![]() Though often called the ugliest fish, blobfish represent the idea of strange, alien creatures lurking in the unknown depths. Unfortunately, the fame went all to their heads, as a blobfish’s head accounts for 40% of its body. Without bones or muscles, the pressure of deep ocean depths fills out their bodies so they can float above the ocean floor. Strangely, blobfish aren’t all that blobby when in their natural habitat. These little guys caused quite a stir on social media lately as people laughed at their flabby, deflated faces. Let’s explore 8 of these magnificent animals and their unique additions to the ecosystem here on planet Earth. How these creatures can survive seemingly uninhabitable conditions is a mystery biologists are still trying to decipher. Though their adaptations appear creepy and odd in the light of day, their evolution is incredibly fascinating to study. down in the Midnight Zone, sunlight is unavailable and animals scavenge and hunt in seemingly terrifying ways. The further down we travel, the more strange and otherworldly these deep ocean creatures become. Less than 1,000 feet down and we literally enter the Twilight Zone, where fish have evolved to accommodate the low light and heavy pressure. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn affiliate commission.ĭeep below the sandy beaches of surf and sun lies an alien world of unrecognizable creatures. The Bony-eared Assfish has a tapered flabby body, small eyes, and the unique claim-to-fame of having the smallest brain-to-body ratio of any vertebrate.We are reader-supported. While there may not be giant toothed monsters down this far there are fish that have some special adaptations to life in the deep. So, there are some benefits to life in almost total isolation-does make it difficult to find something to eat though. Possibly because it is so dark and there aren’t many large predators, cirrate octopods are able to survive in the depths without the usual inky defense mechanism found in other cephalopods (squid, cuttlefish, and the like). They even flap these ‘ears’ while they swim. The resemblance to a certain flying elephant has led to some members of this group being known as dumbo octopuses. However, unlike their shallow-water relatives, the cirrate octopods have fins off their bodies. You may think of octopuses as tropical animals, but they are down here too. One of the biggest specimens found on a recent voyage near Christmas Island was a one-metre-long Brunswig’s Cusk that came up from about 1,500 metres.Įar-like fins are only found on cirrate octopods that have specifically adapted to the deep sea. Most animals this far down are relatively small because food is scarce. ![]() ![]() Whales and some seals may occasionally venture this deep, but this isn’t exactly a friendly place for air-breathing mammals. It’s cold too-about four degrees Celsius, or the same temperature as your fridge-and only gets colder the deeper you go. The midnight zone: 1,000 to 4,000 metres below sea levelĭown here (also known as the Bathypelagic zone) there is no light from the surface, so any animals must be well adapted to life in the dark. Unfair, sure, but that’s life in the deep-you take whatever advantage you can get. Many deep-sea creatures are red for this reason as it makes them effectively invisible.Įxcept to dragonfish, which use bioluminescence to expose their prey. Red light has the longest wavelength, so it’s the first to be filtered out by the water at about 100 metres below the surface. This dragonfish, of the genus Photostomias, can even extend its jaw.Īnother trick some dragonfish have up their sleeves is they can see, and emit, red light-a rarity in the deep. A toothy grin many sea creatures are not keen to see up close.
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