Many of us think they’re all in the movies but are they really?
Did you know of the many, many living creatures we see in documentaries or even on a day-to-day basis, scientists and archaeologists are still on the road to make new discoveries? That includes all the dwellings of the unbelievable peculiar sea creatures. Are they still around? Huge, small, mythical?
Today, many people believe in the existence of dinosaurs since scientists and archaeologists are able to prove them by all the years of research and fossils that are found. What about phenomenal sea monsters? It looks like there may be possibilities that they exist too! So, what are you waiting for? Put on your scuba gears and let’s start swimming beneath the ocean.
1. Bathynomus Raksasa
This will make you shudder – researchers from Singapore have found a giant ‘sea cockroach’ at the bottom of the Indian Ocean.
According to the Daily Mail, the peculiar creature was found during a marine survey conducted by Peter Ng of the National University of Singapore. The cockroach has now been identified as belonging to a new species. The animal — whose head and compound eyes resemble the helmet of Star Wars villainous Sith Lord — has now been given the formal name 'Bathynomus raksasa'. Despise cockroaches and think that the sea is a safe place? ermmmm think again!
2. Oarfish
A Japanese couple spotted an extraordinary phenomenon recently by capturing footage of a rare oarfish. In fact, the couple may have just recorded the world’s first of this breed. This fish usually resides 200 meters below the water surface. According to a Japanese legend, the oarfish can grow up to 10 meters long. Whoa! It just gets more exciting!
3. Giant Squid
How would you feel if you’re the meal instead? This was truly an unexpected experience among these surfers and divers. The giant squid used its tentacles to grab on to the paddleboard. Even though it seemed friendly, the group of people were careful to handle this sea creature. The giant squid can attain mantle lengths up to 5 meter and total lengths up to 18 meters although they do all come in different sizes.
On the other hand, it did make the viewers raise questions regarding the actions of bringing the giant squid back to shore was not a wise thing to do. What do you think?
4. Pigbutt Worm
Ok, ok you stop laughing at its name now (as accurate as it may be).
This species was discovered in 2006 and it is absolutely rare because scientists were only able to find a few of them. Hence, very little definitive information is certain about this sea creature. The pigbutt worm is found at 3000 - 4000 ft. (900 - 1200m) but guess what…it neither swims nor resides on the ocean floor but simply floats around in its depth range.
Looks like the worm loves to keep itself a mystery.
5. Blackpatch Triggerfish
“Can’t this be comprehended? Like, what the heck is that?” some of you may say. A fisherman caught this bizarre ‘fish with human teeth’ in Malaysia had a viral circulation on twitter! According to National Geographic, the triggerfish charge its intruders by using its teeth to battle with crabs and sea urchins and it is also known to be territorial and aggressive.
6. Frilled Shark
Russian deep-sea fisherman, Roman Fedortsov, caught the eyes of the world by capturing various abnormal sea creatures. The frilled shark has the face of a lizard and body of an eel that swims in the depths of the oceans, that sounds freaky and vicious! Scientists who conducted extensive research inform us that it has roughly 300 ‘frilled’ teeth which are used to capture and kill prey that include fish, squid and other sharks!
7. Giant Stingray
Looks like these Sarawakian fishermen just hit the jackpot!
This rare stingray is 280kg in weight and 4 meters in width. That’s huge you guys! The fishermen claimed they have experienced catching big stingrays before, but this catch at Sungai Lundu, Sarawak was just unbelievable. Don’t you just agree that marine life never fails to amaze us every day?
8. Weedy Sea Dragon
Wow, isn’t this a uniquely beautiful creature…and it’s a type of dragon? Ok, maybe not the dragon we tend to fantasize about. Photographer and keen diver Pang Quong who has been filming sea dragons witnessed an incredible courtship of the weedy sea dragons considering that these creatures are an endangered species. According to ABC News, it is believed to be captured on camera for the first time ever! Ain’t that a way to make history?
Here’s a closer look at the beautiful creature.
Guys, there are many more mysterious creatures found in the depths of the ocean. Some that are found by experts could go beyond our wildest imaginations! If you’re already astonished by these ‘monsters of the sea’, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
So, what’s the point of knowing all these sea creatures anyway besides giving our ‘Wow’, ‘Whoa’, and ‘OMG’ in the moment of discovery?
Even though to most of us they are out of reach, our actions towards their natural habitat, knowingly and unknowingly, often cause each one of these species their lives. As a member of planet Earth, these phenomenal creatures deserve to be preserved and taken care of too. So, let’s stop dumping our waste especially among endangered species.
Familiar with zero waste? Watch this video of Hello I Have Issues: Zero Waste and be informed of what little things we can do to save our planet including marine life.
Source: National Geographic, Our Breathing Planet, Oceana, Metro News, Daily Mail, ABC News, The Asia One, The Asahi Shimbun, Marine Bio, Aulexic, Live Science, Twitter, Youtube