9. Red-Lipped Batfish
Rein Ketelaars via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Pucker up! These fish look as if they’re wearing bright red lipstick. They are terrible swimmers, but they can use their adapted pectoral and pelvic fins to “walk” on the seafloor. The red-lipped batfish is just one of 60 species of batfish.
Like other kinds of anglerfish, batfish have an illicium on top of their head that they use to lure prey closer.
8. Gulper Eel
Image via YouTube
The first thing you’ll notice about this weird-looking animal is its massive mouth, which is much bigger than the rest of its body and can swallow things larger than itself. Gulp! Lucky for us, it typically feeds on small crustaceans.
In addition to helping them move around, their long, fluorescent pink tails give off flashes of light to attract prey.
Check out this footage of a captured gulper eel:
7. Goblin Shark
Image via Wikimedia Commons
Not much is known about this strange and elusive creature. There are goblin sharks as long as 13 feet (4 meters), though they may be able to grow much larger! Apart from their noticeably long snouts, goblin sharks have protruding mouths that are outfitted with several rows of teeth that can both catch prey and crush through shellfish.
Watch its bite in action:
6. Hatchetfish
Image via Wikimedia Commons
Not to be confused with freshwater hatchetfish, these deep-sea creatures are named after their shape. Look closely and you’ll notice a row of luminescent organs lining its belly like a blade.
These organs can produce a very bright light that mimics the daylight above water, which throws off predators lurking below.
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