DEEP SEA ODDITIES AND MYSTERIES

FRILLED SHARK

Sometimes called a living fossil due to its primitive features, the

frilled shark is a rarely-seen animal which may trap its prey by

crimping its body and leaping forward like a snake.

MARIANA TRENCH MYSTERY SHARK

While researching marine life at the bottom of the very deep

Suruga Bay, Japanese scientists put bait out to attract marine life.

Something they weren’t expecting was a shark at least 30 feet

(9m) long showing up to the party. Some say it’s the largest

Pacific sleeper shark on record (a third larger than the next closest)

but some say it’s proof the massive and prehistoric Megalodon

still exists.

UNDERWATER WHIRLPOOLS

The closest comparison being an underwater tornado, whirlpools

exist above some deep sea vents. In certain conditions, they

can break away and swirl around like flying saucers, bringing heat,

chemicals, and organisms across the ocean. It’s like the wind’s

uptake of a dandelion’s spores.

GIANT SQUID

A massive ocean creature, the giant squid has made a lot of

noise in the media but relatively little is known about it. Measuring

up to 43ft (13m) long and weighing up to 1,000 pounds (450kgs),

the first live giant squid was filmed in July 2012.

COLOSSAL SQUID

But If you thought it couldn’t get bigger than the giant squid,

think again. There’s even less known about the colossal squid which

has eyes bigger than your hand. It predominantly lives in the

Antarctic and has 25 rotating hooks on the end of each tentacle.

SULPHUR LAKE

On the Pacific Ring of Fire lies a lake – a very special lake because

it’s both underwater and made entirely of molten sulphur.

Thirteen hundred feet (400m) below sea level, the area teems

with life including crabs and shrimp specially designed for

this bizarre condition.

DRAGONFISH

Firing out a beam of red light from beneath each eye, the

bioluminescent dragonfish is the only animal that can see

other dragonfishes’ red light. That’s the ultimate in

unbreakable secret code.

MACROPINNA MICROSTOMA

The Macropinna is a fish with a very rare and little understood

composition: its head is covered by a transparent, fluid-filled dome.

Beyond that, it has barrel-shaped eyes which point up (through the

dome) while it’s horizontal in the water and can be rotated

forward if it changes position.