Tag: oceans
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These deep-sea anglerfish might as well be aliens
Deep-sea anglerfish (Ceratiidae) remain one of the most intriguing mysteries of the ocean. Ugly and ghoulish with giant mouths and pointy teeth, only recently has video footage revealed the creature’s unique form of alienesque reproduction. The 3.5-foot females are most famous for their hunting methods, in which they use a fish rod-like appendage (the esca)…
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Say hello to the Vampire Crab
Here’s an animal made for Halloween: say hello to the Vampire Crab. The recently discovered species of the genus Geosesarma dennerle is a tiny, semi-terrestrial crab that resides on the Sulawesi Island in Indonesia. They get their name from their fang-shaped mouthparts, spooky eyes, and pinchy claws. The super-colorful purple vampire crabs are native to…
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The edge of the Earth: Australia’s Nullarbor Cliffs
What looks like the end of the Earth is really just the end of Australia: what’s known as Nullarbor Cliffs. The Bunda Cliffs, as the Nullarbor Cliffs are also called, are located in Southern Australia on the Nullarbor Plain. The terrain of the Nullarbor Plain is so flat that the Trans Australian Railway spans a…
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The slender sunfish shaped like a Dorito
One of the more peculiar fish you’ll ever see, the slender sunfish (Ranzania laevis), looks like a mutant fish that’s been cut in half. Yes, this Dorito-shaped fish is in its complete form! Interestingly, they also can’t close their funnel-like jaws, which makes them look like mouth-breathers of the ocean. The Ranzania laevis is a…
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The gorgeous Great Blue Hole of Belize
The Great Blue Hole is a flooded sinkhole that lies 50 miles off the coast of Belize. The hole is 1,000 feet wide and about 410 feet, the bottom of which is so murky and limited in oxygen it’s claimed to be unlivable for most creatures. The Lighthouse Reef surrounding the hole is so much…
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The crazy face-like underside of a sawfish
You may have seen a sawfish from up above or from the side but have you ever seen one from below? The underside of a sawfish houses their nostrils and gills. But what they look like up close is a person’s face in the midst of making some judgment. Just look at this thing: Take…
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The flamboyant cuttlefish
The cuttlefish (Sepia latimanus) is a real master of color change. The bioluminescent fish can modify their appearance and shape using flashing LCD-like bands to hypnotize prey before snatching it up. That’s right — these fish use their strobing disco lights to psyche-out crabs and small fish! Like the octopus, the cuttlefish have pigmented chromatophores in…
