Real Fish That Are So Horrifying You May Never Want To Get In The Ocean Ever Again

"Put that thing back where it came from or so help me!"

Elana

• Published in Animals
• August 19, 2021

Here's a fun, albeit mildly horrifying, fact: More than 80% of the ocean is unmapped, unobserved, and unexplored. We may as well know nothing about the planet with all that mystery, and honestly, thinking about some of the things we do know, maybe we don't want or need to know more?

Seriously, some of the creatures we have discovered dwelling in the depths of the deep are spooky and nightmare-inducing enough that how horrifyingly worse it could get is not without reasonable assumptions. If you're doubting the probability that horrors await us in the undiscovered, check out these 17 examples of the creepiest fish we've already discovered and re-think that stance...

1. Blue Ring Octopus

Maybe at a glance, this octopus looks cuter than it is terrifying? Don't let it fool you because they are one of the world's most venomous marine animals! They are extremely dangerous to humans because their venom contains the potent neurotoxin tetrodotoxin and to date, no antidote has been developed and approved for human use.

2. Hairy Angler Fish

The Hairy Angler Fish looks like a Stephen King monster, but alas, it's very real and you can find it around 8,000 feet deep into the ocean. The long antenna on the fish that resemble strands of hair can feel vibrations in the ocean of prey for the predator fish to eat up. The worst part about the deep-sea nightmare is that it can grow to be as big as 14cm (or 5.5inches,) with ridiculously sharp and plentiful teeth.

3. Giant Spider Crab

From claw to claw, this armored sea spider can grow just past 12 feet long. It crawls along the ocean floor and can easily weigh over 40lbs. Apparently, despite their absolutely horrifying appearance, they're typically a "nice" crustacean and our fear is "irrational."

4. Snaggletooth Fish

The Snaggletooth Fish has no scales and sharp, needle-like teeth. It uses a bioluminescent red chin barbel as a lure to attract small prey into striking distance.

5. Barreleye Fish

This freaky-looking fish isn't as "I'll seriously EAT YOU" as the other fish we've seen so far, it's characteristics are creepy enough to lead your imagination into dark territory. Its tubular and telescoping eyes protrude from their heads. Their heads are also transparent domes of soft tissue though, so that's kind of gross and creepy.

6. Black Dragonfish

This deep-sea predator can be found at depths of 3,000-10,000 feet deep. The Black Dragonfish has a black stomach so that after it eats a luminescent fish, other fish can't see.

7. The Viper Fish

This ugly predator on the smaller side (if up to nearly 2 feet long is small, anyway) has a jaw that can unhinge for the sole purpose of consuming prey. Viper fish lure prey in with light-producing organs called photophores and they come into shallower waters in the nighttime.

8. Moray Eel

This ambush predator's teeth are designed to tear flesh or grasp slippery prey and they secrete a toxic mucus over their scaleless skin. They can live as long as 30 years and get as big as 13 feet long. They can eat octopus and lion fish without issue and are considered apex predators in their respective ocean ecosystems!

9. Hatchet Fish

Their entire depth range spans from 50 to 1,500 meters deep into the ocean and they have large eyes that usually angle upwards and are sometimes tube-shaped. They're creepy.

10. Coffinfish

The Coffinfish is a species of sea toad that can be found as far as 983 feet deep in the ocean. Their body is covered in tiny spines and fills its body with water to puff up (almost like a pufferfish) as a defense mechanism!

11. Black Swallower Fish

The Black Swallower Fish usually comes in around 10 inches but shockingly it can consume prey up to 10x larger than itself, which is practically unfathomable. It creeps through the ocean around 700 to 2,700 feet deep. This freaky fish has swallowed fish so large, it couldn't digest the prey faster than it could decompose in it's stomach, releasing gas that brought corpses to the surface waters.

12. Sea Slugs

The carnivorous sea slug may seem like a low priority nightmare being a tad on the small side but the gelatinous vacuum cleaner for a head is precisely the sort of thing that should give you the heebeejeebees.

13. Stargazer

This eerie fish has eyes on the top of it's head and can be found in both shallow and deep waters.They bury themselves in sand, and leap upwards to ambush prey that passes by overhead. Stargazers also have venomous spines and some species have a worm like lure to really amp up that creepy factor.

14. Grenadier Fish

This deep sea dweller is found 660 to 22,970 feet deep into the ocean, and yet they are one of the most common deep sea fish out there. They're known for being ugly and having disproportionately large eyes.

15. The Goblin Shark

This horrifying, deep sea monstrosity is considered a "living fossil." Typically, this deep sea predator grows to between 10ft and 13ft long (but 20ft long goblin sharks have been found) and it's protruding, nail-like teeth are what nightmares are truly made of. It spends its time in the sea anywhere from 330 feet deep to around 4,200 feet deep. This ambush predator's jaw literally snaps forward to snatch unsuspecting prey that get too close. You're welcome for the nightmares.

16. That's enough ocean or today. Do we even want to discover the other 80%?

17. Deep Sea Lizard Fish

This large and in charge deep-sea predator likes to sit at the ocean floor (anywhere from 2,000-11,000 feet deep,) and wait for prey to come near. This fish is considered an apex predator in the ocean ecosystem and they can get to be as large as 4-5 feet long. Humans naturally encounter them while diving on occasion but so far, we aren't on the menu. Phew.

18. Crystal Jellyfish

This terrifying jellyfish is almost entirely transparent and colorless but can give off green bio luminescent glow along their outer bell. They can have up to 150 tentacles that can get as long as 120 feet!

Elana