Deep sea animals of the ocean. Deep sea fish of the world's oceans

underwater world mysterious and unique. It contains secrets that have not yet been solved by man. We invite you to get acquainted with the most unusual sea ​​creatures, plunge into the unknown thickness water world and see her beauty.

1. Atoll Jellyfish (Atolla vanhoeffeni)

Extraordinary beautiful jellyfish Atolla lives at such depths where sunlight does not penetrate. In times of danger, it can glow, attracting large predators. Jellyfish do not seem tasty to them, and predators eat their enemies with pleasure.

This jellyfish is capable of emitting a bright red glow, which is a consequence of the breakdown of proteins in its body. As a rule, large jellyfish- dangerous creatures, but you should not be afraid of the Atoll, because its habitat is where no swimmer can reach.

2. Blue Angel (Glaucus atlanticus)

This very tiny mollusk rightfully deserves its name; it seems to float on the water surface. To become lighter and stay at the very edge of the water, it swallows air bubbles from time to time.

These unusual creatures have an outlandish body shape. They are blue above and silver below. It is not for nothing that nature has provided such camouflage - the Blue Angel remains unnoticed by birds and sea predators. A thick layer of mucus around the mouth allows it to feed on small poisonous inhabitants seas.

3. Harp sponge (Chondrocladia lyra)

This mysterious one sea ​​predator has not yet been sufficiently studied. The structure of its body resembles a harp, hence the name. The sponge is inactive. It clings to the sediment of the seabed and hunts by gluing small underwater inhabitants to its sticky tips.

The harp sponge covers its prey with a bactericidal film and gradually digests it. There are individuals with two or more lobes, which are connected in the center of the body. The more blades, the more food the sponge will catch.

4. Dumbo Octopus (Grimpoteuthis)

The octopus got its name because of its resemblance to the Disney hero, Dumbo the elephant, although it has a semi-gelatinous body of rather modest size. Its fins resemble elephant ears. He waves them around as he swims, which looks quite funny.

Not only the “ears” help to move, but also the peculiar funnels located on the octopus’ body, through which it releases water under pressure. Dumbo lives very great depth, so we don’t know much about him. Its diet consists of all kinds of mollusks and worms.

Octopus Dumbo

5. Yeti Crab (Kiwa hirsuta)

The name of this animal speaks for itself. A crab covered with white shaggy fur actually resembles Bigfoot. It lives in cold waters at such depths where there is no access to light, so it is completely blind.

These amazing animals grow microorganisms on their claws. Some scientists believe that the crab needs these bacteria to purify the water from toxic substances, others suggest that the crabs grow their own food on the bristles.

6. Short-snouted pipistrelle (Ogcocephalus)

This fashionable fish with bright red lips can't swim at all. Living at a depth of more than two hundred meters, it has a flat body covered with a shell and fin-like legs, thanks to which the short-snouted bat slowly walks along the bottom.

It obtains food using a special growth - a kind of retractable fishing rod with an odorous bait that attracts prey. The discreet coloring and spiked shell help the fish hide from predators. Perhaps this is the funniest animal among the inhabitants of the world's oceans.

7. Sea slug Felimare Picta

Felimare Picta is a species of sea slug that lives in Mediterranean waters. He looks very extravagant. The yellow-blue body seems to be surrounded by a delicate airy frill.

Felimare Picta, although a mollusk, does without a shell. And why does he need her? In case of danger, the sea slug has something much more interesting. For example, acidic sweat that is released on the surface of the body. It's really bad luck for anyone who wants to treat themselves to this mysterious mollusk!

8. Flamingo tongue clam (Cyphoma gibbosum)

This creature is found on the western coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Having a brightly colored mantle, the mollusk completely covers its plain shell with it and thus protects it from negative influence marine organisms.

Like an ordinary snail, the Flamingo's Tongue hides in its shell in case of impending danger. By the way, the mollusk received this name due to its bright color with characteristic spots. It prefers poisonous gongonaria as food. While eating, the snail absorbs the poison of its prey, after which it becomes poisonous itself.

9. Leafy sea dragon (Phycodurus eques)

The sea dragon is a true virtuoso of mimicry. It is all covered with “leaves”, which help it appear invisible against the backdrop of the underwater landscape. It is interesting that such abundant vegetation does not help the dragon move at all. Only two tiny fins located on its chest and back are responsible for its speed. The leaf dragon is a predator. It feeds by sucking prey into itself.

Dragons feel comfortable in the shallow waters of warm seas. And these sea inhabitants are also known as excellent fathers, because it is the males who bear the offspring and take care of them.

10. Salps (Salpidae)

Salps are invertebrates sea ​​creatures, which have a barrel-shaped body, through the transparent shell of which internal organs are visible.

IN ocean depths animals form long chains-colonies, which are easily broken even by a slight wave shock. Salps reproduce by budding.

11. Piglet squid (Helicocranchia pfefferi)

This strange and little-studied underwater creature resembles “Piglet” from the famous cartoon. The completely transparent body of the piglet squid is covered age spots, the combination of which sometimes gives him a cheerful look. Around the eyes there are so-called photophores - organs of luminescence.

This mollusk is leisurely. It's funny that the piggy squid moves upside down, which is why its tentacles look like forelocks. He lives at a depth of one hundred meters.

12. Ribbon moray eel (Rhinomuraena guaesita)

This underwater inhabitant is quite unusual. Throughout its life, the ribbon moray eel is capable of changing sex and color three times, depending on the stages of its development. So, when the individual is still immature, it is colored black or dark blue.

Strange appearance

The deeper we go, the fewer fish there will be, the fewer good swimmers, and the smaller their size. But their appearance will become more and more surprising - their bodies will become more and more loose, gelatinous, flickering in the dark with luminous organs - photophores.

What fish live in deep-sea depressions?

To date, only 7 species of fish have been found in deep-sea trenches: three species of bugs and four species of sea slugs. The record for depth of capture belongs to abyssobrotule, caught in the Puerto Rico Trench at a depth of 8370 meters, and pseudoliparis - Pseudoliparis, caught 7800 meters from the surface. There is virtually no data on the life of these fish, but as far as one can judge from their appearance, these small, sluggish creatures feed on bottom crustaceans and possibly the remains of other animals. This is what it looks like paraliparis - Paraliparis, living at a depth of 200 – 2,000 m.

It is likely that fish can be found at the bottom of deeper depressions. Thus, during the dive of the “Triest” bathysphere into the Mariana Trench at a depth of about 10,000 meters, scientists managed to photograph some kind of flounder-like creature, but further analysis of the images did not clearly confirm that this object was a fish. In any case, there are few fish at these depths. Scientists have not yet discovered giant octopuses or squids capable of swallowing an entire ship.

Giant extinct armored fish

Armored fish that lived in the Jurassic period reached a length of more than 5 m, they lived in fresh water.

Coelacanths appeared 60 million years ago

The famous species of deep-sea fish, coelacanths (lobe-finned fish), have existed for 60 million years.

Side lights

The “flashlights” themselves can be small or large, single or located in “constellations” over the entire surface of the body. They can be round or oblong, like luminous stripes. Some fish resemble ships with rows of luminous portholes, and in predators they are often located at the ends of long antennae - fishing rods. Many deep-sea fish, such as anglerfish, glowing anchovies, hatchets, photostom, there are luminous organs – photofluors, which serve to attract victims or to camouflage themselves from predators. In females melanocete, like the females of other deep-sea anglerfish (of which there are 120 known species), a “fishing rod” grows on the head. It ends with a shiny esque. By waving the “fishing rod”, the melanocetus lures fish towards itself and directs them directly into its mouth.

In luminous anchovies, photofluoras are located on the tail and body around the eyes. The downward light from the ventral photophores blurs the outlines of these small fish against the background of weak light coming from above and makes them invisible from below.

The hatchet photophores are found along the abdomen on both sides and on the underside of the body and also emit a greenish light downwards. Their lateral photophores resemble portholes.

The most famous of the deep sea fish- This is an anglerfish. Anglerfishes originate from Perciformes. Almost 120 species of deep-sea anglerfish are known, about 10 of which are found in the northern part of Pacific Ocean. Found in the Black Sea european anglerfish(Lophius piscatorius).

The deepest sea fish

It is believed that of all vertebrates, fish belonging to the genus live at the greatest depths Bassogigas (family Brotulidae). From the research vessel John Eliot managed to catch bassogigasa at a depth of 8000 m.

Armored fish lived in the Jurassic period

More than 5 m long, which lived in fresh water.

One-legged crawling

Norwegian scientists from the Institute of Marine Research in Bergen reported the discovery of an unknown creature living at a depth of about 2000 meters. This is a very brightly colored creature crawling along the bottom. Its length is no more than 30 centimeters. The creature has only one front "paw" (or something very similar to a paw) and a tail, and at the same time does not resemble any of the sea inhabitants known to scientists. They failed to catch the creature, but scientists were able to get a good look at it and photograph it many times.

Why do fish need flashlights?

In conditions of constant darkness, the ability to glow plays a huge role. For predators, this is the luring of prey by fishing fish. In anglerfish, the first ray of the spiny dorsal fin is moved onto the head and turned into a fishing rod, at the end of which there is a bait that serves to attract prey. In some fish, only the lower part of the body glows, making them less noticeable against the background of diffused overhead light. Perhaps this is how one becomes invisible iron fish, which has a fantastic appearance with a completely flat silvery bottom part that reflects light. But the main task of photophores is, of course, to designate individuals of one species.

Telescopic eyes

It is clear that with such developed luminescent organs, vision should be no worse. Indeed, many of these fish have very complex telescopic eyes. So, close to the iron fish Bathylychnops- a unique four-eyed fish, in which two main eyes are directed obliquely upward, and two additional ones are directed forward and downward, which allows it to obtain an almost circular image.

Many fish, especially giganturas and bathylepts, have telescopic eyes mounted on stalks, which allows them to perceive very weak light sources, such as radiation from other fish.

Blind deep sea fish

With a further increase in depth and the complete disappearance of signs of light, vision ceases to play an important role and the eyes gradually atrophy. Completely blind species appear. Many of these deep-sea creatures are passive, have flabby, gelatinous bodies, often lacking caudal fins. Having descended four kilometers into the water, you will see rattail grenadiers with “armored” heads and sensitive antennae, typhlonus, which most resemble a small airship, they do not have a tail fin, they are completely blind and hunt only at the expense of the lateral line, galateataum, which lures prey straight into your mouth... And, of course, the most amazing Lasiognathus anglerfish, or Lasiognathus saccostoma(which, by the way, means “the ugliest among the uglies”). Fishes called Bombay ducks, - scaleless, large-mouthed, characterized by flabby consistency fat body and brown-brown color. Ateleopus - gelatinous, covered with smooth slippery skin, it most closely resembles a huge half-meter tadpole. His head makes a great impression - not at all fishy, ​​soft and translucent, covered with delicate slippery skin, it resembled something jelly-like. The small funnel-shaped and completely toothless mouth raised strong doubts about the ability of its owner to feed on fish and crustaceans.

Fish that can't swim

Sea bats (Ogcocephalidae) only the “flat-like” crawl along the bottom with the help of “arms and legs” - pectoral and ventral fins. They spend their entire lives lying on the bottom, passively waiting for prey. The family contains 7 - 8 genera and about 35 benthic species, living in tropical and sub tropical waters World ocean. They are characterized by a huge disc-shaped flattened head and a short narrow body covered with bony tubercles or spines. They have a small mouth with small teeth and tiny gill openings. A short “rod” (illicium), which is crowned with a bait (eska), is pulled into a special vaginal tube located just above the mouth. A hungry fish throws out illicium and lures prey by rotating the handle. The largest sea bats do not exceed 35 cm in length.

In the countries of the South - East Asia from disc bats (Halieutaea) make baby rattles. The abdominal cavity of the dried fish is cut out, the entrails are completely scraped out, and small stones are placed in their place; the incision is carefully sutured and the spines covering the body are ground off.

Only females have fishing rods

Lasiognathus males Lasiognathus saccostoma The larvae also differ from females in the absence of a fishing rod. During metamorphosis in males, the head and jaws are greatly reduced, the eyes remain large, and the olfactory organs are greatly enlarged. In females, the opposite is true: the head and jaws become greatly enlarged, and the olfactory and visual organs become smaller; in adulthood, “ladies” reach 7.5 cm. In addition, males have special teeth in the front of their mouths, merging at their bases and serving to capture microprey and attach to females.

When the male is ten times smaller than the female and grows together with her

http://www.thejump.net/id/LongnoseLancetfishII.jpg " src="http://www.apus.ru/im.xp/049050053048055052053051053.png" alt="alepisaurus from the site http:/ /www.thejump.net/id/LongnoseLancetfishII.jpg" width="250" height="166" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; " /> !} Ability to self-fertilize

Alepisaurus potentially capable of self-fertilization: each individual produces eggs and sperm simultaneously. And during spawning, some individuals function as females, while others function as males. Alepisaurs are large, up to 2 m long, predatory fish that live in the pelagic zone open ocean. Translated from Latin it means “scaleless beast”, a characteristic inhabitant of open ocean waters.

Spawning of deep sea fish

“occurs at great depths. The developing eggs gradually rise upward, and the larvae, 2–3 mm long, hatch in the surface layer of 30–200 m, where they feed mainly on copepods and planktonic chaetognathas. By the beginning of metamorphosis, the juveniles manage to descend to a depth of over 1000 m. Apparently, their immersion occurs quickly, since females at the metamorphosis stage are found in layer 2 - 2.5 thousand m, and males at the same stage - at a depth of 2 thousand m. In the layer of 1500 - 2000 m, both sexes live, having undergone metamorphosis and reached maturity, but sometimes adult individuals are found at shallower depths.

Adult females feed mainly on deep-sea bathypelagic fish, crustaceans and, less commonly, cephalopods, while adult males, like larvae, feed on copepods and chaetognaths. Related individual development vertical migrations of deep-sea anglerfish are explained by the fact that only in the near-surface layer can their sedentary and numerous larvae find enough food to accumulate reserves for the upcoming metamorphosis. Huge losses due to the consumption of eggs and larvae by predators are compensated by angler fish by very high fertility. Their eggs are small (with a diameter of no more than 0.5 - 0.7 mm), their transparent larvae resemble tiny balloons, due to the fact that they are dressed in a skin cover inflated with gelatinous tissue. This fabric increases the buoyancy and size of the larvae, which, along with transparency, protects them from small predators.

Hunting with a vacuum

Interesting to hunt sticktail (Stylophorus chordatus)- a bizarre fish with telescopic eyes and two long tail rays, forming an elastic rod that is longer than the fish itself. Waiting for the appearance of prey (small crustaceans), the stick tail slowly drifts in a vertical position. When the crustacean is nearby, the fish sharply pushes its tubular mouth forward, increasing the volume of the oral cavity by almost 40 times, and the crustacean is instantly drawn into this vacuum trap.

Deep sea predators

In the water column of medium depths there are many fast swimmers, especially among predators. They pierce the water column, rising to the surface, and there, while chasing flies, they sometimes jump into the air. This (for example, Anotopterus nikparini), alepisaurs, godwit, rexia. All of them have powerful teeth and a long, slender body, which allows them to chase prey and easily escape from their pursuers. But all the same, when you see these swift hunters, their “deepness” is easily guessed by the same characteristic flabbiness of their bodies. However, this does not stop them from attacking such strong fish, like salmon, and leave characteristic cut wounds with powerful jaws. Rexias seem to sometimes hunt cooperatively. They tear their prey into pieces, and then parts of the same victim are found in the stomachs of different predators caught in the same trawl.

Many of these deep-sea hunters have a very striking, memorable appearance. Thus, alepisaurs are “decorated” with a huge flag-shaped fin and, with a length of one and a half meters, weigh only about 5 kilograms, their body is so thin.

Scary teeth of the underwater world

The big-headed daggertooth (Anotopterus nikparini) is a large (up to 1.5 m long), not numerous inhabitant of medium depths of 500-2200 m, presumably found at depths of up to 4100 m, although its juveniles rise to a depth of 20 m. It is widespread in its subtropical And temperate regions Pacific Ocean, in summer months penetrates north to the Bering Sea.

The elongated, serpentine body and large head with huge beak-shaped jaws make the appearance of this fish so unique that it is difficult to confuse it with anyone else. A characteristic feature of the external structure of the daggertooth is its huge mouth - the length of the jaws is about three-quarters of the length of the head. Moreover, the size and shape of the teeth on different jaws of the daggertooth differ significantly: on the upper ones they are powerful, saber-shaped, reaching 16 mm in large specimens; on the bottom - small, subulate, directed backward and not exceeding 5-6 mm.

Research carried out in the last decade by scientists from different countries has shown that the daggertooth is an active predator. As a rule, he hunts schooling pelagic fish such as saury, herring and Pacific salmon - pink salmon, sockeye salmon and masu salmon. Based on data on the shape, location and direction of cuts on the victims' bodies (mainly from the back to the lower body), scientists believe that the daggertooth attacks primarily from below. Most likely, it waits for its prey, hanging head up in the water. In this case, better camouflage is provided and the predator can get as close to the prey as possible. When attacking, two options are possible: a direct throw vertically upward and a throw with a short pursuit of the victim. It is unlikely that the daggertooth, with its not very muscular body and poorly developed tail, could pursue such good swimmers as salmon for a long time.

Of particular interest is the question of how the daggertooth manages to cause such serious damage to such large fish as Pacific salmon. Having studied the structure of the daggertooth's teeth, scientists came to the conclusion that the salmon themselves help it make cut wounds. An attacked fish actively tries to escape after the predator has managed to grab it. But the backward-directed awl-shaped teeth of the lower jaw firmly hold the prey. However, if she turns around the grip axis, freeing her body from the mandibular teeth of the predator, she immediately manages to escape, but at the same time the body is cut by the saber-shaped teeth of the daggertooth.

There's a refrigerator in the stomach

Alepisaurs, fast predators, have an interesting feature: food is digested in their intestines, and their stomach contains completely intact prey, captured at various depths. And thanks to this toothy fishing gear, scientists have described many new species.

Monkfish swallows whole

Real deep-sea hunters resemble monstrous creatures frozen in the darkness of the bottom layers with huge teeth and weak muscles. They are passively drawn by slow deep-sea currents, or they simply lie on the bottom. With their weak muscles, they cannot tear out pieces from the prey, so they do it easier - swallow it whole... even if it is larger than the hunter in size. This is how anglers hunt - fish with a lonely mouth to which they forgot to attach a body. And this waterfowl head, baring its palisade of teeth, waves in front of itself a tendril with a luminous light at the end.

Anglerfish are small in size, reaching only 20 centimeters in length. The largest species of anglerfish, for example ceraria, reach almost half a meter, others - melanocete or Borofrin have outstanding appearance .

Sometimes anglerfish attack such large fish that an attempt to swallow them sometimes leads to the death of the hunter himself. So, once a 10-centimeter anglerfish was caught, choking on a 40-centimeter longtail.

While sorting out the catch from a deep-sea trawling in the western Pacific, scientists noticed the tightly stuffed belly of a tiny 6-centimeter anglerfish, from which seven freshly swallowed victims were extracted, including a 16-centimeter fish! Perhaps the gluttony was a consequence of his short association with the trawl captives.

Like a mitten, it stretches over the prey

Crookshanks (Pseudoscopelus) has an amazing ability to frequently swallow living creatures larger than its own size. This is a scaleless fish, about 30 cm long, with flaccid muscles and a huge mouth armed with huge teeth. Its jaws, body and stomach can stretch greatly, allowing it to swallow large prey. Some crabbills have the ability to glow. Previously, they were considered quite rare species, and only recently it was discovered that they are readily eaten by marlin and tuna, which descend to these depths to feed.

However, many of them can swallow whole a victim larger than themselves. For example, a 14-centimeter haulilod is placed in the stomach of an 8-centimeter gigantura.

New discoveries of deep-sea fish

Strange appearance The deeper we go, the smaller the number of fish will be, the fewer good swimmers, the smaller their size. But their appearance will become more and more surprising - they will become more and more loose, gelatinous...

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Seas and oceans occupy more than half the area of ​​our planet, but they are still shrouded in mysteries for humanity. We strive to conquer space and are looking for extraterrestrial civilizations, but at the same time, only 5% of the world's oceans have been explored by humans. But this data is enough to be horrified by what creatures live deep underwater, where sunlight does not penetrate.

1. Common chauliod (Chauliodus sloani)

The Chauliod family includes 6 species of deep-sea fish, but the most common of them is the common hauliod. These fish live in almost all waters of the world's oceans, with the exception of cold waters. northern seas and the Arctic Ocean.

Chauliodas got their name from the Greek words “chaulios” - open mouth, and “odous” - tooth. Indeed, these relatively small fish(about 30 cm in length) teeth can grow up to 5 centimeters, which is why their mouth never closes, creating a creepy grin. Sometimes these fish are called sea vipers.

Howliods live at depths from 100 to 4000 meters. At night they prefer to rise closer to the surface of the water, and during the day they descend into the very abyss of the ocean. Thus, during the day, fish make huge migrations of several kilometers. With the help of special photophores located on the hauliod's body, they can communicate with each other in the dark.

On dorsal fin The viper fish has one large photophore, with which it lures its prey directly to its mouth. After which, with a sharp bite of needle-sharp teeth, the hauliods paralyze the prey, leaving it no chance of salvation. The diet mainly includes small fish and crustaceans. According to unreliable data, some individuals of hauliods can live up to 30 years or more.

2. Long-horned sabertooth (Anoplogaster cornuta)

The long-horned sabertooth is another fearsome deep-sea predatory fish, living in all four oceans. Although the saber tooth looks like a monster, it grows to a very modest size (about 15 centimeters in length). The head of the fish with a large mouth occupies almost half the length of the body.

The long-horned sabertooth got its name due to its long and sharp lower fangs, which are the largest in relation to body length among all fish known to science. The terrifying appearance of the sabertooth has earned it the unofficial name “monster fish.”

Adults can vary in color from dark brown to black. The younger representatives look completely different. They are light gray in color and have long spines on their heads. The sabertooth is one of the deepest-sea fish in the world; in rare cases, they descend to depths of 5 kilometers or more. The pressure at these depths is enormous, and the water temperature is about zero. There is catastrophically little food here, so these predators hunt for the first thing that gets in their way.

3. Dragonfish (Grammatostomias flagellibarba)

The size of the deep-sea dragon fish absolutely does not fit with its ferocity. These predators, which reach a length of no more than 15 centimeters, can eat prey two or even three times its size. The dragon fish lives in tropical zones The world's oceans at a depth of up to 2000 meters. The fish has a large head and a mouth equipped with many sharp teeth. Like the Howlyod, the dragonfish has its own bait for prey, which is a long whisker with a photophore at the end, located on the fish's chin. The hunting principle is the same as for all deep-sea individuals. Using a photophore, the predator lures the victim to the closest possible distance, and then with a sharp movement inflicts a fatal bite.

4. Deep sea anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius)

The deep-sea anglerfish is rightfully the ugliest fish in existence. There are about 200 species of anglerfish, some of which can grow up to 1.5 meters and weigh 30 kilograms. Due to its creepy appearance and bad character, this fish was nicknamed the monkfish. live deep sea anglerfish everywhere at a depth of 500 to 3000 meters. The fish has a dark brown color, a large flat head with many spines. The devil's huge mouth is studded with sharp and long teeth curved inward.

Deep-sea anglerfish have pronounced sexual dimorphism. Females are tens of times larger than males and are predators. Females have a rod with a fluorescent appendage at the end to attract fish. Anglerfish spend most of their time on the seabed, burrowing into sand and silt. Due to its huge mouth, this fish can completely swallow prey that is twice its size. That is, hypothetically, a large individual anglerfish could eat a person; Fortunately, there have never been such cases in history.

5. Bagworm (Saccopharyngiformes)

Probably the most strange inhabitant depths of the sea You can call it a bagmouth or, as it is also called, a pelican-shaped largemouth. Due to its abnormally huge mouth with a bag and a tiny skull in relation to the length of the body, the bagmouth looks more like some kind of alien creature. Some individuals can reach two meters in length.

In fact, bagmouths belong to the class of ray-finned fish, but these monsters do not have too many similarities with the cute fish that live in warm sea backwaters. Scientists believe that appearance These creatures changed many thousands of years ago due to their deep-sea lifestyle. Bagmouths have no gill rays, ribs, scales or fins, and the body is oblong with a luminous appendage on the tail. If not big mouth, then the bagmouth could easily be confused with an eel.

Bagworms live at depths from 2000 to 5000 meters in three world oceans, except the Arctic Ocean. Since there is very little food at such depths, bagmouths have adapted to long breaks in eating, which can last more than one month. These fish feed on crustaceans and other deep-sea brethren, mainly swallowing their prey whole.

6. Giant squid (Architeuthis dux)

Elusive giant squid, known to science as Architeuthis dux, is the largest mollusk in the world and can supposedly reach a length of 18 meters and weigh half a ton. On at the moment A live giant squid has never yet fallen into human hands. Until 2004, there were no documented sightings of live giant squid at all, and general idea about these mysterious creatures It was based only on the remains washed ashore or caught in fishermen’s nets. Architeuthis live at depths of up to 1 kilometer in all oceans. Besides gigantic size these creatures have the largest eyes among living creatures (up to 30 centimeters in diameter).

So in 1887, the largest specimen in history, 17.4 meters long, washed up on the shores of New Zealand. In the next century, only two large dead representatives of the giant squid were discovered - 9.2 and 8.6 meters. In 2006, Japanese scientist Tsunami Kubodera managed to capture on camera a living female 7 meters long. natural environment habitat at a depth of 600 meters. The squid was lured to the surface by a small bait squid, but an attempt to bring a live specimen on board the vessel was unsuccessful - the squid died from multiple injuries.

Giant squids are dangerous predators, and their only natural enemy is adult sperm whales. There are at least two described cases of fight between squid and sperm whale. In the first, the sperm whale won, but soon died, suffocated by the giant tentacles of the mollusk. The second battle took place off the coast South Africa, then the giant squid fought with the baby sperm whale, and after an hour and a half fight, he still killed the whale.

7. Giant isopod (Bathynomus giganteus)

Giant isopod, known to science, like Bathynomus giganteus, is the largest species of crustacean. The average size of a deep-sea isopod ranges from 30 centimeters, but the largest recorded specimen weighed 2 kilograms and was 75 centimeters long. In appearance, giant isopods are similar to woodlice, and like the giant squid, they are a consequence of deep-sea gigantism. These crayfish live at depths from 200 to 2500 meters, preferring to bury themselves in silt.

The body of these creepy creatures is covered with hard plates that act as a shell. In case of danger, crayfish can curl into a ball and become inaccessible to predators. By the way, isopods are also predators and can feast on a few small deep-sea fish and sea ​​cucumbers. Powerful jaws and durable armor make the isopod a dangerous opponent. Although giant crayfish love to feast on live food, they often have to eat the remains of shark prey that fall from upper layers ocean.

8. Coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae)

The coelacanth, or coelacanth, is a large deep-sea fish whose discovery in 1938 became one of the most important zoological discoveries of the 20th century. Despite its unattractive appearance, this fish is notable for the fact that for 400 million years it has not changed its appearance and body structure. In fact, this unique relict fish is one of the oldest living creatures on planet Earth, which existed long before the appearance of dinosaurs.

Coelacanth lives at a depth of up to 700 meters in the waters of the Indian Ocean. The length of the fish can reach 1.8 meters and weigh more than 100 kilograms, and the body has a beautiful blue tint. Since coelacanth is very slow, it prefers to hunt at great depths, where there is no competition with more fast predators. These fish can swim backwards or belly up. Despite the fact that the meat of the coelcanth is inedible, it is often the target of poaching among local residents. Currently ancient fish is in danger of extinction.

9. Goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni)

The deep sea goblin shark, or goblin shark as it is also called, is the most poorly studied shark to date. This species lives in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean at a depth of up to 1300 meters. The largest specimen was 3.8 meters long and weighed about 200 kilograms.

The goblin shark got its name due to its eerie appearance. Mitsekurina has movable jaws that move outward when bitten. The goblin shark was first accidentally caught by fishermen in 1898, and since then 40 more specimens of this fish have been caught.

10. Hell Vampire (Vampyroteuthis infernalis)

Another relict representative of the sea abyss is a one-of-a-kind cephalopod-detritus feeder, which has external resemblance, both with squid and octopus. Yours unusual name the hellish vampire received thanks to the red body and eyes, which, however, depending on the lighting, can be blue color. Despite their terrifying appearance, these strange creatures They grow only up to 30 centimeters and, unlike other cephalopods, they eat exclusively plankton.

The body of the hellish vampire is covered with luminous photophores, which create bright flashes of light that scare away enemies. In case of exceptional danger, these small mollusks turn their tentacles along the body, becoming like a ball with spikes. Hellish vampires live at depths of up to 900 meters, and can thrive in water with an oxygen level of 3% or lower, critical for other animals.

The underwater world is full of many inhabitants. Everyone who has experienced underwater diving has forever retained in their memory unforgettable impressions of the beauty and diversity of flora and fauna of the sea or ocean floor.

Sponges

Along with a variety of fish and unusual algae, there are creatures on the seabed that are so unusual that it is impossible to determine to what category they should be classified.

One of these creatures is sponges. They have neither internal organs, no sense organs. At first glance, there is no way to tell that this is an animal.

And yet, it is so. Sponges have a primitive structure, adapted to life exclusively on the bottom of the sea, and depth does not play any role for the comfortable existence of sponges. The territory of their distribution is very large, and the number of varieties is enormous. Some of them even survive at the North Pole!

Sponges look different. There are individuals that are spherical, elongated, or even elliptical. The colors also vary: from pale and light to bright, saturated.

Sponges are multicellular animals that survive in any environment.

The sponge seems very fragile to the touch, since its entire body is porous. With the help of these pores, the sponge breathes and feeds. Water passes through the pores, leaving small marine plankton in the body of the sponge.

The viability of sponges is also surprising. They have an excellent ability to regenerate: no matter how many small parts you divide the sponge into, it will certainly be able to recover. Sponges live from several months to fifty years.

Corals

A more accurate name for such well-known organisms as corals is “coral polyps.” What we used to think of as coral is actually the skeleton of a coral polyp. Coral polyp very small in size, its shape is not as picturesque as the shape of its skeleton, but rather resembles a grain of rice. The coral polyp does not have a backbone, but it does have tentacles.

After the death of the polyp, its skeleton (otherwise it is called “corallite”), connecting with others, creates coral reef. New polyps develop directly on the skeletons of old ones, significantly changing the topography of the seabed.

The coral reefs are incredibly beautiful and very attractive to scuba diving enthusiasts. Corals are different. Coral reefs consist mainly of stony corals. There are also soft corals and horn corals (their scientific name is gorgonians). All corals are united by love for tropical climate And high temperature water. For example, the Black Sea is not warm enough for these creatures.

Today we know at least five hundred varieties of corals. Almost all of them prefer to live at shallow depths.

A coral polyp without its strong calcareous skeleton is very fragile. They live on the bottom or resemble a bush or tree in shape. Their colors are varied and very intricate. Coral can grow to significant sizes - from one and a half to two meters. Corals are inhabitants of the seas and oceans. Fresh water harmful for them.

Corals need sunlight to function normally. These organisms breathe with the help of tiny algae that live directly in the tissues of the polyp's body.

Corals eat plankton as food. It sticks to their tentacles, which then send food into their mouths. The mouth is located under the tentacles.

Sometimes, due to tectonic processes, the ocean floor is no longer hidden by water. In this case, the coral reef that comes up becomes the basis for a new island.

Over time, it develops its own flora and fauna, and then people settle on this island. This is how some of the inhabited islands of Oceania arose.

Starfish, urchins, lilies

Such unique creatures as starfish, sea ​​urchins and crinoids belong to the order Echinodermata. They live exclusively in salt water, therefore their habitat is the sea and ocean bottom.

Starfish can reach significant sizes - up to a whole meter in diameter. Along with such large specimens, there are also very tiny ones - up to a few millimeters.

A starfish can have up to fifty “rays” - processes on which the eyes are located. These eyes are capable of detecting light. Starfish are usually brightly colored and have a wide range of colors. You could say they come in every color of the rainbow!

Despite their apparent slowness and lack of teeth, starfish are excellent predators. Firstly, they are practically omnivores, literally able to eat everything that cannot eat them themselves.

Secondly, the point is in the special structure of the starfish’s stomach, which is capable of digesting food even outside the body of its owner. That is, starfish It is not necessary to penetrate the shell of a mollusk yourself in order to feast on its contents. All you have to do is place your stomach there and begin the digestive process. And in the execution of this process the possibilities are almost unlimited. She is able to cope even with live fish.

Sea urchins are no less voracious. They eat almost all the inhabitants of the underwater kingdom: plants and animals, fish and shellfish, living and dead, and even each other. Their powerful jaw allows hedgehogs to even gnaw through stones.

These are animals indistinguishable from real flowers. The similarity is exacerbated by the fact that, like plants, they are immobile. The only difference is that sea lilies, unlike real ones, do not have stems.

The sea urchin is an inhabitant of the seas and oceans.

Jellyfish

Jellyfish are remarkable because almost 100% of their mass is water.

The process of the birth of a jellyfish is no less bizarre than appearance this unusual creature. The eggs laid by an adult jellyfish hatch into larvae, which later transform into a polyp, shaped like a bush. Tiny newborn jellyfish bud from it and will grow into adults.

The variety of jellyfish is amazing. Among them there are tiny ones with a diameter of several millimeters, and real giants more than two meters in diameter. The tentacles of such giants are also gigantic: almost thirty meters. Jellyfish habitat - entire thickness sea ​​water, they feel equally good both on the surface of the water and at the very bottom of the sea.

Jellyfish are adorable to look at, but some of them can be deadly. The fact is that the jellyfish leads the lifestyle of a predator, and its tentacles are not only decoration and a means of transportation, but also a weapon for hunting. They contain a kind of thread that has spikes and contains a paralyzing liquid. The slightest touch to a devilishly beautiful jellyfish can result in death for a small marine organism, and a serious burn for a larger creature.

Jellyfish stings can cause serious burns on the human body, and the venom of some species is deadly.

Not always the best dangerous jellyfish look especially large or bright. For example, an inconspicuous jellyfish called the “cross” (due to the cross-shaped pattern on its “umbrella”) the size of a five-kopeck coin is incredibly dangerous to humans. Touching it risks severe burns. But that's not the worst thing. Following the burn, the person begins to suffocate. And since meetings with this jellyfish, of course, take place in water, the outcome of such a meeting is most often disappointing.

What also distinguishes jellyfish from other inhabitants of the underwater kingdom of this kind is their speed of movement. Their “umbrella” is very mobile, and its shape allows it to move from place to place quite quickly.

Underwater inhabitants changeable, like the sea itself. Quite recently, a huge jellyfish appeared in the Sea of ​​Japan. Her weight was one and a half hundred kilograms. Most importantly, this was not an isolated incident. The relatives of this jellyfish also began to grow actively. Perhaps this rapid growth is caused by the warming of the world's oceans.

In addition to such amazing and unique creations of nature as the above-mentioned creatures, well-known and familiar mammals live in the seas and oceans. Not all of them have water as their permanent home, like dolphins, for example. Many people use it as a source of food and a place to hunt. Naturally, all water-associated mammals are excellent swimmers.

It is interesting to note that water can support any weight, and therefore many marine mammals much larger than their terrestrial counterparts.
Of those mammals that live permanently in water, the following groups can be distinguished: cetaceans, pinnipeds, sirens and sea otters. Cetaceans include whales themselves, as well as dolphins. Pinnipeds include walruses and all types of seals. Dugongs, which are similar to mythical sirens or mermaids, belong to the category of sirens. It should be noted that cetaceans and sirenians never come to land, but pinnipeds and sea otters rest and breed on the shore, and feed and hunt in the sea.

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The depths of the seas and oceans, where sunlight does not penetrate, are home to many amazing creatures. It is believed that 98 percent of all aquatic animals live at or just above the bottom. At present, only a small part of the vast deep sea world, which may be for the better. Many amazing and scary creatures have been discovered, but even more of them are hidden under the water. And we can’t even imagine what terrible secrets the depths hold. Look at the photographs of eleven creatures that are the most striking representatives of the underwater kingdom.

1. Sabertooth fish

Sabertooth fish - real sea ​​monster. It lives in the tropical waters of the oceans at a depth of about five kilometers. Although its length averages 18 centimeters, the fish still looks terrifying. This creature got its name because of its huge teeth. Despite its threatening appearance, the saber-toothed fish is not dangerous to humans. In any case, not a single case of attack was officially registered. This deep-sea predator feeds on small fish and squid.

2. Brownie shark

The goblin shark is also known as the goblin shark. This one is very rare species considered a living fossil - it appeared in the era of dinosaurs, 125 million years ago. Shark doesn't like sunlight and usually does not rise above 100 meters from the surface of the water. Average length this deep-sea inhabitant is about 4 meters. Many people, when they see this monster, think that the animal is crippled. But this is not so - this is just the specific “appearance” of the shark.

3. Giant isopod

These crustaceans resemble multiply enlarged woodlice. The largest isopod caught reached a length of 76 centimeters. These animals live at the very bottom under water thickness from 170 meters to 2 kilometers. Giant isopods are considered predators, but they typically feed on dead creatures. Although they do not disdain fish if they can catch it. When threatened, isopods curl up into a ball, just like their terrestrial relatives.

4. Catfish

Catfish typically grow up to two and a half meters in length and can weigh around 30 kilograms. Fish live at depths from 300 to 1700 meters. Most interesting feature Catfish are characterized by their puffy “faces” with plump lips. Sharp, protruding teeth give the fish a terrifying appearance.

5. Largemouth

Largemouth is also called “pelican fish” - it’s immediately clear why. It lives deep under the surface of the ocean - from 500 meters to 3 kilometers. The largemouth has a snake-like body (up to 80 centimeters in length) and a terrifying huge mouth. The fish is capable of swallowing prey that is significantly larger in size than the largemouth. The stomach is also adapted to such extreme nutrition - it stretches to fantastic sizes.

6. Japanese spider crab

Japanese spider crabs live along the coast of Japan at depths ranging from 200 to 900 meters. The crab's body is relatively small - up to 45 centimeters, but the span of the front pair of legs can reach 4 meters. The weight of these monsters reaches twenty kilograms. Despite their menacing appearance, giant spider crabs tend to have a peaceful nature. In Japan, they are caught and eaten as a favorite delicacy.

7. Melanocet Johnson

Johnson's melanocetus may be the most scary creature of all those hiding under the water column. It lives at a depth of 4.5 kilometers, although it can rise to a level of 100 meters from the surface. Melacenote females grow up to 18 centimeters in length, while males are not large in size. In its shape, the fish resembles a drop with a mouth full of dagger-like teeth. Its head is equipped with processes with luminous photophores - in this way the predator lures its victims.

8. Frilled Shark

Frilled sharks trace their ancestry back to prehistoric times. All their closest relatives have long since died out. Sharks of this species have a long and thin body. They can reach a length of two meters. The worst thing about a shark is its teeth (about 300 pieces), which are arranged in rows (up to 29 rows on the lower jaw and the same number on the upper jaw). Frilled sharks live at a depth of about one and a half thousand meters.

9. Giant squid

Giant squids, due to their lifestyle, are almost elusive to capture on a photo or video camera. They live deep underwater and only occasionally rise to the surface. These giants grow up to 17 meters in length. Some people say that they have encountered specimens over twenty meters in length on the open sea. But there is no documentary evidence of this. To date, no giant squid have been caught. Sometimes found washed ashore already dead animals.

10. Hell Vampire

Hell vampires live in tropical and temperate ocean waters at depths of 400 meters to a kilometer. Representatives of this family have the usual head shape for squids, but the tentacles are connected by membranes like a funnel. Inside the funnel there are spikes and suction cups with which hellish vampires paralyze and restrain their victims. Although these animals are called vampire squids, they are actually separate family– Vampyroteuthidae.

11. Howliods

Howliods have huge mouths full of fangs. The teeth are so large that they do not fit in the mouth. As you may have guessed, these fish are predators. When hauliodas swallow their prey, their jaw moves forward and down, and their head can tilt back. The size of the fish is not too large; they grow on average up to 35 centimeters. Hauliods usually live at a depth of 500 meters to a kilometer, although they are capable of diving to much greater depths - up to 4 kilometers.