed, turning into a kind of bait, fluorescing in the dusk of the depths. Now he lies quietly in ambush, waving the bait in front of his nose. A naive fish swims up and then the terrible jaws instantly open, drawing water with all living creatures into the bottomless stomach of the anglerfish. Caviar from anglers is spawned in real layers almost a meter wide and up to nine meters long. The eggs are light and rise to the surface, where the fry gradually eat off and sink, reaching the bottom and the desired dimensions by 5-6 years.
Interestingly, in France, the monkfish is a popular dish, but for the Jews, due to the lack of scales, it is not kosher.
2. Viperfish (Chauliodus sloani) 
Hauloids, there are 6 species that live in warm tropical waters. The fish are small, only up to 35 cm, but their appearance can bring even the most persistent (and including) to hysteria. There are viper fish at depths of up to four kilometers, although more often from 500 to 1000 meters. At night, they rise almost to the very surface, and during the day they sink deep to the bottom. The body of the fish is covered with large scales and luminous areas that are used for communication. In addition, one of the rays of the dorsal fin, like that of the anglerfish, is turned into a bait.
But main feature fish is its disproportionately large head in relation to the body, equipped with long sharp teeth. It is able to lean far back, and the jaw, like that of snakes, to move forward and down. As a result, marine life, three times larger, becomes its victims. Howloids also have a specific structure of the esophagus, the whole body is focused on holding any prey that comes across! Indeed, in the habitats of the viper fish, hunting is not very abundant, and the hauloid can live 12 days on one victim.
3. Alepisaurus (alepisaurus) 
The species was first described in 1741 by Steller during the Kamchatka expedition. And then the researchers got the carcass of fish thrown ashore. Later, with the expansion of fishing, fish began to come across more often, more material appeared for research. It was possible to establish that the size of the fish reaches 2 meters and 8 kilograms, they have huge teeth and a high dorsal fin. All fish seem to be swift strong, thanks to flattened slim body and narrow elongated head. Like many deep-sea predators, the alepisaurus makes large vertical movements behind its prey.
4. Longhorn sabertooth (Anoplogaster cornuta) 
For almost 50 years, scientists believed that they took the juveniles of these fish for separate view. Young and adult saber-tooths are radically different from each other - in color, body shape, and an arsenal of teeth. In light, triangular fish with a spiky head, black, large-headed, toothy predators with the longest teeth in relation to the body among fish turn out with age. And these fish are considered the deepest, meeting at a depth of five kilometers and at the same time easily enduring normal pressure, surviving in ordinary aquariums. Yes, but long scary predators only 15 cm.
5. Dragonfish (Grammatostomias flagellibarba) 
Another tropical deep sea predator. To cope with the problem of obtaining food at kilometer depths, he is helped by a luminous bait process, large sharp teeth and the ability to literally put on the victim. In this case, the size of the fish does not exceed 15 centimeters.
6. Big Mouth (Eurypharynx pelecanoides) 
At a kilometer depth you can meet, perhaps, the most strange fish- big mouths. Their skull bones were almost completely reduced, and the entire skeleton underwent significant changes. The lower jaw took on the appearance of a large bag resembling a pelican, and the body itself most of all resembles a long whip up to 2 meters long. Like other marine inhabitants of these depths, largemouths are aggressive and capable of swallowing rather large prey.
7. Atlantic Giant Squid / Architeuthis dux 
In 1887, the largest specimen was caught off the coast of New Zealand giant squid- 17.5 meters long, of which only tentacles accounted for 5 meters. Sometimes these squids are called champions among mollusks in size, but their other relatives are in the lead here - colossal squid. Many legends are associated with both species, they are credited with violent battles with sperm whales, dragging ships under water and submarines, it is these squids that are called krakens.
8. Giant isopod crayfish (Bathynomus giganteus) 
This creature was discovered by accident by oilmen in Gulf of Mexico at a depth of 2.6 km. It simply stuck to one of the geological sensors, and then was taken out to the surface. Giant sea "woodlice" reach 0.45 m in length and 2 kg of weight. The first of its 7 pairs of legs evolved into mandibles, and a strong chitinous cover provides reliable protection body. The appearance of the isopod cancer is truly prehistoric.
9. Frogfish (Brachionichthyidae melanostomus) 
This kind sea anglers differs in that it has practically lost the ability to swim, but deftly moves along the bottom with the help of modified pectoral fins. It has a small body up to 12 cm, covered with poisonous processes and spikes, capable of swelling and absorbing very large prey. Which, like all fish of this family, is lured to a luminous "fishing rod".
10. Infernal Vampire (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) 
This cephalopod has features of both squid and octopus. This is one of the most amazing animals. The infernal vampire holds several records at once. Its eyes at 2.5 cm are, relative to the body (30 cm), the largest in the animal kingdom. He lives on the great depth(400-1000 m) among all cephalopods, where there is no light and a vanishing low concentration of oxygen.
Due to the content of copper in the blood, it is possible to supply the body with those crumbs of oxygen that are in the water. Due to the high content of ammonia in the tissues, an ideal body density comparable to the density of sea water has been achieved, which ensures excellent buoyancy and does not require additional energy. The mollusk is completely covered with photoreceptors and uses light for complex communication, to disorientate the victim and the attacker. Unlike its shallower counterparts, the infernal vampire does not use ink for protection, it releases a slimy suspension with luminous balls in the face of the attackers, and hides nearby in the dark.
11. Long-nosed chimera (Harriotta raleighana) 
All chimeras have quite remarkable noses to some extent, but long-nosed chimera- it has a particularly intricate shape. This bottom deep-sea predator lives at depths of 200-2600 m and, thanks to the aerodynamic shape of the nose and body, is able to develop huge speeds. In addition, they have a large poisonous thorn, which is usually folded notch on the back, and in case of danger rises up.
12. Frilled Shark (Chlamydoselachus anguineus) 
A rare relic shark reaches 2 meters in length and lives in the bottom areas at depths of 400-1200 meters. The shark got its name for the skin folds that cover the gill slits. The body of the fish is elongated, serpentine, like other sharks, a huge number of bent teeth and a brutal appetite. Another feature is ovoviviparity, and "pregnancy" can last up to 2 years.
And one more marine inhabitant, a real live-eater:
Our Earth is 70% water, and most of these vast water (including underwater) expanses remain poorly explored. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that the most amazing and strange representatives animal world live in the depths of the sea. Today in our article we will talk about the most incredible deep-sea fish Mariana Trench and other ocean depths. Many of these fish were discovered relatively recently, and many of them amaze us, people, with their incredible and even fantastic appearance, structural features, habits and way of life.
Bassogigas - the deepest sea fish in the world
So, get acquainted, bassogigas - a fish that holds the absolute record for the deepest habitat. For the first time, bassogigas was caught at the bottom of a trough near Puerto Rico at a depth of 8 km (!) from the John Eliot research ship.
Bassogigas.
As you can see, in appearance, our deep-sea champion differs little from ordinary fish, although in fact, despite the relatively typical appearance its habits and way of life are still little studied by scientific zoologists, because it is a very difficult task to conduct research at such a great depth.
drop fish
But already our next hero can hardly be reproached for being “ordinary”, get acquainted - a drop fish, which, in our opinion, has the strangest and most fantastic appearance.
Like an alien from outer space, right? A drop fish lives on the deep ocean floor near Australia and Tasmania. The size of an adult representative of the species is no more than 30 cm. In front of it is a process resembling our nose, and on the sides, respectively, there are two eyes. A drop fish does not have developed muscles and resembles something in its way of life - it slowly swims with open mouth in anticipation that the prey, and these are usually small invertebrates, will itself be nearby. After that, the drop fish swallows the prey. She herself is inedible and, moreover, is on the verge of extinction.
And here is our next hero - a sea bat, which in its appearance does not even look like a fish.
But, nevertheless, he is still a fish, although he cannot swim. The bat moves along the seabed, pushing off with its fins, so similar to legs. The bat lives in the warm deep waters of the oceans. The largest representatives of the species reach 50 cm in length. Bats are predators and feed on various small fish, but since they cannot swim, they lure their prey with a special bulb growing directly from their heads. This bulb has a specific smell that attracts fish, as well as worms and crustaceans (they are also eaten by our hero), while the bat itself patiently sits in ambush and, as soon as potential prey is nearby, it sharply grabs it.
Anglerfish - deep sea fish with a flashlight
The deep-sea anglerfish, which lives, including in the depths of the famous Mariana Trench, is especially remarkable for its appearance, due to the presence of a real flashlight rod on its head (hence its name).
The angler's flashlight rod is not only for beauty, but also serves the most practical purposes, with its help our hero also lures prey - various small fish, although due to his not small appetite and the presence of sharp teeth, the angler does not hesitate to attack and for more major representatives fish kingdom. An interesting fact: anglers themselves often become a victim of their special voracity, because having grabbed a large fish, due to the structure of their teeth, they can no longer release their prey, as a result of which they themselves choke and die.
But back to his amazing biological flashlight, why does it glow? In fact, light is provided by special luminous bacteria that live in close symbiosis with the anglerfish.
Apart from its main name deep sea anglerfish has others: sea Devil”,“ Monkfish ”, because in its appearance, and habits, it can be safely attributed to deep-sea monster fish.
The side-eye has perhaps the most unusual structure among deep-sea fish: a transparent head through which he can see with his tubular eyes.
Although the fish was first discovered by scientists back in 1939, it still remains poorly understood. It lives in the Bering Sea, near the western coast of the USA and Canada, as well as near the coast of northern Japan.
giant amoeba
American oceanologists 6 years ago discovered living creatures at a record depth of 10 km. - giant amoeba. True, they no longer belong to fish, so bassogigas still occupies the championship among fish, but it is these giant amoebas that are absolute champions among living creatures that live at the greatest depth - the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest known on Earth. These amoebae were discovered with the help of a special deep-sea camera, and research on their life continues to this day.
Deep sea fish video
And in addition to our article, we suggest you watch an interesting video about 10 incredible creatures Mariana Trench.
Almost the entire surface of the Earth has been studied by man. But the depths of the sea keep mysteries that are revealed gradually. With the advent of opportunities to dive deeper into the abyss, we find unusual deep-sea creatures there. Some of them we would like to present to you. Not all of them are beautiful in appearance, but it is impossible to deny them originality.
Medusa Atoll- a rather predatory creature living at a depth where Sun rays don't penetrate, let alone divers. Its feature is the ability to glow bright red. This happens when the jellyfish senses danger is approaching.
blue angel- very little creature which can easily fit in the palm of a person. It has an amazing shape and color: it looks like a soaring angel, or a miniature dragon, blue on top and silver below. This disguise helps him protect himself from predators, both in water and in the air. An angel can easily float to the surface of the sea by swallowing an air bubble.
Another sea creature is the Harp Sponge. As the name implies, it is shaped like a harp that clings to sea mud, and with its upper sticky tips it catches small prey.
Funny octopus Dumbo gets its name from its resemblance to a Disney cartoon elephant, although it is much smaller than a terrestrial mammal. When an octopus swims, it flaps its fins, which are exactly like elephant ears. There is very little information about him, since his habitat is very deep.
In the cold sea depths lives the Yeti furry crab. Its claws are covered with fur, making crab-like on the Bigfoot. Life on great depth, where there is no light, has made the yeti completely blind.
Strange Fashionista Fish The bat lives at a depth of 200 meters. She does not know how to swim, but only moves her shell-covered body along the bottom, using her legs-fins to move. She is called a fashionista for the bright red color of her slightly protruding lips, which makes her quite funny.
Handsome slug Felimare Picta
lives among. Extravagance is given to him by the coloring and shape of the body: a rich blue-yellow color of the body, framed by a frill. He does not have his own house (like an ordinary mollusk), because he uses a special tool for protection - acidic sweat, released throughout the body. It is unlikely that anyone would want to get involved with such prey.
A mollusk lives in the Atlantic Ocean, nicknamed "Flamingo Tongue". He is inseparable from his shell, which he carefully guards with his own body, and in which he hides in case of danger.
Seahorses whose body is "seated" many leaves, and are called leafy dragons. They are one of the best mimicry craftsmen. The leaves do not interfere at all and do not help him swim, the dragon moves with the help of two small fins.
Deep sea fish. They live in conditions where life, it would seem, is completely impossible. Nevertheless, it is there, but it takes such bizarre forms that it causes not only surprise, but also fear, and even horror. Most of these creatures live at a depth of 500 to 6500 meters.
Deep-sea fish can withstand the enormous pressure of the water at the bottom of the ocean, and it is such that the fish that live in the upper layers of the water would be crushed. When relatively deep-sea perciformes are lifted, their swim bladder turns outward due to a drop in pressure. It is he who helps them to stay at a constant depth and adapt to the pressure of water on the body. Deep-sea fish constantly pump gas into it so that the bubble does not flatten from external pressure. In order to ascend, the gas from the swim bladder must be released, otherwise, when the water pressure decreases, it will stretch greatly. However, gas is released from the swim bladder slowly.
One of the features of real deep-sea fish is precisely its absence. When rising up, they die, but without visible changes.
AT deep sea trenches Atlantic Ocean near Rio de Janeiro discovered an unknown species of fish, which can be considered a living fossil. Named Hydrolagus matallanasi by Brazilian scientists, this chimera fish has remained virtually unchanged over the past 150 million years.
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Along with sharks and rays, chimeras belong to the cartilaginous order, but they are the most primitive and may well be considered living fossils, since their ancestors appeared on Earth 350 million years ago. They were living witnesses of all the cataclysms on the planet and plowed the ocean a hundred million years before the appearance of the first dinosaurs on Earth."
Fish up to 40 centimeters long live on great depths, in giant depressions up to 700-800 meters deep, so until now it could not be detected. Her skin is equipped with sensitive nerve endings, with which she captures the slightest movement in absolute darkness. Despite the deep sea habitat, the chimera is not blind, it has huge eyes.
Blind deep sea fish
Victims of appetite.
The black live-throat fish, living at depths of 700 meters and below, has adapted to absorb prey, which can be 2 times longer and 10 times heavier than itself. This is possible due to the strongly stretching stomach of the black livethroat. 
Sometimes the prey is so large that it begins to decompose before it is digested, and the gases released in this process push the living throat to the surface of the ocean.
Zhivoglot has an amazing ability to frequently swallow living creatures that exceed their own size. At the same time, he, like a mitten, stretches on prey. For example, in the stomach of an 8-centimeter giant is placed a 14-centimeter "lunch"
Super-predator of the deep sea.
Bathysaurus sounds like a dinosaur, which is not far from the truth. Bathysaurus ferox is a deep-sea lizard that lives in the tropical and subtropical seas of the world, at a depth of 600-3,500 m. Its length reaches 50-65 cm. It is considered the deepest-living super predator in the world and everything that comes in its path , is immediately devoured. Once the jaws of this devilish fish snap shut, it's game over. Even her tongue is studded with razor-sharp fangs. It is hardly possible to look at her face without a shudder, and it is even more difficult for her to find a mate. But this does not bother this formidable underwater inhabitant too much, since he has both male and female genitals. 
Real deep-sea hunters resemble monstrous creatures frozen in the darkness of the bottom layers with huge teeth and weak muscles. They are passively attracted by slow deep currents, or they simply lie on the bottom. With their weak muscles, they cannot tear pieces out of prey, so they do it easier - they swallow it whole ... even if it is larger than the hunter. 
This is how anglers hunt - fish with a lonely mouth, to which they forgot to attach a body. And this waterfowl, bared by a palisade of teeth, waves its antennae with a luminous light at the end in front of it.
Anglerfish are small in size, reaching only 20 centimeters in length. Most large species anglerfish, such as ceraria, reach almost half a meter, others - melanocet or borofrin have an outstanding appearance.
Sometimes anglers attack such big fish that an attempt to swallow them sometimes leads to the death of the hunter himself. So, once a 10-centimeter anglerfish was caught, choking on a 40-centimeter longtail. 
Refrigerator in the stomach. Alepisaurus - large, up to 2 m long, predatory fish living in the pelagial open ocean. Translated from Latin, it means "scaleless beast", a characteristic inhabitant of open ocean waters.
Alepisaurus, swift predators, possess interesting feature: food is digested in their intestines, and the stomach contains completely whole prey, seized at various depths. And thanks to this toothy fishing tool, scientists have described many new species. Alepizaurs are potentially capable of self-fertilization: each individual produces eggs and sperm at the same time. And during spawning, some individuals function as females, while others function as males.
Do you think this monkfish has legs? I hasten to disappoint you. These are not legs at all, but two males that have stuck to a female. The fact is that at great depths and in the complete absence of light it is very difficult to find a partner. Therefore, the male monkfish, as soon as he finds a female, immediately bites into her side. These embraces will never be broken. Later, it fuses with the body of the female, loses everything unnecessary organs merges with her circulatory system and becomes only a source of sperm.
It is a fish with a transparent head. What for? At depth, as you know, there is very little light. The fish has developed defense mechanism, her eyes are in the center of her head so they can't be hurt. In order to see evolution awarded this fish with a transparent head. The two green spheres are the eyes. 
Smallmouth macropinna belongs to a group of deep-sea fish that have developed a unique anatomical structure to fit your lifestyle. These fish are extremely fragile, and fish specimens that have been taken by fishermen and explorers are deformed due to pressure differences.
Most unique characteristic of this fish is its soft, transparent head and barrel-shaped eyes. Being usually fixed upwards with green "lens caps" for filtering sunlight, the eyes of the Smallmouth Macropinna can rotate and retract.
In fact, what appear to be eyes are sensory organs. Real eyes are located under the canopy of the forehead.
Crawling one-legged
Norwegian scientists from the Institute of Marine Research in Bergen reported the discovery of a creature unknown to science, living at a depth of about 2000 meters. This is a creature of very bright colors crawling along the bottom. Its length is not more than 30 centimeters. The creature has only one front "paw" (or something very similar to a paw) and a tail, and yet does not look like any of the marine life known to scientists.
10994 meters. Bottom of the Mariana Trench. The complete absence of light, the water pressure is 1072 times higher than the surface pressure, 1 ton 74 kilograms presses on 1 square centimeter.
Hellish conditions. But there is life even here. For example, at the very bottom they found small fish, up to 30 centimeters long, similar to flounder.
One of the deepest-sea fishes is bassogigus.
Scary teeth of the underwater world 
The large-headed dagger-tooth is a large (up to 1.5 m long), a small inhabitant of medium depths of 500-2200 m, it is presumably found at depths up to 4100 m, although its juveniles rise to a depth of 20 m. Widely distributed in the subtropical and temperate regions of the Pacific Ocean, in summer months it penetrates as far north as the Bering Sea. 
An elongated, serpentine body and a large head with huge beak-shaped jaws make the appearance of this fish so peculiar that it is difficult to confuse it with someone else. characteristic feature external structure daggertooth is its huge mouth - the length of the jaws is about three-quarters of the length of the head. Moreover, the size and shape of the teeth on different jaws of the dagger-tooth differ significantly: on the upper - they are powerful, saber-shaped, reaching 16 mm in large specimens; on the bottom - small, subulate, directed backwards and not exceeding 5–6 mm.
And these creatures are like from a horror movie about aliens. This is how polychaete worms look under strong magnification. 
Another strange inhabitant depths - Fish-drop.
This fish lives off the coast of Australia and Tasmania at a depth of about 800 m. Given the depth of the water in which it swims, the drop fish does not have a swim bladder, like most fish, since it is not very effective at strong pressure water. Her skin is made up of a gelatinous mass that is slightly denser than water, allowing her to float above the ocean floor without much hassle. The fish grows up to 30 cm in length, feeding mainly sea urchins and shellfish that float by.
Despite being inedible, this fish is often caught along with other prey such as lobsters and crabs, putting it at risk of extinction.
Distinctive external characteristic fish drop is her unhappy expression.
Piglet squid is just an outlet in the world of deep-sea monsters. Such a cute one. 
And in conclusion - a video about deep-sea creatures.
Yesterday, September 26, was World Maritime Day. In this regard, we bring to your attention a selection of the most unusual sea creatures.
World Maritime Day has been celebrated since 1978 on one of the days of the last week of September. This international holiday was created in order to draw public attention to the problems of pollution of the seas and the disappearance of animal species living in them. Indeed, over the past 100 years, according to the UN, some fish species, including cod and tuna, have been caught by 90%, and every year about 21 million barrels of oil enter the seas and oceans.
All this causes irreparable damage to the seas and oceans and can lead to the death of their inhabitants. These include those that we will discuss in our selection.
1 Octopus Dumbo
This animal got its name due to the ear-like formations protruding from the top of its head, which resemble the ears of the Disney elephant Dumbo. However, scientific name this animal is Grimpoteuthis. These cute creatures live at depths of 3,000 to 4,000 meters and are among the rarest octopuses.
The largest individuals of this genus were 1.8 meters long and weighed about 6 kg. Most time, these octopuses swim above the seabed in search of food - polychaete worms and various crustaceans. By the way, unlike other octopuses, these swallow their prey whole.
2. Short-nosed bat
This fish attracts attention, first of all, with its unusual appearance, namely, bright red lips on the front of the body. As previously thought, they are necessary to attract marine life, which feeds on the bat. However, it was soon found out that this function is performed by a small formation on the head of the fish, called an eska. It emits a specific smell that attracts worms, crustaceans and small fish.
The unusual "image" of the bat complements the no less amazing way of its movement in the water. Being a poor swimmer, he walks along the bottom on his pectoral fins.
The short-nosed bat is a deep-sea fish, and lives in the waters near the Galapagos Islands.
3. Branched brittle stars
These deep sea animals have many branched rays. Moreover, each of the rays can be 4-5 times larger than the body of these brittle stars. With the help of them, the animal catches zooplankton and other food. Like other echinoderms, branched brittle stars have no blood, and gas exchange is carried out using a special water-vascular system.
Usually branched brittle stars weigh about 5 kg, their rays can reach 70 cm in length (in branched brittle stars Gorgonocephalus stimpsoni), and the body is 14 cm in diameter.
4. Trumpet-snout harlequin
This is one of the least studied species that can, if necessary, merge with the bottom or imitate a twig of algae.
It is near the thickets of the underwater forest at a depth of 2 to 12 meters that these creatures try to stay so that in a dangerous situation they can acquire the color of the ground or the nearest plant. In the “calm” time for harlequins, they slowly swim upside down in search of food.
Looking at the photograph of the harlequin pipe-nosed, it is easy to guess that they are related to seahorses and needles. However, they differ markedly in appearance: for example, the harlequin has longer fins. By the way, this form of fins helps the ghost fish to bear offspring. With the help of elongated ventral fins covered with inside filiform outgrowths, the female harlequin forms a special bag in which she bears eggs.
5 Yeti Crab
In 2005, an expedition exploring the Pacific Ocean discovered extremely unusual crabs that were covered with "fur" at a depth of 2,400 meters. Because of this feature (as well as coloration), they were called "yeti crabs" (Kiwa hirsuta).
However, it was not fur in the truest sense of the word, but long feathery bristles covering the chest and limbs of crustaceans. According to scientists, many filamentous bacteria live in the bristles. These bacteria purify water from toxic substances ejected hydrothermal springs, next to which "crabs-yeti" live. And there is also an assumption that these same bacteria serve as food for crabs.
6. Australian cone
This inhabiting the coastal waters of the Australian states of Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia is found on reefs and in bays. Due to its small fins and hard scales, it swims extremely slowly.
Being a nocturnal species, the Australian pine cone spends the day in caves and under rock ledges. Yes, in one marine reserve in New South Wales, a small group of cones has been recorded hiding under the same ledge for at least 7 years. At night, this species leaves its shelter and goes hunting on sandbars, illuminating its path with the help of luminous organs, photophores. This light is produced by a colony of symbiotic Vibrio fischeri bacteria that have settled in photophores. Bacteria can leave photophores and just live in sea water. However, their luminescence dims a few hours after they leave the photophores.
Interestingly, the light emitted by the luminous organs is also used by fish to communicate with relatives.
7. Lyre Sponge
The scientific name of this animal is Chondrocladia lyra. It is a species of carnivorous deep-sea sponge, and was first discovered in a Californian at a depth of 3300-3500 meters in 2012.
The sponge lyre gets its name from its harp or lyre-like appearance. So, this animal is held on seabed with the help of rhizoids, root-like formations. From their upper part stretches from 1 to 6 horizontal stolons, and on them vertical "branches" with spatulate structures at the end are located at an equal distance from each other.
Since the lyre sponge is carnivorous, it captures prey, such as crustaceans, with these “branches”. And as soon as she manages to do this, she will begin to secrete a digestive membrane that will envelop her prey. Only after that, the lyre sponge will be able to suck in the split prey through the pores.
The largest recorded sponge-lyre reaches almost 60 centimeters in length.
8. Clown
Living in almost all tropical and subtropical seas and oceans, clownfish are one of the fastest predators on the planet. After all, they are able to catch prey in less than a second!
So, having seen a potential victim, the "clown" will track it down, remaining motionless. Of course, the prey will not notice it, because the fish of this family usually resemble a plant or a harmless animal with their appearance. In some cases, when the prey comes closer, the predator will begin to move the esca, an outgrowth of the anterior dorsal fin that resembles a "fishing pole", which causes the prey to get even closer. And once a fish or other marine animal gets close enough to the clown, it will suddenly open its mouth and swallow the prey in just 6 milliseconds! Such an attack is so lightning fast that it cannot be seen without slow motion. Incidentally, the volume oral cavity fish while catching prey often increases 12 times.
In addition to the speed of the clowns, no less important role plays in their hunt unusual shape, color and texture of their cover, allowing these fish to mimic. Some clownfish resemble rocks or coral, while others resemble sponges or sea squirts. And in 2005, the Sargassum sea clown was discovered, which imitates algae. The "camouflage" of clowns can be so good that sea slugs often crawl on these fish, mistaking them for corals. However, they need "camouflage" not only for hunting, but also for protection.
Interestingly, during the hunt, the "clown" sometimes sneaks up on prey. He literally approaches her using his pectoral and ventral fins. These fish can walk in two ways. They can alternately move their pectoral fins without using the pelvic fins, or they can transfer body weight from the pectoral fins to the pelvic fins. Gait in the latter way can be called a slow gallop.
9. Smallmouth macropinna
The small-mouthed macropinna living in the depths of the northern part of the Pacific Ocean has a very unusual appearance. She has a transparent forehead, through which she can look out for prey with her tubular eyes.
A unique fish was discovered in 1939. However, at that time it was not possible to study it well enough, in particular the structure of the cylindrical eyes of fish, which can move from a vertical position to a horizontal one and vice versa. This was only done in 2009.
Then it became clear that the bright green eyes of this small fish (it does not exceed 15 cm in length) are in the head chamber filled with a transparent liquid. This chamber is covered by a dense, but at the same time elastic transparent shell, which is attached to the scales on the body of the small-mouth macropinna. Bright green color fish eyes due to the presence of a specific yellow pigment in them.
Since it is characteristic for a small-mouthed macropinna special structure eye muscles, then its cylindrical eyes can be both in a vertical position and in a horizontal position, when the fish can look directly through its transparent head. Thus, the macropinna can notice the prey, both when it is in front of it, and when it swims above it. And as soon as the prey - usually zooplankton - is at the level of the fish's mouth, it quickly grabs it.
10 Sea Spider
These arthropods, which are not actually spiders, or at least arachnids, are common in the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas, as well as in the Arctic and southern oceans. Today, more than 1300 species of this class are known, some of which reach 90 cm in length. However, most sea spiders are still small in size.
These animals have long paws, which is usually about eight. Also, sea spiders have a special appendage (proboscis) that they use to suck food into the intestines. Most of these animals are carnivorous and feed on cnidarians, sponges, polychaete worms and bryozoans. So, for example, sea spiders often feed on sea anemones: they insert their proboscis into the body of an anemone and begin to suck in its contents. And since sea anemones are usually larger than sea spiders, they almost always survive such “torture”.
Sea spiders live in different parts world: in the waters of Australia, New Zealand, off the Pacific coast of the United States, in the Mediterranean and Caribbean seas, as well as in the Arctic and Southern oceans. Moreover, they are most common in shallow water, but can be found at a depth of up to 7000 meters. Often they hide under rocks or camouflage themselves among algae.
11. Cyphoma gibbosum
The color of the shell of this orange-yellow snail seems very bright. However, only the soft tissues of a live mollusk have this color, and not the shell. Usually Cyphoma gibbosum snails reach 25-35 mm in length, and their shell is 44 mm.
These animals live in warm waters the western part of the Atlantic Ocean, including in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and in the waters of the Lesser Antilles at a depth of up to 29 meters.
12. Mantis shrimp
Living at shallow depths in tropical and subtropical seas, mantis shrimp have the most complex eyes in the world. If a person can distinguish 3 primary colors, then the mantis shrimp - 12. Also, these animals perceive ultraviolet and infrared light and see different types light polarization.
Many animals are able to see linear polarization. For example, fish and crustaceans use it to navigate and locate prey. However, only mantis shrimp are able to see both linear polarization and the rarer, circular polarization.
Such eyes enable mantis shrimp to recognize different types corals, their prey and predators. In addition, during the hunt, it is important for cancer to deliver accurate blows with its pointed grasping legs, which is also helped by its eyes.
By the way, sharp, serrated segments on grasping legs also help mantis shrimp to cope with a prey or predator, which can be much larger in size. So, during the attack, the mantis shrimp makes several quick kicks with its legs, which causes serious damage to the victim or kills her.
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