Take a gander at some of the sea creatures that were recently spotted deep beneath the Indian Ocean. Helen Scales of The Guardian reports:
A shipload of scientists has just returned from exploring the uncharted waters of the Indian Ocean, where they mapped giant underwater mountains and encountered a multitude of deep-sea animals decked out in twinkling lights, with velvety black skin and mouths full of needle-sharp, glassy fangs.
The team of biologists was the first to study the waters around the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, an Australian territory more than 600 miles off the coast of Sumatra. "It's just a complete blank slate," says the expedition's chief scientist, Dr Tim O'Hara, from Museum Victoria Research Institute.
You should go look at the rest of the article to see images of all of the wild creatures. Here's a description of some of them:
"The real stars of the show are the fish," says O'Hara, who specialises in invertebrates. "There are blind eels and tripod fish, hatchetfish and dragonfish, with all of these bioluminescent organs on them and lures coming out of their heads. They're just extraordinary."
While all of the creatures are fascinating, I totally agree with the opinion that the stand-out here is the deep-sea batfish:
It sits on the seabed like an ornate pancake and struts about on two stubby fins that act as legs. It wiggles a tiny lure tucked into a hollow on its snout, presumably hoping to trick prey into thinking it is a tasty worm.
I mean, look at it—look at its little gaping mouth and its worried-looking eyes! It's adorable! It's giving the blobfish a run for its money for cutest-weirdest-looking sea-creature! Cute creature rating: 10/10!
And if you want more, here's another gallery of some of the finds, from All That's Interesting.
