Weird Sea Monsters

The Hexapus

Caretakers at a British aquarium recently discovered that one of its newest residents, an octopus named Henry, had six legs instead of the usual eight. Apparently the caretakers have researched everywhere to see if there really is such thing, but so far, the only documented six-legged octopus is this one! Therefore, they dubbed him hexapus instead of octopus! The creature doesn’t seem to be of a new species, or been through an accident of any sort, therefore this was caused by some sort of genetic mutation.

Water Tunicates

Believe it or not, these things that look like glass tulips are actually animals. Found in the murky waters of Antarctica, these curious animals are called tunicates.

The plankton-eating tunicates grow up to 3.2 feet (1 meter) long, and filter food by pumping it through an internal mesh structure. The stalk is supported by pressure created by their pump, according to the scientists.

Incredible Fish!

This incredible fish was found in the Alaskan waters and is believed to be one of the oldest fish ever found in the waters. Commercial fishers in the Bering Sea hauled in the female shortraker rockfish seen above, which scientists say was between 90 and 115 years old, in March 2007.

A Seattle, Washington-based ship caught the 44-inch-long (112-centimeter-long), 60-pound (27-kilogram) fish while trawling for pollock at about 2,100 feet (640 meters) below the surface. The massive mama was among ten shortrakers pulled from the depths along with roughly 75 tons of the smaller commercially fished species.

The fish’s age and size both approach the maximum known limits for shortrakers. The largest on record measured 47 inches (119 centimeters) long, and the oldest ever caught was 157 years.

A Cute Amphibian

The Mexican axolotl salamander is a distinct amphibian since it retains its larval features all through adulthood. This condition is called neoteny, which means it keeps its tadpole-like dorsal fin that runs almost the length of its body, and its feathery external gills, which protrude from the back of its wide head.

This rare species is found exclusively in the lake complex of Xochimilco, near Mexico city. The axolotl differs from other amphibians since it spends its entire life in the water, mostly at the bottom of the lake. On rare occasions, an axolotl will come out of the water once it has matured.

Since the Mexican axolotl is a close relative of the tiger salamander, it can get quite big, reaching up to a foot in length. Most of these species are black or mottled brown, but albino and white varieties aren’t uncommon in captive environments.

National Geographic compiled a video “Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure”which follows a dolichorhynchops as she travels through the most dangerous oceans in history. And yes, there are fossils to prove the existence of this dolichorhynchops! Crazy, huh?

This video from National Geographic shows the different species that have graced the Earth millions and millions of years ago with only fossils to prove their existence.

Now This is Scary!

This species of sea cucumber is called the Holothuria Argus and believe it or not, this sea cucumber is humongous! If you were to pick it up, it would be as long as your arms…stretched out. Now that is a scary thought, and I wouldn’t want to be in its presence!

Strange Creature

This fish was caught by fishermen from the Rostov region in Russia. Apparently, the fishermen were shocked to see this mean looking fish because it was moaning like a human, weighed about 200 lbs and was rolling its eyes back and forth…maybe it was just in pain???

One Ugly Fish

This fish is very peculiar looking with its big mouth and scaly skin, it’ll really make you run for the hills! This species is usually found living just above the bottom of the ocean. They swim slowly over the sea bed searching for live prey, as well as carcasses to eat. They also have really high levels of the smelly chemical compound TMAO, which not only makes them really ugly, but really smelly too!

The Ogrefish

This unusual looking fish, called the fangtooth, also bears the name ogrefish- and you can see why! The fangtooth get their name from their unsually large and disproportionate teeth,  while their face is unbearable to even look at. Fortunately, these fish are quite small, reaching a maximum length of just 16 centimetres (6 inches) and are also harmless to humans!