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To find natures weirdest organisms, you need to do more than just scratch the surface. This is especially true in the oceans, where the deeper you look, the stranger things get. Here are a few spooky monsters of the deep.
The Anglerfish There are over 200 different species of anglerfish, most of which reside in the Atlantic and Arctic seas at depths of about 1600m. To attract prey in the blackness of the deep, anglerfish have a "fishing rod" built into their snout complete with a glowing bioluminescent fishing lure. Once the prey gets close to its gaping mouth and long sharp  | Anglerfish
Courtesy of Bruce Robison/Corbis |
teeth, the rest is history! Although some anglers can grow as large as one meter in length, most are smaller than one foot. Interestingly, among many anglerfish, its the females who do the fishing! The males are less than a centimeter long and live as parasites attached to its mates back...but that is a story for another day.
The Blobfish
You can easily see how this handsome creature got its name. The blobfish, (Psychrolutes marcidus) lives off the coasts of Australia and Tasmania at depths of around 800m and is rarely seen by man.  | | Blobfish
Courtesy of CA
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Its decidedly whimpy physique is actually an advantage. Its gelatinous body has few heavy muscles to weigh it down and so it can easily stay afloat without much work. It lives a couch potato lifestyle, floating around in wait of an easy meal. It does not need to waste energy building muscles. As you can guess, the blobfish is unpalatable to humans, but because it lives near commercially important food fish, it is often caught accidentally in nets (fisherman call this bycatch), and as a result is in danger of being wiped out by overfishing! The Goblin Shark Goblin sharks (Mitsukurina owstoni) live in the waters off Japan and other parts of the South Pacific and Indian Oceans at depths from 200-1300m. They can grow to over 10 ft in length and weigh over 300lbs. They cruise the sea floor, snacking on rockfish, crabs and squid. In the total  |
Goblin Shark Courtesy of Science Discovery |
darkness of the deep sea, they cannot see their prey, so instead they use an electronic fish finder built into their nose! Its big snout, or rostrum, contains electro-sensitive organs that detect the weak electric field changes caused by swimming fish. Once the goblin shark senses prey, it suddenly protrudes its jaws, and flexes a tongue-like muscle to suck the victim into its sharp front teeth. The Spook Fish The Pacific Barreleye (Macropinna microstoma), or spookfish, is found at depths between 400-2500m off the coast of California and in other parts of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian  |
Spook Fish (Barreleye) Courtesy of Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute |
Oceans. Those little protrusions on the front of its head aren't eyes - they are taste organs. Its tubular eyes look straight up -directly through a clear sunroof in the top of its head! A pair of green "sunglasses" help filter light and improve contrast. The spookfish uses its powerful binocular vision to look upward through its transparent head to find zooplankton (small weak-swimming animals) to eat. It is thought that the eyes are enclosed inside the head to protect them from the stinging cells (nematocysts) that some zooplankton use for defense. The Venus Fly Trap Sea Anemone Like it's terrestrial plant namesake, the Venus fly trap anemone (Actinoscyphia sp.) waits for unsuspecting prey  | |
Venus Fly Trap Sea Anemone Courtesy of MacDonald, Felder and Kemp
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to wander into its flower-like tentacles. Once touched, the tentacles close, pulling the unsuspecting prey into its stomach for a slow and grisly death by dissolution! This particular species is found in the Gulf of Mexico, and was threatened by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Vampire Squid With its dark "cape", fang-covered tentacles, and glowing blue or red eyes, the vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis), definitely earns its name. Only 6 inches long this denizen of the deep has characteristics of both octopus and squid. It  |
Vampire SquidCourtesy of National Geographic
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can use its cape to draw crustaceans and small fish into its toothy maw, or turn itself inside out to fend off predators. The vampire squid's body is covered with light emitting photophores that it uses to mesmerize both predators and prey. This acts as a clever substitute for the squirting ink used by its shallow-water relatives. After all, ink-squirting would not do much good in the inky black waters of the deep sea! *** If we still haven't given you enough ideas for halloween costumes, check out more freakily frightening or funky friends at Science Channel. "Top 10 Weirdest Sea Creatures." http://science.discovery.com/top-ten/2009/sea-creatures/sea-creatures.html Wired Science. "10 Crazy-Looking New Deep Sea Creatures." http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/07/gallery_marine_species/ The Daily Green. "33 Utterly Strange Sea Animals." http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/strange-sea-animals-2 | 
