No matter how comfortable we feel, the ocean is not our natural habitat. There are plenty of living things that came before us –some of them amuse us, some disgust us, some frighten us and others eat us. This is a list of freakish sea creatures that should be avoided, if at all possible.
1. The Oarfish
A smaller oarfish found off Santa Catalina Island. Photo: AP // CIMI
The oarfish rarely surfaces, and infrequent sightings have been spun into sea serpent folklore. The largest bony fish in the world, the oarfish can grow to be 50 feet in length. The specimen pictured above was measured at 18 feet, which is nothing to scoff at. This particular oarfish was found dead in the shallows off Santa Catalina Island, and a scientific examination revealed tapeworms, roundworms, and a spiny worm inside of it. The latter measured about six inches, giving insight into where they may live and hunt.
2. The Frilled Shark
The frilled shark reminds me of a character in a Dr. Seuss book. Its name alone is an oxymoronic combination, and these creatures are thought to be about 80 million years old and were once considered extinct. In 2007, Discovery Science reported a frilled shark washing up on shore, which goes to show that this sea creature keeps on trucking.
3. The Goblin Shark
The goblin shark is a shape shifter. Its odd appearance becomes even more bizarre come feeding time. The shark’s entire mouth–jaw, throat and all–exits its head to eat whatever is in front of it. At about 120 million years old, this is a scary-old sea creature with impressive predatory abilities.
4. The Stonefish
Photo: Smithsonian Mag // Courtesy of Flickr user Bill & Mark Bell
If you spot a stonefish, chances are it’s already too late. With impeccable camouflage ability, the stonefish camouflages seamlessly with the ocean floor and coral reef. These fish are the most venomous in the world, injecting stonustoxin into its victims. If you happen to be stung by one of the 13 spines on its back that releases this notorious poison, you have a few hours to rush to the ER before your time is up.
5. Portuguese Man-of-War
Photo: Shutterstock // urbanlight
Many folks misclassify the Portuguese man-of-war. Commonly referred to as a jellyfish, it’s neither a jellyfish nor a singular organism. In fact, the Portuguese man-of-war is a deadly conglomerate of poisonous polyps whose tendrils can measure a staggering 165 feet, though 30 feet is more common. Made up of four polyps, the Portuguese man-of-war consists of, as National Geographic puts it, “the uppermost polyp, a gas-filled bladder, or pneumatophore, which sits above the water and the tentacles are covered in venom-filled nematocysts,” which are used to paralyze and kill its prey. Humans rarely die after one sting, but they can still be stung after man-of-wars wash up on shore. If you see one (notice its blue-purple coloring), don’t mess.
6. Tiger Shark
Photo: Shutterstock
The “wastebasket of the sea” has no qualms about eating you. Or virtually anything else, for that matter. Though they are second to Great Whites as attacking humans goes, they have tallied more fatal attacks than their notorious brethren. According to National Geographic, tigers max out at 20-25 feet in length, can weigh a ton, and boast an impressive number of razor-sharp, serrated teeth in their gaping jaws. This is without a doubt the one creature you do not want to encounter in the ocean. However, if you surf or swim in tropical or sub-tropical ocean waters, brushes with these apex predators are pretty likely. Case in point: the tiger shark is the same species that took Bethany Hamilton’s arm at Tunnels on Kauai.
7. Vampire Squid
Another ancient creature, the vampire squid has not changed much or faced endangerment or extinction in the last 300 million years. This could be due, in part, to its impressive defense mechanism where the squid turns itself inside out and creates a bubble with its skin and arms. It’s also not a true squid. It’s more of a squid crossed with an octopus, which suggests that the vampire squid may have been a product of evolution between the two animals. The vampire squid also incorporates the body of a jellyfish–it has “the largest eye-to-body ratio of any animal in the world.” If you didn’t believe in evolution before, this ancient creature may make you reconsider.
