What Are The 5 Strangest Fish In The Sea?

With around 71 percent of the Earth covered in salt water it may be seen that there are millions of different species of creatures that inhabit the ocean. From the largest blue whale to the smallest microscopic creatures it may be seen that there are many different creatures that we could add to this list. However, in this article I am going to present to you what in my opinion are the strangest ocean dwelling creatures that we currently know about. These will be in no particular order (as I feel them all to be equally as strange as eachother).

Being one of perhaps the rarest Octopi in our oceans, the Blanket Octopus is a sight to behold if you do ever get to see one. It has three hearts and perhaps one of the strangest defence mechanisms of any sea creature. Over time it has developed an immunity to the venom of the Portuguese Man O’ War and so will pull of the venomous tentacle of these to use as a weapon against other creature. This is fairly unique as most creatures fear the Man O’ War due to its paralyzing venom. However, the strangeness of the Blanket Octopus does not end there. It also exhibits one of the largest degrees of sexual diamorphism of any species. By this, I mean that the males are significantly smaller than the females. With the females measuring up to 2 metres but the males rarely making it above a few inches, it is more than likely that if you do ever see one the chances are that it will be a female.

If we were to judge how strange each of these sea creatures was based upon looks then I'm fairly sure that the Blobfish would be at the top of the list. With a face that only a mother could love, you will find these fish near the ocean floor in the waters that surround Australia and Tasmania. They are inherently lazy creatures due to the fact that they lack the same muscular power that many fish may have and so are often referred to as the 'sloth of the ocean'. Quite simply, I think they are perhaps the ugliest fish I have ever seen. But you can make your own mind up on that one.

The Hatchetfish is a small deep sea fish which is around an inch or two long. Living in the depths of the ocean the chances of you ever actually seeing one are very minimal. Indeed, these fish can go the entirety of their life without ever seeing any light. However, the strange thing about these fish is that they have adapted so that they produce light off of their body in order to both attract prey and dissuade predators. This is an evolutionary adaption that we see in many deep sea fish who adapt according to their surrounding (i.e. the lack of light). From an evolutionary perspective, this would perhaps add validity to the argument that we adapt over time to suit our environmental needs.

Also known as the 'Yeti Crab' this creature is similar to some of the other creatures that we have seen in that it lives in the depths of the oceans. Only being discovered in 2005 it is the most recent discovery on our list. Therefore little is known about this creature. What is strange about it however, is the way in which it feeds. Simply put, it cultivates bacteria on its hairy claws through waving them backwards and forwards. Once, the bacteria is ready to be eaten the crab uses an extra appendage in order to scrape the bacteria off and feed upon it. It is one of few known creatures to feed in this way.

The leafy seadragon is a marine fish belonging to the same family of fish as Seahorses. Its name originates from its appearance where it is often described as looking like seaweed. This enables it to evade predators as it does not look like your regular fish. Rather it blends in with its surroundings.Typically around 20cm in size they feed on small crustaceans and plankton. However, the strange thing about these fish (as with other seahorses) is the fact that the male of the species is the one who reproduces. The female will implant the eggs into the male who will carry them around until they are ready to hatch. This is unlike pretty much every other creature out there where the women is the one involved in the reproduction process.

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