The ocean world is all about mysteries and depth. The more we dive deep into it, the more it surprises us with its enigmas. More than 70 per cent of the Earth is covered with oceans, and these colossal deep waters are the most unexplored habitats of planet Earth.

Almost every year, around 2,000 new and unseen marine species are introduced to the aquatic family. Most sea creatures remain undiscovered due to their unreachable habitats, which is the deep and widespread ocean bottom. If you descend deep into the ocean, you will see light vanishing from the depth of the sea. Dive deeper and you can feel the temperature dropping while the pressure rising. After going 13,000 feet down into the sea, there’s no light at all and the temperature attains freezing point.

It is hard to believe that life exists in those unwelcoming depths of the ocean. It is not possible for human beings to reach those depths easily and they rarely encounter the creatures living at such ocean depths. Ocean scientists have now come up with new and advanced technologies to get there and explore the vast hidden side of the oceans. With the help of advancement in science and technology, scientists and researchers are discovering thousands of fascinating deep-sea animals, including fishes, corals, worms, jellyfishes, seamounts and crustaceans. And they have been making astounding discoveries and the rarest of sightings.

Anglerfish

The sight of an angry-looking anglerfish, deep down in the lightless part of the ocean, is enough to scare anyone. It is considered to be one of the ugliest animals alive on planet Earth.

The rarely sighted anglerfish ranges from 3.3 feet to less than a foot in size. They are rarely seen and a few have been spotted in the deep and dark depths of the ocean where it survives with its luminous dangling lure which they use to attract their prey.

The deep sea anglers hunt various vertebrates and fishes and are known for swallowing preys larger than themselves.

Red-lipped batfish

It looks like this fish loves to adorn itself with lots of rosy-red lip tint! But the real reason behind their red lips remains undiscovered.

Their unusual deep sandy habitat makes it hard for oceanographers to discover more authentic details about them. The lazy fish prefers walking on the sandy bottoms of the seabed instead of swimming. Their flat appearance makes them resemble bats and hence, that’s the reason they’re called batfish.

Frilled shark

Considered as a living fossil, the frilled shark lives almost 5000 feet down in the depths of the ocean. It was last sighted in 2007, in Japan. The fish has a terrifying-looking mouth, with trident-shaped teeth which are around 300 in number. The shiny teeth attract the prey until they get too close for the prey to turn away.

Since prehistoric times, the fish hasn’t evolved and is considered to be among those ocean creatures that swam in the dinosaurs’ era. The dangerous-looking fish is threatened with extinction and one of the reasons is water pollution in its deep habitat.

Phronima

Along with an ethereal luminous transparent body, these parasite possess four eyes. The tiny shrimp-like creature reaches not more than an inch, but is as fierce as a giant shark. It is hardly sighted by scientists due to their appearance and habitat.

Their complex four eyes allow them to search for their prey in all four directions, while their transparent body makes them invisible to the prey. It swims from the surface to the bottom of the sea and is found in all oceans, except the Polar region.

Water bear

Water bear or-tardigrades are as small as a millimetre in size. The hardly-ever sighted ocean creature is known for its indomitable characteristics. It has the ability to survive in the lowest or highest temperatures of their habitat and can easily live even above the boiling or below the freezing points.

Scientist revealed that they are able to dwell in a vacuum as well. The funny-looking water bear has survived mass extinctions and has proved to have surprising survival capacity.

Pink sea cucumber

The crystal clear pink fantasia is a sea cucumber which is recently discovered by scientists in 2007. It was not seen much before and consequently, we know very little about it. The jellyfish look-alike sea cucumber is known for its transparency as its gut and the whole digestive system is visible to the naked eye. It’s a bioluminescent creature that attracts prey and also alarms its potential predators.

Fangtooth fish

The fangtooth fish is one of the weirdest and rarest creatures of the deep sea that oceanographers have ever come across. They are found at the deepest, icy, crushing bottoms of the oceans. They dwell in the lightless and coldest parts of ocean depths. They do not like light and, hence are found up to 16,500 feet deep into the oceans.

They are the deepest swimming fish discovered yet and scientist had to trudge extremely deep under the oceans to get a sight of them. The rapidly decreasing fangtooth fishes have no close relatives discovered so far. Their scary-looking teeth are not just for show, but actual fangs that help them hunt aggressively.

Gulper eel

Gulper eel or eurypharynx also joins the class of most bizarre-looking deep sea creatures due to its weird looking wide mouth. Its massive mouth is its most noticeable feature, which is even larger than its body.

They are found up to 3000 feet deep down the dark seabed. To survive in the lightless depths of the ocean, they possess an organ at the tip of their long tail, known as ‘photophore’. This bioluminescent organ flashes pink or red light to lure its prey. Because of its extreme deep habitat, it is hardly caught alive in its territory.

Christmas tree worms

The Christmas tree look-alike tube-building polychaete worms are found in the deep sea bottoms in different striking colours. They are not more than 1.5 inches in size. They possess a pair of eyes on their gills while making it to the list of the rarest type of sea creatures.

Their eye-catching appearance is not easily spotted as they bury themselves in corals and hide due to the danger of predators.

Giant isopod

Giant isopod, the deep sea dweller, might look like a creepy bug but it’s actually a marine crustacean. They live 550 to 7020 feet down on the sea carpet, where they easily conceal themselves under the sea sand.

Scientists believe that they grow up to 2.5 feet long in order to survive the extreme pressure of the deep sea. Their most distinctive trait is that the giant scavengers can live up to five years without eating a single bite of food. But when given, they are big eaters!

Deep sea creatures, far below the sea surface, are gradually becoming more perceptible with every new venture into the deep void. No matter how unfriendly, lifeless and deep the bottom of the oceans may seem, life finds its way. Adaptation is the way to survive for such creatures that live under thousands of feet of water. Each species has its own distinctive adaptive traits that make them rare and unusual.

Deep-sea organisms persist in their defying habitats and adjust in odd conditions with the help of their modifying characters. Marine life projects an example for human beings to survive and adjust, even in the oddest conditions or else wait for the right circumstances!

Vampire squid

As its name reveals, the scary deep sea creature is no less than a fictional monster. It’s the most unusual cephalopod that shares the characteristics of both a squid and an octopus. The creature is named vampire for a reason and that is because it creates a defensive web with its arms to protect itself, which resembles a vampire spreading its cloak.

Even the extreme pressure of the deep sea cannot stop it from its agile flying in the water. So there is no escape for their prey, but to hide! Just like vampires, they don’t like staying in light and are spotted between 300 to 3000 feet under the sea where there’s very little light or oxygen.

Published in Dawn, Young World, October 13th, 2018