Do deep sea creatures scare you? They should. Although these days everyone is obsessed with zombies and aliens, some of the strangest and most terrifying creatures in the universe lie beneath the surface of the waves on our very own planet. In the pitch black depths of the ocean where the pressure can be dozens of times higher than at sea level you may very well find yourself running into one of these scary sea animals.
When you think of the fact that the Earth is almost 71% water, it would be safe to guess that there are some creatures living there that we don’t know much about. Even scarier? These creatures are downright hideous looking – we’re talkin’ the stuff nightmares are made of!
Tropical vacations to luxury beaches that include a free scuba dive will never seem quite so appealing again…however, many of these creatures lurk so deep below sea level that you’ll never have to worry about a chance encounter while taking a swim. Allow us to introduce you to the 10 most terrifying deep sea creatures on Earth.
The blobfish may look like Uncle Fester, but is actually prone to the seas near the Australian ocean. Planning a vacation to the land down under? Make sure you don’t step on one of these squishy fishies. Like its name would suggest, the blobfish is truly a lazy bum of a fish that doesn’t even go out of its way to eat, only eating whatever happens to float by. In 2013, it was named the “World’s Ugliest Animal.” (Sadly, this cool species is not found in any aquarium since it’s species is currently endangered.)
Like the viperfish, the anglerfish is characterized by both its ability to attract prey with its light-producing organ as well as some flat out nasty teeth. The anglerfish also has one of the most bizarre reproductive methods in the entire animal kingdom, as the males mature, lose their digestive system and latch on to females to avoid death by starvation.
Like the Northern Stargazer, the Sarcastic Fringehead is a ferocious fish with a funny name. These fish look normal when unthreatened, but as soon as they feel threatened, these fish open their ginormous mouths. If two come into contact for a turf war, they open their gaping jaws and literally mouth wrestle… and not in a romantic way.
Speaking of sharks, this is the goblin shark, which is one of the oldest sharks ever, often described as a “living fossil.” This hideous creature has a long ironing board shaped snout, to which its bottom jaw can snap forward to reach like scissors on its prey. Only two have ever been spotted in the U.S.