A Wonderful, Underwater World - 20 of the Weirdest and Wonderful Creatures In The Ocean

There is a lot of contestation about the actual figures, but it is thought that there is still well over 80% of the ocean that remains unexplored. Yes, you read that correctly. A whole 80% (perhaps more) of the ocean is a complete mystery.

Every time a new patch of ocean is explored there is the question of 'what will we find?. A lot of discoveries made are of weird and wonderful creatures.

In recent history, there seem to be new creatures being discovered daily. Factor in the notion that only a small percentage of the Earth's oceans have been explored, and you begin to wonder what else lies out there.

How many more weird and wonderful creatures could there possibly be living out there? when it comes to weird and wonderful sea creatures, we already have our fair share. There are some things living in those oceans that are the fuel of nightmares. Other sea creatures look like something from wonderland.

One thing is for sure, and that is the fact that each and every one of them is bizarre beyond words, with many fascinating facts to go along with them.

In this article, we wanted to share with you some of the most weird and wonderful creatures in the ocean that we could find. In all, we have twenty of them that we want to talk about, each with an interesting fact sheet so you can learn all about them.

How Many Species of Ocean Animals Are There?

The ocean, as we know by now, is vast. This makes it very difficult to know for sure how many species are in there. It is estimated that there are around 1 million different species in total, and around 91% of these are yet to be identified! It is thought that the majority of these species are invertebrates (animals without spines) like jellyfish and shrimp.

These make up a whole 95% of the ocean life population. Many scientists think that ocean life is actually declining due to several different factors such as the speed at which our planet's atmosphere is changing.

This means that ecosystems and habitats are getting destroyed. As a result, species can't populate fast enough to keep up with the changes and are, instead, dying out.

That being said, over a million species is still a number that can barely be comprehended. It is for that reason that it may be a little easier to group these different species together into types. Check out the table below for some more insight into these million species:

Group	Examples
Coral and Invertebrates	Giant clam, Portuguese man o'war, sea urchins, anemone, lobe coral, starfish, and different types of sponge.
Fish	Clownfish, John Dory, cod, eel, tuna, Pygmy seahorse, swordfish, ocean sunfish, barracuda, red snapper, and anglerfish
Mammals	Harp seal, marine otter, beluga whale, narwhal, dolphin, walrus, sea lion, manatee, orca, blue whale, polar bear, and sperm whale.
Turtles and Reptiles	Olive sea snake, hawksbill turtle, green turtle, saltwater crocodile, marine iguana, loggerhead turtle, and banded sea krait.
Rays and Sharks	Goblin shark, giant devil ray, Great White shark, cownose ray, giant Manta ray, spiny dogfish, whale shark, tasseled wobbegong, and blue-spotted ribbontail ray
Cephalopods, Crustaceans, and Shellfish	Dumbo octopus, common limpet, red king crab, giant octopus, tiger prawn, white shrimp, decorator crab, colorful hermit crab, krill, American lobster, and colossal squid.

The table above is by no means exhaustive. In fact, it barely touches the surface of the creatures who live underwater. However, what it does show you are the types of creatures under the water. One million species, as we have said, is an incomprehensible number.

Viewing them in different groups like this makes it easier to understand, as well as helping you to visualize the different types of sea creatures out there. We are sure you are familiar with many of these but may be less so with some others.

What we are certain of though is that you will not be familiar with all of the creatures we are about to show you, because we have handpicked some of the most obscure, weird, and wonderful creatures in the ocean that look like they could have come from the depths of our dreams (or nightmares...) rather than the ocean.

Keep on reading to be fascinated, awe-inspired, and horrified all at once...

20 Weird and Wonderful Sea Creatures Ever Seen

1. Peacock Mantis Shrimp

However, they can also be found at around 12 inches at their biggest. The largest on record was 15 inches! For a crustacean that is that vicious, we think those sizes are pretty impressive! Small but mighty, right?

They can be found in shallow tropical or subtropical waters, mostly in the Indian Ocean or the Pacific. They feast on smaller crustaceans such as mollusks and crabs, sneaking up on them with that heavyweight punch we have already discussed. It is thought that their punch can reach up to 170 MPH, making them the fastest organism on the earth.

Source: https://addhelium.com/weirdest-creatures-in-the-ocean/

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