# Deep Sea Uglyfish



## Stormcat (Feb 18, 2016)

I've always hated the way that humans seem to be more interested in deep space, rather than the deep sea. As a result, my research options for "what's down there" are limited.

However, Since we only know about a sixth of "what's down there", this leaves space for me to invent some creatures and whatnot that could be down there. I'm not looking for colorful coral reefs and seafaring ways, I'm sending my protagonists to the very bottom of the ocean, where no sunlight penetrates. 

The few things humanity has found down there could make Lovecraft wet himself with fear, but I'm trying to get non-lovecraftian inspiration. I've read "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea", But even that didn't go deep enough to stimulate my imagination. I want to know more about the briny depths, so deep even mermaids fear to tread, and the horrifying creatures that live there.


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## sailorguitar (Apr 9, 2016)

*Wolf Eel! Ach!*

Wolf Eel. Check them out.  Horrible creatures, but fascinating. They're not really deep down though. But they like cold waters. Nightmarish animals though. Picture a zombie head on an eels body, slithering itself towards you underwater and your ship just sank.  Good luck buddy... They can grow up to 8 feet.

They have snaggle teeth too, hidden behind withered grandpa zombie lips, and dead eyes and grey skin and little fins fluttering behind their head. You would have to get by these scary bastards just to get to where the sunlight doesn't reach. And then meet more weird, scary stuff.  

Wolf Eel, first line of defense to the underworld.


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## Sonata (Apr 9, 2016)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencet...ng-nose-chimaera-pulled-sea-Newfoundland.html


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## sailorguitar (Apr 9, 2016)

Hahahah.. that's not a wolf eel.. but some other scary creatre from the deep!!  What is it?


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## Sonata (Apr 9, 2016)

sailorguitar said:


> Hahahah.. that's not a wolf eel.. but some other scary creatre from the deep!!  What is it?



The link would have told you.  It is a Chimaera,  and one has been recently caught off the coast of Newfoundland.  It is a deep sea fish with a slimy body, green glowing eyes and ribbed fins that look like feathered wings.


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## Darkkin (Apr 9, 2016)

Angler Fish.

Oar Fish


Both live at depths of more than a thousand feet.  Also consider the monster sized crustaceans and cephalopods.  A basic Google image search will net you quite a bit of information.  From Giant Squid to Sperm Whales, Gremlin Sharks, and Blob Fish, not to mention eels and lampreys.  Also, the documentary Planet Earth, has an episode dedicated to the deep seas, and Blue Planet is worth a look, as well.  Take a trip to the library and browse the oceanography section, too.

The online archives of _The National Geographic_ also have a plethora of both photos and video clips from their expeditions.


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## Darkkin (Apr 9, 2016)

http://www.fiboni.com/2013/02/the-top-10-most-crazy-ugly-extreme-amazing-deep-sea-fish-creatures/


Also found this:  View attachment 13165

It's a hatchetfish.


View attachment 13166

And a Gremlin Shark.

Also consider googling museum species catalogues if you're looking for something extremely rare.  The Smithsonian and the British Museums are good starting points.

If you are aiming for creatures of a predatory aspect, the largest marine predators, both extinct at this point in time, but well worth a mention are the Mosasaurus, a giant four flipped leviathan who exemplifies the definition of sea monster, and the Megalodon, the largest species of shark ever found on earth.  Or there is the legend of the leviathan, itself.


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## Jack of all trades (Apr 10, 2016)

There's lots of creatures from the deep that's known. Search the internet, find deep sea special shows, look for books on the subject.


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## TheWonderingNovice (Apr 10, 2016)

Wolf Eels just look like grumpy old men haha.


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## Stormcat (Apr 11, 2016)

These pictures are great! Thanks everyone.


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## Makili (May 19, 2016)

Deep sea - a great mystery, but here are some tips for you.  
Why is it so hard to study the deep sea creatures? 
There are several reasons:
- getting there is hard. The pressure only few hundred meters below the surface is great, and it increases. Some places are up to 10-11km deep, and man-made objects can hardly withstand the pressures at such depths
- deep sea is vast! It is so big, that the chances of acrually encountering the creatures that are constantly moving (in the search of scarce resources) are slim  
- even when you do, there is a practical problem of studying them, because you cant just capture them and take them back to the lab for study. They have evolved in the habitat with great pressure, so if you try to get them out from there, they burst

Now think about their way of living: 
- they live in darkness. So eyes are rather useless, and they had to evolve other ways to find food and mate
- there is no continuous food supply. On the land, you have plants, then animals feed on them, then other animals feed on them etc... In deep see, there are hardly any producers of food. So what do those animals eat? The stuff that falls from the surface. A dead fish, a dead whale, the little bits of organic tissue and plankton that falls at the bottom (called marine snow). And you never know where or when those bits of food will fall, so once again, deep sea animals have to move, to search, to be creative in finding food. And this holds for whether you are a scavanger or a predator. 
Same goes for finding a mate. Imagine finding a partner for reproduction in the vastness of the ocean... There are some species where when a male finds a female, it attaches itself to her body as a parasite, and his only purpose is to fertilise her eggs. And then we complain about finding a partner... 

So, with such challenges, no wonder deep sea creatures have evolved so many interesting and unique features, in their struggle for survival.


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## PrinzeCharming (May 19, 2016)

This was fascinating! How intriguing. Where did you find this information? I am fascinated with marine snow. 


Here's a great diagram to express everything you said for visual learners.


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## Makili (May 20, 2016)

Thanks. I am a biologist (ecology and evolution), that's where I get such stuff from  And another piece of information - it is the marine snow itself (i.e. all the organic matter that falls to the bottom of the sea) that in time becomes oil (as in the fossil fuel). 
Another interesting point about the deep see are the hydrothermal vents. These are cracks in the Earth core, through which hot fumes from the bowels of our planet seep. The temepratures are few hundred degrees C, there is no light, the fumes bring stuff that is toxic to most organisms. And yet, they thrive with life. There are many unique animals that live there in abundance. For example, there are worms whose bodies differ in some 70 degrees C from one end of the body to the other (imagine your head being 4 and your legs 80 degrees C...). 

Deep sea is really one of the most challenging environments on our planet. Just think about how special and unique deep sea creatures have to be, because they had to overcome harsh living conditions in very creative ways.


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## WildPolitics (Aug 16, 2016)

Not sure if your still working this Stormcat, but what a great idea. 

Adding to Makili's great information, the  deepsea landscapes are also pretty amazing. Mountains higher than  Everest and canyons deeper than the Grand Canyon. Also, some of the  deep sea beauties are really long-lived so you can play with the notion  of lifespan as well.


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