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All about the creepiest ocean animals (and what makes them scary)
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A day at the beach can be tons of fun, but do you ever stop to think about what’s lurking below the surface of the water? The ocean is home to some of the earth’s most horrifying creatures, ranging from tiny fish with eerie features to massive sharks, squids, jellyfish, and worms. We scoured the depths to find the world’s scariest sea creatures—we might not swim for a while after this one!

Top 5 Scariest Sea Creatures

  • Goblin Shark: Its protruding mouth looks like something out of a horror movie.
  • Black Dragonfish: The ultimate deep-sea nightmare.
  • Great White Shark: The shark of Jaws strikes fear in us all.
  • Australian Box Jellyfish: The most venomous sea creature.
  • Stonefish: Stepping on this master of camouflage results in a dangerous sting.
1

Anglerfish ( Lophiiformes )

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  1. This creepy creature lives near the seafloor in the deep ocean, where it can grow up to 4 ft (1.2 m) in length. Females have a bioluminescent appendage that they use like a lure—the light attracts prey in the dark recesses of the deep sea, and when it gets close enough, the anglerfish eats it. [1]
    • What makes it so scary? The deep-sea anglerfish has a jutting bottom jaw, and with its squat body, it sort of looks like a swimming mouth full of razor-sharp teeth—with a fishing pole attached. It’s the stuff of nightmares.
    • Bonus creepy fact: Male anglerfish are tiny, and they live as parasites on a female’s body.
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2

Australian Box Jellyfish ( Chironex fleckeri )

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  1. The Australian box jellyfish is huge—its body can reach up to 1 ft (0.30 m) in diameter and its thick tentacles can be up to 10 ft (3.0 m) long. Living in the warm waters off the coast of northern Australia, this box jellyfish is considered to be the most venomous of any sea creature. [2]
    • What makes it so scary? Within minutes, a sting from an Australian box jellyfish can paralyze you and stop your heart. They also have clusters of eyes, so they’re able to see and hunt their prey.
3

Barracuda ( Sphyraena barracuda )

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  1. Fast and agile with two rows of teeth, the barracuda is a skilled hunter. It typically lives in warmer waters near reefs or mangroves. Barracudas can be found in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, Red Sea, and Indo-Pacific. [3]
    • What makes it so scary? Barracudas are ambush predators, and they can swim in bursts of up to 35 mph (56 km/h). They’re also curious and attracted to shiny objects, which sometimes leads to encounters with humans—and their sharp teeth can inflict a nasty bite.
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4

Barreleye ( Opisthoproctidae )

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  1. The barreleye is a deep-sea fish that lives in the Pacific Ocean and was first observed alive in the 1990s. These fish are tiny—only about 4 in (10 cm)—and feed mostly on zooplankton. Barreleyes have a transparent, fluid-filled section called a “cockpit” that allows you to see inside their heads. [4]
    • What makes it so scary? Seeing a fish that looks like a living submarine is creepy enough, but being able to look straight at its brain and glowing green eyeballs is the stuff of nightmares.
    • Bonus creepy fact: The barreleye is so strange that it’s earned the nickname “spookfish.”
5

Black Dragonfish ( Idiacanthus atlanticus )

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  1. The black dragonfish lives in subtropical waters at depths of about 6,600 ft (2,000 m), where they can reach lengths of up to 10 in (25 cm). [5] They’re ultra-black, which means that their skin absorbs 99.5% of light—the perfect deep-sea camouflage for hiding from predators and ambushing prey. [6]
    • What makes it so scary? With its inky black skin, narrow body, and long, fanglike teeth, the black dragonfish looks like what you’d draw if you tried to come up with the scariest deep-sea creature imaginable.
    • Bonus creepy fact: The eyes of the juvenile dragonfish dangle on a long stalk below its body. The stalks eventually retract as the fish matures.
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6

Black Swallower ( Chiasmodon niger )

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  1. The black swallower lives in warmer waters at depths of up to 10,000 ft (3,000 m). It’s a slender fish before it eats, but it has an enormous mouth and an expanding stomach, so it’s capable of eating fish up to four times its size. [7]
    • What makes it so scary? After the black swallower eats, it carries its massive meals in its balloon-like stomach, which can stretch so much that the skin becomes transparent. Its mouth and palate are lined with backwards-curving teeth to help hold its food in place.
    • Bonus creepy fact: Sometimes the black swallower eats so much that it can’t digest its meal before the food decomposes, and the fatal gas buildup causes them to float to the surface.
7

Blobfish ( Psychrolutes marcidus )

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  1. The blobfish lives in the waters around Australia at a depth of around 4,000 ft (1,200 m). It just looks like a regular fish when it’s in its natural deep-sea environment, but if it’s brought to the surface, the lack of pressure causes it to collapse into a weird gelatinous blob. [8]
    • What makes it so scary? The blobfish is slimy, jiggly, and sort of looks like a grotesque cartoon of a grumpy old man. Its face will haunt you—in fact, it was named the “World’s Ugliest Animal” in 2013.
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8

Bobbit Worm ( Eunice aphroditois )

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  1. The Bobbit worm is a bristly reef-dweller that can grow up to an astounding 10 ft (3.0 m) long. It burrows down into the sand, leaving just its head sticking out, and when it senses prey with its antennae, it strikes, sometimes biting fish right in half. [9]
    • Why is it so scary? If a massive, bristle-covered worm isn’t creepy enough as-is, the Bobbit worm also injects its prey with a toxin that makes it easier to digest.
9

Bull Shark ( Carcharhinus leucas )

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  1. Bull sharks live in coastal waters around the world—but they’re able to tolerate fresh water and are often found in rivers hours away from the ocean. They can reach up to 10–11 ft (3.0–3.4 m) in length and can live to be up to 30 years old. [10]
    • What makes it so scary? Bull sharks are extremely aggressive. They’re known to attack unprovoked and are considered one of the most dangerous sharks to humans, along with the great white. [11]
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10

Chimaera/Ghost Shark ( Chimaeriformes )

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  1. Despite its name, the ghost shark isn’t really a shark, it’s a chimaera—a relative of the shark. This odd creature lives around 8,500 ft (2,600 m) below the surface, typically staying low, close to the seafloor. They feed on invertebrates like molluscs and crabs, and they can reach lengths of more than 6 ft (1.8 m). [12]
    • What makes it so scary? The chimaera’s large eyes have a reflective layer that makes them look like they’re glowing in the dark. This gives them an eerie, ghost-like look as they glide along the bottom of the ocean. [13]
    • Bonus creepy fact: Many chimaera have a venomous spine that they use to defend themselves.
11

Cookie-Cutter Shark ( Isistius brasiliensis )

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  1. The cookie-cutter shark is a small, torpedo-shaped fish that lives primarily in warmer waters around the world. During the day, they live at depths of around 3,000 ft (910 m), but they’re known to come to the surface at night to feed. [14]
    • What makes it so scary? The cookie-cutter shark attaches itself to larger animals, then uses its serrated bottom teeth to scoop out a perfectly round bite of flesh. They’ve even been known to bite people on rare occasions.
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12

Fangtooth Fish ( Anoplogaster cornuta )

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  1. The fangfish lives in tropical and temperature waters. It can live at depths of up to 6,500 ft (2,000 m), although it swims to swallow waters at night to feed. Its jagged fins and giant teeth give it a fearsome appearance, but luckily this is a small fish—only about 6 in (15 cm). [15]
    • What makes it so scary? One look at the fangtooth fish and you’ll see where it got its name—its teeth are so long that it had to evolve special pouches on its top palate just so it can close its mouth. In fact, out of all known sea creatures, the fangfish has the largest teeth in proportion to its body.
13

Frilled Shark ( Chlamydoselachus anguineus )

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  1. The frilled shark looks like a swimming fossil—and in a way, it is, because remains of this shark have been found from as much as 80 million years ago. It can grow up to about 6 ft (1.8 m) and lives in deep water, where it hunts fish and squid. Frilled sharks can be found around the warm, from very cold to very warm waters. [16]
    • What makes it so scary? The frilled shark has a primitive, eerie appearance, with a long, eel-like body, short snout and fins, and frilled gills. Its teeth are creepy, too—it has rows of 3-pronged, needle-sharp teeth on the top and bottom of its mouth.
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14

Giant Squid ( Architeuthis ) & Colossal Squid ( Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni )

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  1. The giant squid was first observed alive in its habitat in 2006. The largest one ever recorded was 43 ft (13 m) long. [17] It’s believed that the the colossal squid could be even larger, although because of their reclusive nature and deep-water environment, not enough is known about them to say for sure. [18]
    • What makes them so scary? The giant and colossal squid have eyes the size of dinner plates, along with 8 arms, 2 feeding tentacles, a sharp beak, and a tongue that’s covered with teeth. They’re also thought to be highly intelligent, making them fearsome predators.
15

Goblin Shark ( Mitsukurina owstoni )

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  1. The goblin shark is frequently found in deep waters around the world, though they’re most commonly spotted off the coast of Japan. [19] They can grow up to 12 ft (3.7 m) long, and these slow-moving sharks mainly feed on fish, squid, and crustaceans.
    • What makes it so scary? One look and it’s easy to see why the goblin shark regularly makes lists of the scariest sea creatures. It can push its jaws forward, causing its mouth to protrude from under its snout like a horrifying goblin.
    • Bonus creepy fact: The goblin shark has a greyish-pinkish tint that gives it a frightful fleshy appearance.
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16

Great White Shark ( Carcharodon carcharias )

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  1. Great white sharks are one of the world’s greatest predators. They live in tropical and temperate waters around the world, and adults feed on prey like sea turtles, birds, and marine mammals. Thanks to the movie Jaws , this is one of the most well-known shark species in the world. [20]
    • What makes it so scary? These massive sharks are fast, traveling in bursts of up to 35 mph (56 km/h). Their mouths have up to 7 rows of teeth. And they’re thought to be intelligent, able to outwit clever prey like dolphins and seals.
17

Gulper Eel ( Eurypharynx pelecanoides )

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  1. Although it’s found in warmer oceans around the world, the gulper eel lives in cold deep waters—around 1,500–10,000 ft (460–3,050 m) below the surface. Its mouth resembles a pelican’s, which it can stretch and balloon to massive sizes to feed on large amounts of food. [21]
    • What makes it so scary? The gulper eel's mouth can open to be about a quarter of its total body length—its wide, gaping jaws and black skin give it the terrifying look of a monster that can only come from the deep sea.
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18

Giant Sea Spider ( Colossendies spp.)

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  1. You might think that despite all the other monstrous creatures lurking in the depths of the oceans, it’s at least the one place you could go to avoid spiders—right? No such luck. Sea spiders live around the world at depths of 7,000–13,000 ft (2,100–4,000 m), crawling along the sea floor in search of anemones, hybrids, and jellyfish. [22]
    • What makes it so scary? Giant sea spiders can be up to 20 in (51 cm) across. Ick!
19

Japanese Spider Crab ( Macrocheira kaempferi )

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  1. The Japanese spider crab sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie. Its legs can span up to 13 ft (4.0 m) and they’re thought to live to be up to 100 years old. [23] These scavengers mainly live in the northwestern Pacific Ocean at depths of around 660–1,800 ft (200–550 m). [24]
    • What makes it so scary? It’s not actually a spider, but the Japanese spider crab’s eight spindly walking legs make it look enough like one to give us major nopes .
    • Bonus creepy fact: The only thing scarier than a spider crab? A spider crab you can’t see. Younger crabs camouflage themselves by covering their shells with kelp. They do this to avoid predators, but we still think it’s sneaky.
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20

Portuguese Man O’ War ( Physalia physalis )

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  1. The Portuguese man o’ war looks like a jellyfish, but it’s actually a colonial hydrozoan called a siphonophore. A Portuguese man o’ war can have tentacles up to 30 ft (9.1 m) long, and the tentacles are full of barbed tubes that contain a paralyzing venom. [25]
    • What makes it so scary? Getting stung by a Portuguese man o’ war is extremely painful, and on rare occasions it’s even proved fatal. Even dead ones are dangerous—they can still sting for weeks after washing on shore.
21

Sea Snakes ( Elapidae )

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  1. There are more than 60 species of sea snakes, which are relatives of the cobra. They’re highly venomous, and they typically live in shallower waters so they can hunt on the sea beds. They can stay underwater for hours and typically eat fish or fish eggs. [26]
    • What makes it so scary? Venomous snakes that can swim and dive? A big no thank you. Luckily, sea snakes aren’t especially aggressive, and their short fangs mean they usually can’t deliver much venom if they do bite people. Still, count us terrified.
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22

Stonefish ( Synanceia verrucosa )

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  1. Stonefish live in tropical reefs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. They’re masters of camouflage, spending hours on the sea floor, where they perfectly blend in with rocks and corals. Once something tasty swims by, they strike quickly, swallowing their dinner whole. [27]
    • What makes it so scary? The stonefish is equipped with defensive venomous spines along its back. If you accidentally step on one—which is easy to do since they’re so hard to spot—the sting can lead to pain, swelling, and tissue death. In some cases, stonefish encounters are even fatal. [28]
23

Giant Oarfish ( Regalecus glesne )

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  1. The giant oarfish is a long, ribbon-like fish that can grow up to an astonishing 36 ft (11 m) in length. It’s found around the world and lives in depths of anywhere from 650–3,000 ft (200–910 m). It’s a filter-feeder, mainly eating krill and small crustaceans. [29]
    • What makes it so scary? A giant, writhing, snake-like creature that can hover vertically in the water? Big nope.
    • Bonus creepy fact: It’s thought that sightings of the giant oarfish may be the origin of ancient tales of sea serpents.
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24

Sea lamprey ( Petromyzon marinus )

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  1. The sea lamprey is an eel-like parasitic fish that’s native to the Atlantic Ocean. It has a distinctive round mouth that it uses like a suction cup to attach to its prey. They’re such efficient parasites that after they invaded the Great Lakes, they destroyed the region’s one-vibrant trout fishing economy. [30]
    • What makes it so scary? The sea lamprey’s round sucker mouth is ringed with barbed teeth. It looks like a nasty parasite, and just the sight of it is ick-inducing.
25

Highfin Lizardfish ( Bathysaurus mollis )

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  1. The highfin lizardfish live in cold, dark waters—usually around 3,000 ft (910 m). They’re predatory fish, typically spending time on the sea floor with their mouth open, waiting for prey to come along. They’ll eat almost anything, even other lizardfish, and can grow up to 33 in (84 cm) long. [31]
    • What makes it so scary? The lizardfish’s rows of protruding teeth and ambush hunting style make it one of the creepiest deep-sea predators. Luckily, its habitat means it’s not much of a threat to people, but it’s still pretty spooky.
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26

Flying Spaghetti Monster ( Bathyphysa conifera )

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  1. First discovered in 1878, B. conifera is a pelagic siphonophore. It lives in colonies and has been sighted in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Gulf of Mexico. Its body is a mass of thick, pink-tipped tentacles, but it also has longer, thin filament-like tentacles similar to a jellyfish. [32]
    • What makes it so scary? It might have a funny nickname, but this creepy organism looks like something out of a horror movie. And it’s been known to sting fishermen after getting caught in their nets.
27

Giant Isopod ( Bathynomus giganteus )

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  1. The giant isopod is a crustacean that scavenges along the seafloor, either scuttling across the sand with its 14 legs or swimming with its fan-shaped tail and swimmerets. It’s a relative of the pillbug (or roly-poly), but much, much bigger—it can grow up to 16 in (41 cm) long. [33]
    • What makes it so scary? If you’re creeped out by the sight of a regular bug, seeing a humongous underwater roly-poly would definitely be a scary experience.
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28

Bigfin Squid ( Magnapinna sp.)

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  1. The bigfin squid has large fins and jointed legs, and it can grow to be up to 20 ft (6.1 m) long. They’re found in deep oceans around the world, typically living between 1.5–3 mi (2.4–4.8 km) below the surface. [34]
    • What makes it so scary? Bigfin squids look more like aliens than marine creatures. The “elbow” bends in their tentacles give it an especially unnerving appearance.
29

Pacific Viperfish ( Chauliodus macouni )

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  1. The Pacific viperfish is native to the northern Pacific, living at depths of 650–5,000 ft (200–1,520 m). They can grow to be up to 1 ft (0.30 m) long and look almost stereotypically like a deep-sea fish, with big dark eyes, jagged, needle-like teeth, and bioluminescence that helps it attract prey. [35]
    • What makes it so scary? The Pacific viperfish has ultrablack skin and jagged fangs that are so long they sit outside the fish’s mouth. It’s so ugly that it’s almost cute, in a haunt-your-dreams make-you-cry kind of way.
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30

Faceless Cusk ( Typhlonus nasus )

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  1. The Faceless Cusk is a type of eel. It lives at depths of around 13,000 feet (4,000 m), and it’s been found in the waters off the coast of Australia, Japan, Hawaii, India, and Borneo. First discovered in 1874, sightings are still uncommon—which is fortunate, because this faceless fish is seriously creepy. [36]
    • What makes it so scary? The fish’s mouth and eyes are on the bottom of its body, so when you first look at it, it doesn’t appear to have a face at all—just a swimming fish body. [37]
31

Slender Snipe Eel ( Nemichthys scolopaceus )

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  1. The slender snipe eel lives in tropical and temperate waters can grow up to 5 ft (1.5 m) in length, with a slender body that tapers to barely a filament at the end. It can live at a range of depths, having been spotted from 1,000–13,000 ft (300–3,960 m). [38]
    • What makes it so scary? The slender snipe eel’s impossibly narrow body, birdlike beak that curls outward, and large eyes give it an otherworldly appearance—it looks more like an X-ray image than a real creature.
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32

Megamouth Shark ( Megachasma pelagois )

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  1. The megamouth shark looks scarier than it really is. It’s gigantic, weighing up to 2,700 lb (1,200 kg), with a mouth that can be up to 4 ft (1.2 m) across. They’ve been seen near the surface, but typically prefer water as deep as 15,000 ft (4,600 m). [39]
    • What makes it so scary? You could make a case that pretty much any shark would belong on this list. But the megamouth shark’s yawning mouth would strike fear into anyone who happened across it, even if they weren’t really in danger—this shark mainly feeds on plankton.
33

Atlantic Wolffish ( Anarhichas lupus )

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  1. Named for its wolf-like front fangs, the Atlantic wolffish primarily lives in the cold, rocky waters of the North Atlantic. It mostly eats invertebrates like crabs, snails, urchins, and scallops and can reach lengths of up to 5 ft (1.5 m). [40]
    • What makes it so scary? These bottom dwellers look like they’re permanently scowling—a giant, grouchy fish with big teeth and a powerful bite is enough to keep us out of the water!
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34

Sarcastic Fringehead ( Neoclinus blanchardi )

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  1. We have a feeling the sarcastic fringehead would love being included on this list. This coastline dweller prefers shallow waters, and is frequently found living in abandoned shells, rocky crevices, or even trash. They’re normally between 3–8 in (7.6–20.3 cm) long, but occasionally can reach up to 12 in (30 cm). [41]
    • What makes it so scary? This fish’s grumpy nature earned it the “sarcastic” part of its name, but it’s mostly just scary to other sea creatures. Sarcastic fringeheads are notoriously territorial, and once they choose a burrow, they guard it fiercely.
35

Vampire Squid ( Vampyroteuthis infernalis )

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  1. The vampire squid isn’t actually a squid—it belongs to a family all its own—but it is spooky. It can range in color from dark red to black, and it has webbing between its arms that give it a bat-like appearance. This relative of the octopus lives in temperate and tropical waters, especially around Monterey Bay, and it can grow to have a mantle length of up to 12 in (30 cm). [42]
    • What makes it so scary? With its red or black coloring and bat wings, this little cephalopod has serious Dracula vibes—we think it’s giving more friendly cartoon vampire than bloodthirsty predator, but it’s earned its spooky spot on our list.
    • Bonus creepy fact: When it’s startled, the vampire squid can invert its arms to create a sort of cloak around itself. How vampiric!
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      2. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/facts/bull-shark
      3. https://www.sharktrust.org/chimaera
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      8. https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/giant-squid
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      19. https://oceanconservancy.org/blog/2020/01/22/stonefish/
      20. https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/oarfish/
      21. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/sea-lamprey.html
      22. https://oceanconservancy.org/blog/2020/05/21/deep-sea-lizardfish/
      23. https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/meet-the-flying-spaghetti-monster-living-10000-feet-beneath-the-oceans-surface/
      24. https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/giant-isopod
      25. https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex2107/features/bigfin-squid/bigfin-squid.html
      26. https://www.mbari.org/animal/pacific-viperfish/
      27. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/researchers-dredge-faceless-fish-australia-180963510/
      28. https://www.scienceandthesea.org/articles/201801/faceless-fish-deep-deep-sea
      29. https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/slender-snipe-eel
      30. https://oceana.org/marine-life/megamouth-shark/
      31. https://oceana.org/marine-life/atlantic-wolffish/
      32. https://www.aquariumofpacific.org/onlinelearningcenter/species/sarcastic_fringehead
      33. https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/vampire-squid

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