Science

Giant Oarfish, Pig Butt Worms, and Other Freaky Creatures From the Deep

When two rare, deep sea-dwelling oarfish washed up last week in California, they captivated millions. They were, clearly and magically, from another world. Here are more of that deep, dark world's extraordinary creatures.
  • Oarfish
  • Stoplight Loosejaw
  • Anglerfish
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oarfish
When two rare, deep sea-dwelling oarfish washed up last week in California, they captivated millions. They were clearly from another world. That world is the deep sea, the region between the upper ocean's sun-enriched bounties and its floor. It's a strange realm with "no solid surfaces to touch, very little sound, and very little light," said biologist Al Dove of the Georgia Aquarium. "I often think that it must be like space, or some giant sensory deprivation chamber." It's also Earth's largest habitat, odd as that might seem to us land-dwellers, who touch the deep sea only when creatures like oarfish wash ashore. From a certain perspective, that great deep sea sensory deprivation chamber could actually be seen as the characteristic condition of life on Earth, with plants and animals as we know them just a scrim of action up top. Here are more strange creatures from that deep, dark world. Above:

Oarfish

If oarfish look like mythological sea serpents, it's because they probably inspired those accounts. However, though it's natural to imagine oarfish swimming horizontally, like serpents, they actually float vertically, looking upwards for faint silhouettes of potential prey. Legend has it oarfish are harbingers of earthquakes, but it looks like the two from California were just caught in an unfortunate upwelling of currents. Image: Catalina Island Marine Institute