The Spookiest Deep Sea Marine Animals

Beneath the deepest and coldest depths of the ocean, there life flourishes just like other ecosystem you encounter on the Earth. In this extreme environmental condition, in which its pressure could shatter a human skull, it appears to be an ideal survival surrounding to a wider variety of bizarre and odd species than the tropical rainforest that humans use to discover each year. These marine animals that inhibit at such extreme depths may appear bizarre and horrifying to human sensibilities, but it is the natural adaptation to perfectly match them with an icy, crushing void of the deep sea.

Coffinfish

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Photo credit: deepsea.com

The coffinfish is a deep sea dwelling fish that lives in deep waters in Southwest Pacific around Tasmania and Australia. Its scientific name is B.melanostomus whose word of “melanostomus” originated from the Greek “melanos” meaning black and “stoma” meaning mouth. Its flabby body and long tail are both covered with small scary spines. Besides of this external feature, it also has a black mouth lining and an illicium on its snout that can be lowered into a groove. Its body length can grow to at least 10cm.

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The species of C. melanostomus has been trawled in the Central to Eastern Indian Ocean at depths ranging from 1320m to 1760m. Interestingly, this coffinfish can flat itself like a puffer fish but also has a small lure on its head which looks like an angler fish.

Giant Isopod

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The giant isopod is a carnivorous crustacean that spends most of its time scavenging the deep ocean floor. Bathynomus giganteus is the largest known member of the isopod family (crustaceans related to the shrimp and crabs). As food is extremely scarce at the deep ocean biome, the isopod adapted itself by eating any foods that fall to the ocean floor from above besides feeding on small invertebrates (including algae, worms, sea stars, sea urchins, and anything dead and decaying creatures of the deep) that inhibit at the deep cold sea benthic environment of the Atlantic. However, it can survive to long periods of famine and have been reported to survive over 8 foods without food in the aquarium.