The ocean is a boundless expanse of trillions of liters of salt water. Thousands of species of living beings have found refuge here. Some of them are heat-loving and live at shallow depths so as not to miss the rays of the sun. Others are accustomed to the cold waters of the Arctic and try to avoid warm currents. There are even those who live at the bottom of the ocean, adapting to the conditions of the harsh world.
The latest representatives are biggest mystery for scientists. After all, just recently they could not even think that someone could survive in such extreme conditions. Moreover, evolution has awarded these living organisms with a number of unprecedented features.
Beneath the oceans
For a long time there was a theory that there is no life at the bottom of the ocean. The reason for this is the low water temperature, as well as high pressure, capable of compressing submarine, like a soda can. And yet, some creatures were able to withstand these circumstances and confidently settled at the very edge of a bottomless abyss.
So who lives at the bottom of the ocean? First of all, these are bacteria, traces of which were found at a depth of more than 5 thousand meters. But if microscopic creatures are unlikely to surprise the average person, then giant mollusks and monster fish deserve due attention.
How did you find out about those who live at the bottom of the ocean?
With the development of submarines, diving to a depth of two kilometers became possible. This allowed scientists to look into a world hitherto unprecedented and amazing. Each dive provided an opportunity to discover yet another and see more and more new species.
A fast development digital technologies have made it possible to create ultra-durable cameras capable of filming underwater. Thanks to this, the world saw photographs depicting animals living at the bottom of the ocean.
And every year scientists go deeper and deeper in the hope of new discoveries. And they happen - for last decade many surprising conclusions have been made. In addition, hundreds, or even thousands of photographs depicting the inhabitants of the deep sea were posted online.
Creatures living at the bottom of the ocean
Well, it's time to go on a little trip to mysterious depths. Having passed the threshold of 200 meters, it is difficult to distinguish even small silhouettes, and after 500 meters pitch darkness sets in. From this moment begins the possessions of those who are indifferent to light and warmth.
It is at this depth that you can find a polychaete worm, which drifts from place to place in search of profit. In the light of the lamps it shimmers with all the colors of the rainbow, the word is made of silver plates. There is a row of tentacles on its head, thanks to which it orients itself in space and senses the approach of prey.
But the worm itself is food for another inhabitant under water world - angelfish. This amazing creature belongs to the class gastropods and is a predator. It gets its name from the two large fins that wrap around its sides like wings.
If you go even deeper, you can stumble upon the queen of jellyfish. Hairy Cyanea, or Lion's Mane- the largest representative of its species. Large individuals reach 2 meters in diameter, and their tentacles can stretch almost 20 meters.
Who else lives at the bottom of the ocean? This is a squat lobster. According to scientists, it can adapt to life even at a depth of 5 thousand meters. Thanks to its flattened body, it can easily withstand pressure, and its long legs allow it to move along the muddy ocean floor without any problems.
Deep-sea fish representatives
Over hundreds of thousands of years of evolution, fish living on the ocean floor have been able to adapt to an existence without sunlight. Moreover, some of them have even learned to produce their own light.
So, at around 1 thousand meters there lives a monkfish. There is a process on its head that emits a slight glow that attracts other fish. Because of this, it is also called the “European anglerfish”. At the same time, it can change its color, thereby merging with the environment.
Another representative of deep-sea creatures is the blob fish. Her body resembles jelly, which allows her to transfer pressure to great depth. It feeds exclusively on plankton, which makes it harmless to its neighbors.
At the bottom of the oceans lives a stargazer fish, the second name is the celestial eye. The reason for this pun was that the eyes are always directed upward, as if looking out for the stars. Her body is covered poisonous thorns, and near the head there are tentacles that can paralyze the victim.
DEEP-SEA ANIMALS, inhabitants of the World Ocean at depths from 200 to 11,022 m (Mariana Trench). There are faunas of the slope (bathial), the ocean floor (abyssal) and oceanic trenches (ultra-abyssal, or hadal, with a depth of more than 6000 m). The ocean floor accounts for about 55% of the Earth's surface and is the largest and least studied biotope. Great depths are characterized by high pressure (increases by 1 atmosphere every 10 m), lack of light, low temperature (2-4 ° C), lack of food and a bottom covered with thin silty sediment. The main source of nutrients coming from the upper horizons of the water column are flows of organomineral particles and lumps (“sea snow”), as well as the remains of (pelagic) animals living in the water column (“rain of corpses”); in high latitudes, the sedimentation of phytodetritus plays an important role, especially intense during the period of “blooming” of water (in 3-4 days its flow reaches the bottom, forming a continuous layer up to 3 cm thick). The characteristics of the animal world of great depths are determined by living conditions. Thus, the most striking difference between deep-sea animals is the simplification of their organization and the presence of devices for holding on semi-liquid soil (flat body shape, long limbs - stilts, etc.). Among planktonic organisms there are many transparent forms. Bioluminescence is widely used for illumination and lure of prey (angler fish), camouflage, warning, scaring off or distracting predators (shrimp from the genus Acanthephyra and cuttlefish from the genus Netherotheutis release clouds of luminous liquid as a smoke screen), as well as to attract individuals of the opposite sex (barnacle crustaceans, octopuses of the genus Japetella). There is counter-illumination - “illumination” from below, making the organism invisible in dim lighting from above (in squid, shrimp, fish). Many pelagic crustaceans have a red coloration, which performs a protective function, since the visual organs of deep-sea predators do not perceive red color.
Among the large forms living on the bottom, echinoderms, crustaceans, mollusks, polychaete worms. Maximum species diversity (perhaps even greater than in humid tropical forest) are distinguished by small animals (meiobenthos) with a size of 30-500 microns, among which nematodes and crayfish from the order Harpacticoids dominate. For macrobenthos there is an increase species diversity with depth. For example, in the North Atlantic, the largest number of species of polychaetes, gastropods, bivalves, and cumaceans occurs at a depth of 2000-3000 m.
Below 10,000 m there are foraminifera, scyphoids of the genus Stephanoscyphus, sea anemones of the genus Galatheanthemum, nematodes of the genus Desmoscolex, polychaetes of the subfamily Macellicephalinae, echiurids of the genus Vitjazema, harpacticoids of the genus Bradya, isopods of the genus Macrostylis, amphipods of the genus Hirondella, bivalves of the genus Para yoldiella and Vesicomya, holothurians of the genus Prototrochus. At a depth of 6000-7000 m, long-tailed and lipariform fish live; at a depth of over 8000 m, erroneous fish are noted. Population densities at great depths are usually low, but aggregations of animals are known, for example, the holothurian Kolga hyalina in the North Atlantic at a depth of 3800 m. Most deep-sea animals disperse with the help of larvae: either self-feeding (planktotrophic) or possessing a supply of nutrients (lecithotrophic). Floating high above the bottom (sometimes for kilometers), they are transported by deep-sea currents. Some deep-sea animals have developed viviparity and gestation of young. See also Hydrothermal fauna.
Lit.: Belyaev G.M. Deep-sea oceanic trenches and their fauna. M., 1989; Gage I. D., Tyler R. A. Deep-sea biology: a natural history of organisms at the deep-sea floor. Camb., 1991; Ecosystems of the deep ocean / Ed. R. A. Tyler. Amst.; L., 2003.
The underwater world is mysterious and unique. It contains secrets that have not yet been solved by man. We invite you to get acquainted with the most unusual sea creatures, plunge into the unknown thickness of the water world and see its beauty.
1. Atoll Jellyfish (Atolla vanhoeffeni)
The unusually beautiful Atoll jellyfish lives at such depths where it does not penetrate sunlight. In times of danger, it can glow, attracting large predators. Jellyfish do not seem tasty to them, and predators eat their enemies with pleasure. 
This jellyfish is capable of emitting a bright red glow, which is a consequence of the breakdown of proteins in its body. As a rule, large jellyfish are dangerous creatures, but you should not be afraid of the Atoll, because its habitat is where no swimmer can reach.
2. Blue Angel (Glaucus atlanticus)
This very tiny mollusk rightfully deserves its name; it seems to float on the water surface. To become lighter and stay at the very edge of the water, it swallows air bubbles from time to time. 
These unusual creatures have an unusual body shape. They are blue above and silver below. It is not for nothing that nature has provided such camouflage - the Blue Angel remains unnoticed by birds and sea predators. A thick layer of mucus around the mouth allows it to feed on small, poisonous sea creatures.
3. Harp sponge (Chondrocladia lyra)
This mysterious one sea predator has not yet been sufficiently studied. The structure of its body resembles a harp, hence the name. The sponge is inactive. It clings to the sediment of the seabed and hunts by gluing small underwater inhabitants to its sticky tips. 
The harp sponge covers its prey with a bactericidal film and gradually digests it. There are individuals with two or more lobes, which are connected in the center of the body. The more blades, the more food the sponge will catch.
4. Dumbo Octopus (Grimpoteuthis)
The octopus got its name because of its resemblance to the Disney hero, Dumbo the elephant, although it has a semi-gelatinous body of rather modest size. Its fins resemble elephant ears. He waves them around as he swims, which looks quite funny. 
Not only the “ears” help to move, but also the peculiar funnels located on the octopus’ body, through which it releases water under pressure. Dumbo lives at very great depths, so we don’t know much about him. Its diet consists of all kinds of mollusks and worms.
Octopus Dumbo
5. Yeti Crab (Kiwa hirsuta)
The name of this animal speaks for itself. A crab covered with white shaggy fur actually resembles Bigfoot. It lives in cold waters at such depths where there is no access to light, so it is completely blind. 
These amazing animals grow microorganisms on their claws. Some scientists believe that the crab needs these bacteria to purify the water from toxic substances, others suggest that the crabs grow their own food on the bristles.
6. Short-snouted pipistrelle (Ogcocephalus)
This fashionable fish with bright red lips can't swim at all. Living at a depth of more than two hundred meters, it has a flat body covered with a shell and fin-like legs, thanks to which the short-snouted bat slowly walks along the bottom. 
It obtains food using a special growth - a kind of retractable fishing rod with an odorous bait that attracts prey. The discreet coloring and spiked shell help the fish hide from predators. Perhaps this is the funniest animal among the inhabitants of the world's oceans.
7. Sea slug Felimare Picta
Felimare Picta is one of the species sea slugs, living in the waters of the Mediterranean. He looks very extravagant. The yellow-blue body seems to be surrounded by a delicate airy frill. 
Felimare Picta, although a mollusk, does without a shell. And why does he need her? In case of danger, the sea slug has something much more interesting. For example, acidic sweat that is released on the surface of the body. It's really bad luck for anyone who wants to treat themselves to this mysterious mollusk!
8. Flamingo tongue clam (Cyphoma gibbosum)
This creature is found on the western coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Having a brightly colored mantle, the mollusk completely covers its plain shell with it and thus protects it from negative influence marine organisms. 
Like common snail, “Flamingo tongue” hides in its shell in case of impending danger. By the way, the mollusk received this name due to its bright color with characteristic spots. It prefers poisonous gongonaria as food. While eating, the snail absorbs the poison of its prey, after which it becomes poisonous itself.
9. Leafy sea dragon (Phycodurus eques)
The sea dragon is a true virtuoso of mimicry. It is all covered with “leaves”, which help it appear invisible against the backdrop of the underwater landscape. It is interesting that such abundant vegetation does not help the dragon move at all. Only two tiny fins located on its chest and back are responsible for its speed. The leaf dragon is a predator. It feeds by sucking prey into itself. 
Dragons feel comfortable in the shallow waters of warm seas. And also these sea inhabitants They are reputed to be excellent fathers, because it is the males who bear the offspring and take care of them.
10. Salps (Salpidae)
Salps are invertebrates Marine life, which have a barrel-shaped body, through the transparent shell of which are visible internal organs. 
IN ocean depths animals form long chains-colonies, which are easily broken even by a slight wave shock. Salps reproduce by budding.
11. Piglet squid (Helicocranchia pfefferi)
This strange and little-studied underwater creature resembles “Piglet” from the famous cartoon. The completely transparent body of the piglet squid is covered with pigment spots, the combination of which sometimes gives it a cheerful appearance. Around the eyes there are so-called photophores - organs of luminescence. 
This mollusk is leisurely. It's funny that the piggy squid moves upside down, which is why its tentacles look like forelocks. He lives at a depth of one hundred meters.
12. Ribbon moray eel (Rhinomuraena guaesita)
This underwater inhabitant is quite unusual. Throughout its life, the ribbon moray eel is capable of changing sex and color three times, depending on the stages of its development. So, when the individual is still immature, it is colored black or dark blue.The oceans are home to several million species of amazing sea creatures. Given this enormous biodiversity, it is no surprise that these sea creatures come in every possible shape, color and size. Some of them, especially the deep-sea inhabitants, look scary and disgusting, but appearance others are simply breathtaking. Today we will take a closer look.
1. Mandarin fish(Synchiropus splendidus)
Found in tropical western waters Pacific Ocean, Mandarin duck is a small coral fish up to 6 cm long, known for its strange shape and beautiful intense color.
(Cerianthus Membranaceus)
photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/oceanaeurope/
Lives in various places In subtropical waters, trumpet anemone occurs in many different fluorescent shades and color combinations, making it a popular aquarium animal.
photo: Philippe Pourtallier
3. Flamingo tongue(Cyphoma gibbosa)
A resident of various Caribbean and Atlantic coral reefs, this colorful snail feeds on coral polyps.
4. Blue tang(Paracanthurus hepatus)
photo: Aaron Gilcrease
The fish is famous for its sharp spines on its tail, which are said to resemble a surgeon's scalpels.
5. Mantis crabs(Stomatopoda)
photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jennofarc/
The waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans have become home to mantis crayfish. They are some of the most fascinating and colorful creatures in the sea. These beautiful crustaceans have the most complex eyes in the world.
6. French angel(Pomacanthus paru)
photo: Paul Asman
Native to the western Atlantic Ocean, as well as the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, the French angelfish is an amazing tropical fish with a dark coloration that is perfectly complemented by yellow stripes.
7. Rag-picking seahorse(Phycodurus eques)
photo: Dmytro Kochetov
Discovered in Australian waters, this seahorse is one of the most unusual and fascinating sea creatures. Reaches up to 20 cm in length. He also gets into 25 Most Amazing Sea Creatures.
8. Sea spiders(Pantopoda)
Absolutely unrelated to what we are used to ordinary spiders, sea spiders are much simpler in form and function, but are almost as common as their land-dwelling namesakes. These tiny marine arthropods come in over 1,300 species and can be found in most parts of the world.
9. Jellyfish flower cap(Olindias formosa)
photo: Josh More
A very rare species that belongs to the class Hydrozoa, while true jellyfish belong to the class Scyphozoa. flower hat can be found in the western Pacific Ocean off southern Japan, and has a painful sting.
10. Harlequin crab(Lissocarcinus laevis)
photo: René Cazalens
Among 25 Most Amazing Sea Creatures a stunning harlequin crab that is found along with sea anemones and trumpet anemones, close to coral shorelines and rocky reefs.
11. Tulle apogon(Pterapogon kauderni)
A wonderful tropical fish with a silver coloration and vertical black stripes. An endangered species, which is found only in a relatively small area around the island of Banggai in Indonesia.
(Aetobatus narinari)
photo: Xabier Mina
Reaching a width of up to 3 m, spotted bracken is an active swimmer and predator known to feed on invertebrates and small fish.
13. Clownfish(Amphiprion percula)
photo: Jun Ushiki
Bright Orange color with its three distinctive white stripes, the clownfish is one of the most recognizable and popular of all reef inhabitants. The fish reaches approximately 11 cm in length.
14. Harlequin shrimp(Hymenocera picta)
photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/luko/
Like many other vibrant species in 25 Most Amazing Sea Creatures, the harlequin shrimp is a popular aquarium inhabitant. This species white body With large spots. Males are slightly smaller than females.
15. Blue Dragon(Glaucus atlanticus)
Also known as blue glaucus and is a poisonous clam. Measuring up to 3 cm in length, this curious animal is found in all temperate and tropical waters.
16. Discus fish(Symphysodon)
photo: Vera Le Bail
Originally from the Amazon River, discus fish is one of the most beautiful tropical fish in the world. Due to its distinctive shape and bright colors, it is called the “king of the aquarium”.
17. Venus anemone - sea anemone(Actinoscyphia aurelia)
photo: https://commons.wikimedia.org
Venus anemone, named after the Venus flytrap plant due to its external similarity and feeding mechanism. This sea anemone is large deep sea creature, which feeds by trapping food in its “trap mouth.”
18. Royal starfish(Astropectenarticulatus)
One of the most remarkable representatives of the family, royal Starfish is a sea star that most often lives on the middle continental shelf of about 20-30 m in the western Atlantic. It is a carnivore that feeds on shellfish.
19. ClamBerghia coerulescens
photo: Rodrigo Pascual
A species of sea slug that can be found in the Central and Western Mediterranean, as well as the North Atlantic Ocean. This stunningly colorful creature reaches up to 7 cm in length.
20. Zebra lionfish(Pterois volitans)
One of the most iconic tropical fish, a popular delicacy in some parts of the world, but much more prized as an aquarium resident.
21. Long-snouted European seahorse(Hippocampus hippocampus)
Endemic Mediterranean Sea and some parts North Atlantic The long-snouted European seahorse is a medium-sized species, up to 13 cm high, that lives in shallow, murky waters, estuaries or grasslands sea waters weeds. An endangered species.
22. Painted triggerfish, or spiny rhinecanth(Rhinecanthus aculeatus)
photo: Joachim S. Müller
25 Most Amazing Sea Creatures represents a remarkable tropical fish found on reefs in the Indo-Pacific region. The painted triggerfish feeds primarily on reef algae and algae. The diet of fish contains small crustaceans, worms, sea urchins and snails.
23. Green sea turtle(Chelonia mudas)
The green turtle is a large, heavy sea turtle with a wide, smooth shell. Weighing up to 320 kg, the green sea turtle is one of the largest sea turtles in the world.
24. Mollusk Phyllidia Babai
photo: Iain Fraser
A species of nudibranch that is found in several areas of the Pacific Ocean, such as Papua New Guinea, South Korea and Australia.
25. Crown of thorns, or acanthaster(Acanthaster planci)
photo: Joey Jojo
A starfish that is found in the Indo-Pacific region. Despite its beautiful appearance, the crown of thorns is often considered a pest because a large number of these creatures pose a significant threat coral reefs, especially the Great Barrier Reef.
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