Friday, July 9, 2010





Hagfish

Hagfish are jawless eel-like fish that have an intresting way of feeding. They squirt out slime and wrap it around fish gills, making them suffocate and die. Next, they slip into their gills and eat from the inside out! They also have tentacles around their mouth!





Hatchetfish

Hatchetfish are deep sea fish which have slivery scales. These scales reflect the faint sunlight above and make them virtually invisible. Hatchetfish also have big bulging eyes that point upwards to look for food falling from the surface.



Stargazer

The stargazer does not live in the deep sea but it has a clever way of catching its prey. It buries itself in the sand and waits for prey. Then, when a small fish a right above its mouth, it grabs it. Stargazers may give you quite a shock when you touch it.




Vampire Squid

The vampire squid is a deep sea creature with big, blue eyes which can close and open! When vampire squid are threatened, they shield themselves. How? They turn inside out! Their tentacles cover their bodies making a spiky shield. If not, their eyes will glow and confuse its predators.



Comb Jelly

A common deep sea creature, comb jellies have tiny hairs known as cilia to propel them through the water. None of them have a sting! Some comb jellies use their mouth to catch their prey.





Barreleye

The deep sea barreleye has a transparent head! The two green balls in its head are its eyes! Relative of the spookfish, the barreleye has been only seen once, and probably never be seen again.


Spookfish

The spookfish has large, tubular eyes. These big eyes collect as much light as possible and that helps them to see in the deep sea.