Friday, October 5, 2012

Monsters Of The Deep

There's more to fear in the water besides Jaws... a lot more. And although it's true that you're never going to encounter many of these terrifying underwater creatures - who live at depths of up to 16,000 feet - just the thought that they exist is enough to give us nightmares.

Fangtooth Fish
The larger fangs on the lower jaw of the fangtooth fish are so long that the species has actually evolved a pair of opposing sockets on both sides of the brain for the fangs to slip into when the mouth is closed. Despite that gruesome physical feature, the fangtooth fish are relatively small (around 7 inches) and are said to be harmless to humans.


Striated Dogfish (or Anglerfish)
While some members of this species look like furry cousins of Nemo, this one looks like something strait out of the movie "Critters". Another creepy trait: these fish don't swim but "walk" using their pectoral fins.

Frill Shark
Could this be the animal that inspired sea monster tales? The frill shark has a long, eel-like which it can bend like a snake. Its mouth houses 25 rows of teeth (approximately 300 total).

Fangtooth Moray Eel
We're happy to know that the fangtooth moray eels typically likes to hide in crevices rather than swim out in the open, making the chances of running into one of these toothy creatures - which can get up to 10 feet long  - highly unlikely.

Anaconda
Perhaps this isn't technically a creature of the deep, since they prefer shallow, stagnant bodies of water. But we're including it because... well look at this picture! We certainly wouldn't want to meet these giant snakes underwater.

No comments: