Five years in the Navy gave me a lifelong love of the ocean, and nothing out there is stranger than what lives in the deep. Below about 1,000 meters (roughly 3,300 feet) sunlight never reaches. Scientists call it the midnight zone, and the animals that live there look like they came from another planet. Here are 12 favorites.
1. Anglerfish
The anglerfish is the face of the deep sea. Females dangle a glowing lure from their heads, lit by bacteria that make their own light, to draw prey right up to a mouth full of needle teeth. In some species the much smaller male latches onto the female and stays attached for life.
2. Blobfish
Famous for its sad, droopy face, the blobfish lives off the coasts of Australia and New Zealand. Here's the twist: in the deep, under crushing water pressure, it looks like a pretty ordinary fish. It only turns into "the blob" when it's pulled up to the surface.
3. Vampire squid
Despite the name, it doesn't drink blood. The vampire squid drifts in low-oxygen water and eats "marine snow," the bits of dead plants and animals that sink from above. When threatened, it pulls its webbed arms over its body like a cloak.
4. Barreleye fish
The barreleye has a see-through, fluid-filled head. Its green, tube-shaped eyes sit inside that clear dome and can rotate to look straight up for the shadows of prey.
5. Gulper eel
Also called the pelican eel, it has a huge hinged mouth that opens like a net, far bigger than the rest of its thin body would suggest.
6. Giant squid
The giant squid has some of the largest eyes of any animal, about the size of a dinner plate. Those eyes help it spot the faint glow of predators like sperm whales in the dark.
7. Dumbo octopus
Named for the ear-like fins it flaps to swim, the dumbo octopus is the deepest-living octopus known, recorded nearly 7,000 meters (over 4 miles) down.
8. Goblin shark
The goblin shark has a long, flat snout and jaws that shoot forward from its head to snatch prey, then pull back in.
9. Giant isopod
Picture a pill bug that can grow over a foot long. Giant isopods scavenge the sea floor and can go months without eating, waiting for food to fall from above.
10. Frilled shark
Often called a "living fossil," the frilled shark has an eel-like body, frilly gills and about 300 needle-like teeth arranged in rows.
11. Ocean sunfish
The ocean sunfish, or mola, isn't strictly a deep sea animal, but it dives into the depths to hunt jellyfish. It's one of the heaviest bony fish in the world and can top 2,000 pounds.
12. The light makers
Most animals in the deep sea make their own light, called bioluminescence. They use it to find food, attract mates, signal each other and hide from predators. The darkest place on Earth is actually full of tiny glowing lights.
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