Weird Deep Sea Creatures of The Mariana Trench

Deep below the surface of the water lies the Mariana Trench. The Trench is situated just east of the Marianas Islands in the Pacific Ocean. The Mariana Trench reaches down 36,000 ft under the ocean's surface. This point is known as "The Challenger Deep".

The Challenger Deep has only two recorded explorations of it. One was in the 1960s and the other was two years ago in 2012 by James Cameron. Yeah. James Cameron: that guy who made Avatar.

Most people think that the Challenger Deep is where all of those scary fish with sharp teeth and murderous intent live. This is not true. Those scary fish with sharp teeth and murderous intent live oh, so much closer to surface: about 13,000 ft below the ocean's waves. (Don't worry, unless you have a high-tech submarine you wont be able to reach them when you're swimming in the middle of the Pacific).

In 2012, Avatar's creator James Cameron, made an expedition with a highly trained team into the deep of the Mariana Trench.

Using a solo submersible that was 7ft in length Mr. Cameron dove into the Challenger Deep alone. He was able to take pictures along the way of the creatures he had passed by in his descent. The cameras that were used in the expedition were hand-made from the sensor up to be used specifically in the dives.

There was a 3D (and for those of use who enjoy not wearing sunglasses in a theatre) and 2D documentary about the entire expedition which can be found at: http://www.deepseachallenge.com/the-team/james-cameron/

Creepy angler fish are in the ocean right now, luring other little fishies into their gaping jaws just like in Pixar's Finding Nemo. These are two types of angler fish commonly found in the Mariana Trench.

The Fanfin Seadevil

The Fanfin is easily distinguished from other Angler fish in the sea. This fish is all black and does not has escal bulb, the lightbulb (bio luminescent lure) on the top of their head. This fish really isn't that scary considering the males of the species only grow to be about 1/2 inch (that's right. Half of and inch.) and the females are about 8 inches.

The Dragonfish

This fish has the iconic Angler lure attached to its chin. Using bio luminescence(the lightbulb) it attracts its prey and lures it, like a fishing line, into it's immense jaw. The Dragonfish is only about 6-8 in in length but it's teeth are incredibly big compared to it's body size.

The Frilled Shark

This shark was first recorded in 2007 off the coast of Japan. A fisherman reported to authorities that he had seen a very unusual eel-like animal. They later identified it as the 5 foot long Frilled Shark. The "frills" on the side of this shark's head are actually six long gills that enable him to breathe. The most unique part of the shark is the 300 trident shaped teeth that line its gaping jaw.

The Goblin Shark

This shark is particularly terrifying shark is poorly understood. Every year a few are caught in deep water fisheries. This shark is the only remaining creature in a line of sea animals that date back 125 million years. The unique (not to mention terrifying) factor to this shark is its jaws. Yes, there's huge teeth in there but it is also protrusible and launch out at their prey. Check the video on the side for a demonstration.

All of this and more can be researched further on these websites:

http://imgur.com/a/xkfSv

http://deepseacreatures.kbrosinsky.com/

http://www.deepseachallenge.com/