- [Narrator] It's been said that 95% of all the waters in the
world remain unexplored. The deepest parts of
the ocean, especially, are a challenge to unravel, as they pose a lot of biological
and engineering challenges just to get there. As such, almost anything that
comes out of its dark depths always look bizarre, almost alien to us. Let's shed some light on some of the most
bizarre deep-sea creatures you won't believe exist. (synthesizer music) - Amazing! - [Narrator] Number 10, weird octopuses. Octopuses are already strange creatures. They have 8 separate dextrous tentacles, a very squishy, flexible body, nine brains, three hearts, and blue blood. They even have an intelligence level that rivals that of
dolphins and orangutans. However, our regular tentacled friends actually look rather tame, compared to their deep-sea versions. Here's some the strangest
you'll find in the deep-sea. Let's start off with the flapjack octopus, which certainly looks like something out of a Disney movie. They live between 200 to
1500 meters below the ocean and are mostly native
to the eastern Pacific, with a few species scattered throughout the mid-Atlantic Ocean. With its tiny size, gelatinous body, almost adorable build, and eyes that just seem
to sparkle with curiosity, it completely differentiates itself from the more grotesque and extended build of an ordinary octopus. Now take a flapjack octopus, make it more translucent, and give it a rounder body, and this is what you have. The informally-named casper octopus gets the inspiration obviously
from its ghastly look. First found thousands of meters
deep in the Hawaiian seas, they had been observed to lay their eggs on the stalk of dead sea sponges and then guard them to
the death, literally. They will wrap themselves
around the sponge without leaving, without ever feeding, until they finally die. Now that's dedication. For another Disney reference, look no further than the dumbo octopus. As you may have already guessed, its nickname is derived from its ears, which are actually fins
with a peculiar shape. Just like the flap jack and
the casper ghost octopus, it also has a seemingly smaller build than the average octopus, which allows it to thrive
at depths as deep as 7,000 meters below sea level. Number 9, Angler Fish. Of course we can't talk about the deep sea without mentioning just about every super wide-jawed oddity
that lurks down there. On the top of the list is, none other than, the anglerfish, which gets its name from
its unusual hunting method, which involves luring prey
close to its mouth using that weird luminescent appendage
coming out of its head. Apart from that, it has a
very unusual mating process. Similar to humans, male
anglerfish spend their lives finding a single female through
pheromones she releases. Once found he bites onto the
female and fuses onto her. Like a parasite he gets his nutrients from her need to survive
and has practically an on-demand testicle ready to reproduce when the female needs sperm. Another frightening fish is the viperfish. Measuring around 60 centimeters
or 23 inches in length, its essentially an anglerfish
made to look even more alien. Its fanged jaws can open
wide to almost 90 degrees and its similarly configured
by a luminescent lure can invite shallower fish
down to their instant doom. Probably even more hideous
are deep-seadragonfishes, a similar class of wide-jawed monsters which make viperfish look
like their incomplete cousins. What's particularly
special about this fish, is they don't just produce blue light, like most other deep sea creatures, they also produce red light. To emit this light the species will use
organs called photophores, typically located in front of their eyes. While the red light cannot act as a lure, since most of the prey
cannot see that shade, it does allow the dragonfish to stealthily illuminate their prey. Number eight, pelican flounder. The main challenge for
any deep-sea organism is not actually the absence of light but the crushing pressure levels. For the pelican flounder
the solution is simple, it makes itself as flat and flexible as biologically possible. The result becomes an amalgam
of the nightmarish anglerfish and the corkiness of
your average flounder. This fish is actually native to the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans. Nothing much is currently known
about the pelican flounder since they are rarely observed
in their natural habitat, but if we were to point
out one specific trait that makes it really special
as a deep sea dweller it would be its baby form. Pelican flounder larva
are some of the most alien-looking entities of the deep, akin to the other-worldly
appearance of comb jellies, which are small invertebrates
found world-wide. Like a mosquito, pelican
flounder larva are enveloped within their transparent flesh, only growing into their normal opaque-brown color as they grow. Number seven, giant isopods and amphipods. Sure, ancient trilobites
and modern horse-hoe crabs may look cute and all but out on the deep-sea floor
there are creepy-crawlies that can take you millions of years back into the age of the giant insects. Just take a close look
at this giant isopod, closer, even closer. Its extra-terrestrial form and size will constantly make you wonder if its actually some form of mutated lice. Don't worry its not going
to jump on your face. They're actually more of a
scavenger than an active hunter. They also typically thrive in
colder deeper environments, which is why they're technically absent in most temperate deep
regions of the world. There are other forms of
gigantic deep-sea crustaceans that have an unusual
alien-like appearance, like the supersized amphipods. Its almost as if they're the
grotesque and mutated versions of their tamer counterparts
on the shallow seas and land. Thankfully, being that
almost all of them are not as active as the wide-jawed hellspawns I mentioned earlier
they're far less menacing to other species than they seem, even less intimidating since
we'll never even get to meet one on land, probably... Number six, spider crabs. Speaking of crustaceans, crabs are also subjected to the same freakish transformations when the deep-sea is taken into account. This time though, it's not just their size but rather a whole different
dimension of weird. Japanese spider crabs, for example, don't just hold the record
for the longest-legged crab, but they are also, literally, the longest-legged arthropod ever. They can grow up to
around five meters long. Although their body is relatively small its main body can still grow a bit larger than the average human head. The hoff crab is another ghastly version of its normal counterpart. The deep dark depths made
it almost featureless in terms of color giving itself a pure white
shell of nothingness. The hoff crab got its name due to its dense covering of setae which are hair-like structures that resemble the hairy chest
of actor David Hasselhoff. It thrives near hydrothermal vents where its setae feeds upon
sulfur-oxidizing bacteria nearby. Even stranger are the various
species of strange spiny crabs which have yet to be properly classified or even identified due to
their recent discovery. The only thing evident though is that the deep-sea
environment where they belong, must have been really harsh for them to go several steps above the crustacean defense tree. Number five, colossal squid. If there's one persisting legend that turns out to be true of the deep it's that the deep-sea is home to fantastic creatures that
exhibit monstrous proportions. It's a well-known scientific
phenomenon known as deep-sea gigantism and one of the most gigantic
creatures we know of that lives down there
is the colossal squid. The colossal squid is
a gigantic cephalopod that is easily more than twice
the size of a regular human. Occasionally caught in the
southern seas of the Antarctic, we've never seen one
in its natural habitat, as we've only known about them because their sometimes caught by fishing rigs. It may not be capable of capsizing ships, but its still the largest known
invertebrate in the world. Giant squids are another
huge squid species. Compared to the colossal
squid they're only about a third of their size, but they're still larger
than any regular person and they have a huge intimidating beak you would not want to be eaten by. Though it can be just as illusive
as its bigger counterpart, the giant squid has actually been spotted in its natural habitat, even twice, although only very briefly. Speaking of deep-sea squids, the vampire squid also
deserves a special mention, with a weird transitional
body that is technically classified a split between
a squid and an octopus. It's not as gigantic but
its still equally monstrous, with its cape-like webbing and spine-studded tentacles. Don't worry it does not suck the blood of its neighboring denizens but is instead a particulate scavenger, preferring to dine on what's
already prepared as a meal. Number four, harp sponge. As fearsome as they already are, sea anemones and other similar creatures have at least taught us that
the oceans are also home to a number of immobile predatory feeders. Therefore, its only natural
that the deep, dark, sea will introduce us to something
similar only more horrifying. The harp sponge, for instance, looks just like its name
suggests, an unassuming, harmless, piece of
underwater living sponge, shaped like a harp. Whereas most inert deep-sea creatures feed off of filtered marine matter, this one actively seeks
a more scrumptious feast by snagging its victim
with its Velcro-like hooks. With its meal unable to escape, it then completely envelops
its prey and digests it. Part of its menu typically
includes various small fishes. Usually those that are not strong enough to escape its microscopic hooks. However, it has been known to
feast on crustaceans as well. Number three, sea toads. The sea toad is a rather simple name for this ocean-dwelling oddity, but it does kinda describe what
an amphibian might look like when subjected to the crushing
depths of the deep-sea. Think of the fish that is
smashed from front to back and given tiny legs. That's the simplest description
of what sea toads look like. In the words of Sir David Attenborough, Not the most beautiful thing in the sea but it definitely gives a
direct visual representation of what we humans would definitely find familiar yet other-worldly. Oh, and as with its close relative, the aforementioned anglerfish, the sea toad is also a
fierce, ambush predator. It lurks always patiently waiting before its hapless victim
finally ends up as sustenance. Number two, siphonophores Deep-sea siphonophores are long lines of jellyfish-like entities
connected together, only guided by the organism
behind and in front. They can get really
long, like, just as long or even longer than a blue whale, making them some of the
longest animals in the world. They stay alive by
preying on smaller animals by using stinging cells. Though some types of
siphonophores exhibit a simpler, long and slender creature configuration, other types can have even
wackier physical configurations. Most of them though, such as the classic Portuguese man o' war, do not belong to the
depth of the deep-sea. Therefore, not part of our dark oddities. Number one, gulper eels. If there's one thing in the deep that is the literal stuff of nightmares, it would have to be the gulper eel. Its name alone conjures a disturbing image to those who hear it and complete dread to those who can witness
its full existence. Its huge mouth, which is
definitely its most defining trait, is capable of extending
and snapping, like a snake. This allows it munch and dine on stuff that a creature of its size would not normally be able to swallow. Combine this with its very slender body and whip like tail and its capability of easily bending into
the depths of darkness and this makes it even more terrifying than the already monstrous anglerfish. Strangely enough cusk eels, despite being within the same category and habitat as the gulper eel, look vastly different and
come in a variety of forms. They have all the normal
features of regular fish but wrapped within an almost extra-terrestrial look
and transparent form. This is to be expected though,
as at 8,200 meters deep the cusk eel is officially one of the deepest ocean-dwelling
creatures on record. To give you a rough idea of how tough as hunters these eel really are, both of them eat a staple diet
of mostly hard crustaceans. They also inhabit a very large
part of the world's oceans, as they can easily thrive
anywhere, so long as, the climate is relatively warm. If this video got you curious
about more deep-sea creatures then make sure to watch our previous video by clicking the screen now. Also, which creature did you
think was the most bizarre? Let me know in the comments section below. Thanks for watching. (synthesizer music)
