There’s so much of the ocean and its creatures that we don’t know anything about. We’ve all seen the silly-looking blobfish and the terrifying deep-sea anglerfish, but that barely scratches the surface of what roams in the deep sea.

This list is a deep dive to discover what strange creatures are out there.

1. Leptocephalus Larva

The Leptocephalus larva is actually an early-stage eel. Its body is see-through, showcasing its skeleton and gullet in the deep sea.

At some point, marine biologists even thought that the Leptocephalus larva was a completely different species since it looked so different from its adult version. However, it’s just a baby eel.

2. Deep Sea Hatchetfish

You should avert your eyes if you think the anglerfish is scary-looking. The Deep Sea Hatchetfish looks like it’s gone through a lot. It has a narrow body, reflective scales, and photophores in its belly to produce light that could help it camouflage to its surroundings.

Naturally, all this is for its protection and the fish itself is quite a predator of the deep sea.

3. Doto Greenamyeri Nudibranch

This sea slug has protruding cerata, which are often mistaken for eyes. The cerata function as gills and is their way of advertising their toxicity to other sea creatures.

As for their actual eyes, the Doto Greenamyeri Nudibranch has tiny eyes and poor eyesight, which are sadly only good enough to discern light from dark. 

4. Stoplight Loosejaw

Another stealthy predator of the deep sea, the Stoplight Loosejaw’s lower jaw is made of bone with no flesh, allowing it to quickly snap back like a trap.

The “Stoplight” in its name comes from the red light it emits between its eyes. Since most bioluminescent lights in the deep sea are blue, the eyes of most sea creatures are not sensitive to red light, making it easy to trap prey.

5. Sea Sapphire Copepods

These Sea Sapphire Copepods, with their glittering bodies, are nothing short of beautiful. Copepods are super tiny creatures eaten by other organisms in the sea.

These creatures are different, though. The females are parasites in jelly-like creatures known as salps, while the males float freely in the ocean. 

6. Bobbit Worm

The next time you venture into the ocean, watch out for one of these things. The Bobbit Worm buries itself deep into the sediment of the ocean floor with its tentacles out. It uses its tentacles to detect any passing prey.

When something tasty passes by, the worm springs up on them, snapping their jaws in a vicious strike. Their prey is often sliced in half from the impact.

7. Thread-Tail Fish

The Thread-Tail Fish can grow up to 30 centimeters and has a thin, long, ribbon-like body. Its streamers are twice as long as its tail, and it has binocular-like eyes, allowing it to spot any prey in the dark. Its unusual eyes earned it the nickname “tube-eye fish.”

This unique fish is the only fish in its genus and family. 

8. Costasiella Sea Slug

This is an adorable sea slug. The Coastasiella Sea Slug is known as the “leaf slug” and “Shaun-the-sheep slug” since it spends most of its time grazing on marine algae, like a sheep.

Another cool thing is that the slug separates the chloroplasts from the algae and embeds them into its tissues, making it a rare photosynthetic creature. 

9. Barreleye Fish

Guess where the eyes are on this Barreleye Fish. If you said it’s the giant green orbs facing upwards in its translucent head, you’ve got it. Now, you probably have a lot of questions.

The Barreleye Fish’s eye position allows it to scope prey from above and is moveable. Scientists have discovered that the eyes can be moved forward when the fish is eating.

10. Giant Siphonophore

The biggest Giant Siphonophore is about 150 feet long. It is a colonial animal made up of a chain of individual creatures. Each individual on the chain has its role, from digesting and capturing prey to reproduction and spreading nutrients throughout the colony.

The Giant Siphonophore is scientifically known as the Praya Dubia. It is certified strange, though. 

11. Proboscis Worm

You’ve heard of the Proboscis Monkey. Well, here’s a Proboscis Worm. They’re entirely unrelated, though. The Proboscis Worm is named for its unique muscular structure that gets pushed out to attack any incoming prey.

These worms eat anything they come across and live exclusively on the sea floor. They also have regeneration abilities if they get a chunk bitten off by predators.

12. Faceless Cusk Fish

Truthfully, anything faceless could be terrifying, not to mention very strange. The Faceless Cusk Fish is precisely that — faceless. It does not have any distinguishable facial features like eyes or a nose.

The fish does have an underslung mouth below its head, though. Its body resembles an eel, and it is closely related to the pearlfish, another strange sea creature. 

13. Wobbegong Shark

We’re all familiar with sharks and what they look like, but you might not know that there are a wide variety of sharks in all shapes and sizes.

The Wobbegong Shark is flat and resembles a carpet with a shaggy coral-like beard. Blink, and you might miss it sitting camouflaged on the sea floor. 

14. Armored Sea Robin

Also known as Armored Gurnards, the Armored Sea Robin uses its pectoral fins to crawl along the ocean’s seafloor rather than swim. It is pretty creepy, yes.

The Armored Sea Robin is also a deep-sea version of sea robins found in shallow waters. What differentiates them is that the Armored Sea Robin is flatter and more skeletal-looking.