13 Deep-Ocean Creatures That Look Like Aliens
Mankind has explored other planets in the solar system more than the ocean depths here on Earth. Many of the rarely seen deep-ocean animals that lurk in the darkest, most inhospitable places on this planet look like aliens from another world.
Myths about giant squid have persisted for centuries, but it’s only in the past decade that video footage captured one alive in its natural habitat. Other strange deep-sea creatures use bioluminescence to lure prey in the pitch-black water. One shark species even has a detachable jaw that launches out of its mouth à la the xenomorph in an Alien movie.
Any of the following deep-ocean animals would look just as at home in a sci-fi movie featuring aliens. Who is down for a night swim?
Goblin Shark
The goblin shark is a rare deep-sea shark that is considered a living fossil with a lineage that goes back 125 million years. One might also consider the fanged fish nightmare fuel.
Like the xenomorph in Ridley Scott’s Alien, the aptly named goblin shark has a jaw that extends dramatically out of its mouth and retracts quickly. The good news is that these monstrous-looking sharks are rarely seen by humans unless they are accidentally caught in deep-sea fishing nets.
Frilled Shark
The frilled shark is an ancient shark species with six pairs of gills and an eel-like body that can grow up to seven feet in length. The shark gets its name from the frilled appearance of its gill slits.
Frilled sharks are very rarely seen alive, but this video taken in Japan shows the serpentine way the prehistoric fish glides through the water. The frilled shark’s favorite meal is squid, which the sharks swallow whole.
Giant Isopod
The pill bug — a small woodlouse that hides under bark and rocks in your yard and curls up into a ball when disturbed — has an oceanic cousin that is the stuff of nightmares. The giant isopod can grow up to 16 inches in length and lurks on the ocean floor, where it eats fish carcasses that rain down from above.
The giant isopod has large, silvery eyes that resemble the shape of how people describe the peepers of gray aliens. The specially adapted, otherworldly eyes help the giant isopod navigate the oceans’ dark depths.
Sea Pig
Sea pigs are sea cucumbers of the genus Scotoplanes that live in crushing ocean depths of up to 19,500 feet.
Not only are sea pigs eerily translucent, but the weird-looking creatures crawl around the ocean floor on tubelike feet that function like stilts. Sea pigs spend their days sifting through muddy silt looking for morsels of food. If a whale carcass sinks to the ocean floor, thousands of sea pigs will gorge themselves on the free buffet.
Pelican Eel
Like its name implies, the pelican eel — also known as the gulper eel — has a mouth much larger than its body. The pelican eel can unhinge its jaw and swallow prey much larger than itself.
The pelican eel has smaller eyes than many of its deep-ocean neighbors. Instead of actively seeking out food in the inky depths, it lures prey to its giant mouth with pinkish-red bioluminescent lights on its rear fins.
Giant Squid
The giant squid is the stuff of maritime legend, inspiring everything from the Kraken to Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Until a Japanese team took photos of a giant squid alive in its natural habitat in 2004, the only evidence we had of the creature’s existence was from carcasses that washed onto shore or got caught in deep-sea nets.
Although the giant squid isn’t a monster that seeks out ships to pull to a watery grave, their epic battles with sperm whales are evidenced by scars on the whales’ bodies. This incredible 2013 video remains the best look we have of a live giant squid in its natural habitat. Note the massive eyes — the largest of any extant land or ocean animal.
Blobfish
Few people had heard of or seen a picture of a blobfish, Psychrolutes microporos, until a photograph of one out of water went viral in 2003. Dubbed the world’s ugliest animal, the blobfish looks like a mound of gelatin with little black eyes, a mouth, and a comically enlarged nose.
In its natural habitat, the blobfish looks like a relatively normal fish. Its squishy flesh is an adaptation that allows it to live at crushing depths. When taken out of water at the surface, the decompressed blobfish’s flabby body relaxes and distorts its appearance — and makes it famous.
Yeti Crab
The yeti crab is a deep-sea crustacean that lives along hydrothermal vents — an extreme environment few animals can tolerate.
What makes the yeti crab so unusual is that its claws are covered with furry, hairlike structures that are bizarre to see on an animal with an exoskeleton. The bristles help collect the bacteria on which the crab feeds. This video documents the discovery of a large number of ghostly yeti crabs near Antarctica in 2012.
Dumbo Octopus
The dumbo octopus lives in deeper water than any other octopus on the planet. All octopus species look like aliens and are unlike any other animal on Earth, but the dumbo octopus takes it to another level.
Named after the Disney flying elephant with big ears, the dumbo elephant uses its earlike fins to propel it through the water. Click here to watch rare video footage of the dumbo octopus letting its freak flag fly for a crew of deep-sea explorers.
Deep-Sea Anglerfish
There are more than 200 different species of deep-sea anglerfish, but they all look like something out of a sci-fi movie.
These alien-looking fish have a rod with a bioluminescent tip that protrudes from the front of their head. The deep-sea anglerfish wiggles the lure in front of its mouth until a curious fish checks it out and gets gobbled up.
If that isn’t weird enough, the males of some species seek out females, clamp onto them, and remain there for the rest of their lives. The female provides nutrients; the male provides sperm to fertilize her eggs. Some males even fuse with the females and literally become a part of them, like a perverse brooch that never comes off.
Sea Spider
Sea spiders are marine arthropods that are related to crabs and terrestrial spiders. There are more than 1,300 species of sea spiders ranging in size from a grain of sand to the length of a house cat, but the larger, creepier-looking species live in the ocean depths. Relax!
The largest sea spiders live in the icy waters surrounding the North and South Poles. They usually have eight long legs, which the sea spiders use to diffuse oxygen from the water and breathe. Your chances of encountering one are next to zero, so breathe easy using your lungs that are not located in your legs.
Bloodybelly Comb Jelly
The bloodybelly comb jelly, Lampocteis cruentiventer, is found in the deep waters of the North Pacific Ocean. This jelly has rows of iridescent cilia on its body and is named for its deep-red color.
Like many deep-ocean predators, the alien-looking bloodybelly comb jelly feeds on bioluminescent animals. The jelly developed a dark red color to suppress the glowing evidence of food that it eats, protecting the jelly from predators.
Sloane’s Viperfish
The Sloane’s viperfish is a deep-ocean denizen with the alien characteristics many associate with creatures living in this watery netherworld: milky eyes, bioluminescence, fanglike teeth, and an oversized mouth.
The light-producing organs known as photophores that line this viperfish’s body help protect it from predators lurking below. The Sloane’s viperfish has a large jaw that snaps down like a bear trap on prey such as lanternfish. Handily, the viperfish’s first vertebra acts as a shock absorber when the creature’s jaws slam shut.
