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15 Spooky Underwater Creatures – Halloween Edition!
If you’re reading our blog, chances are pretty good that you’re not scared of the ocean, nor the animals that call it home.
And, you shouldn’t be! Hollywood has done a great job making millions of people afraid of the ocean’s fauna, most commonly sharks – starting with Jaws, but continuing with new (terrible) shark-related horror flicks every year.
That being said, it’s the Halloween season…and us divers know that there are some residents of the deep that are a little spookier-looking than others.
In general, we could make a list exclusively featuring deep sea creatures, because frankly deep sea stuff is just freaky in general, but that isn’t as relatable.
So, without further ado, here’s Mozaik’s list of the top 15 spooky underwater creatures, with tips to photograph them if possible – some you might see on a dive, others hail from the deep sea alone. Did we miss any? Let us know in the comments!
15. The Cone Snail.
Ah, the humble cone snail. Nothing scary about this one, unless you’re scared of snails or French cuisine, right?
WRONG. Why? Because this unassuming little gastropod features a specialized, harpoon-like feeding apparatus that envenomates and paralyzes its prey. It’s like a tiny little hypodermic needle, for snails. Cute, right?
But, don’t worry too much, there’s some 900 species of cone snails, and only a few can do real damage to you. Just be careful picking up those big pretty shells.
Usually the way to get a general idea if it’s possibly a dangerous species of cone snail is by the width of the aperture, or opening, of the shell. The more venomous ones go after fish and larger prey, the others are more interested in worms and small polychaetes.
Cone snail venom is also a frequent target of scientific research – especially for pharmaceutical applications.
If you find a live cone snail on a dive, they’re not too difficult to photograph with a good macro lens and a strobe or two. Just make sure not to handle them!
14. The Titan Triggerfish.
Another addition to this list more for practical reasons. If you know, you know.
Like the cone snail, I don’t think these fish look scary; they’re actually a very pretty fish, in my opinion. But, as many tropical divers can attest to – their aggressive behavior is legendary.
The reason for this is usually related to nesting season – during these periods, females lay their eggs in nests over flat, sandy areas, and “vigorously defend them.” I would say that’s an understatement. They won’t do major damage to you, but when one of these big fellas comes up out of nowhere and nips you on the leg, it is quite a painful fright!
If you’re willing to risk it, these fish can be great subjects for close focus wide angle (CFWA), with a good wide angle lens. Mozaik contributor Michele Manson has a great article on tips for CFWA, here.
13. The Sea Urchin (mostly just the “eye”)
Here’s a creepy fact – sea urchins don’t really have eyes, at all. That giant eye-like thing in the middle of their body (pictured above)? Ya, that’s its anus.
While they lack “normal” eyes, new research suggests sea urchins are covered in photosensitive cells, from their tube feet to the tips of their spines. As a whole, these all sort of function as one collective “eye”. Urchins are basically giant spiky eyes. Or giant spiky balls, covered in eyes? Either way, creepy.
I also think it’s quite spooky when you bump into a Diadema spp. urchin on a night dive, without a wetsuit…ouch. Many urchins have the ability to sting would-be predators or clumsy divers with toxin sacs at the tips of their spines, which, inconveniently, are brittle and break off in many species.
12. The Barracuda.
Maybe I was permanently scarred by the evil barracuda in Finding Nemo – let’s be honest, that was a terrifying character. And, that movie really nailed the general vibe of the Barracuda: slow, creepy loner at the edge of the reef, watching.
That being said, I always enjoy photographing Barracudas, especially giant schools of them. Because they don’t have much color and take up a lot of space, I often ditch the strobes for barracuda shots and go with natural light only. They’re another good candidate for CFWA, if you can get close to one. This is often possible, they’re not very shy in a lot of cases.
They do have a history of going after shiny things like jewelry and even polarized face masks – so keep an eye on them!
11. Coffinfish (90% just for the name)
First of all, “coffinfish” is one of the spookiest common names in the business. And, it’s a fitting moniker for this group of fishes endemic to the southwestern Pacific – they don’t move much and spend their days exclusively on the seafloor.
In fact, they’ve adapted to “hold their breath” for up to four minutes, which helps them conserve energy and remain motionless. When something swims by, they come to life and swallow their prey whole.
Unlikely that you’ll encounter this one on a dive, they’re typically much too deep.
10. The Stonefish.
Another entry into the “can do some real damage to humans” category – the stonefish is a camouflage master that packs an extremely potent punch in the form of venom delivered through its spines.
It’s also a pretty grumpy looking animal, which is why it’s earned a spot on our spooky marine critters list.
These fish are relatively common on tropical reefs around the world – a good macro lens and strobes will allow for close up portraits. Because they camouflage so well with the surrounding reef, shooting from below and trying to isolate them against a more neutral background can be a good strategy, if space allows!
9. The Sarcastic fringehead.
This one surely inspired the writers on Netflix’s Stranger Things. These small but mighty fish from the Pacific (California and Baja) are driven by intense sexual selection, where the males compete with massively enlarged mouth parts. In fact, their mouths are wider than their bodies when on full display.
In real life (aka with scale in the photo) these fish are a lot less frightening when you realize they’re only several inches…but close up they look like something out of science fiction.
And, the best part is these fish are within range of our cameras – Baja California is the best place to spot them. A macro setup is critical here, to realize all of those spooky details.
8. The Viperfish.
A classic deep-sea nightmare, this is a common species around Australia at great depths. Known as a vertical migrator, these fish spend their time during the day as deep as 2500 meters, and come up to less than 600m to feed on more abundant prey at night.
They also have lines of photophores on their side, which produce light in small amounts.
But, most importantly, these fish have disproportionately massive teeth – hence the name.
7. The Barreleye.
This fish is also literally known as the “spook fish” – it has to be in our list. Where do we start. Well, most horrifyingly, the eyes on the front of the fish in the image above are not eyes, at all. Those are just terrifying fake eye hole things. The real eyes are also visible, IN THE HEAD, POINTED UP. Ya, those green things.
Pretty much no need to go on with this one. That’s terrifying enough.
But, FYI, this is another deep water species with some remarkable adaptations to life deep beneath the surface. Check out some more cool facts by MBARI, here.
6. The Bobbit worm.
I’ve yet to see a Bobbit worm make one of these types of “scary ocean animals lists,” and I can’t imagine why. They are definitely as frightening as some toothy fish.
Sometimes these fish-eating worms end up in fish tanks, which has to be quite a shock for the fish tank owner. They spend most of their time hiding just under the sand in a sort of tunnel. When an unfortunate, unsuspecting fish happens by, BAM, worm dinner. Another big nope from me here.
They are relatively common to divers in the tropics, especially Indonesia. Definitely would want a lot of patience and a macro lens to capture one of these in action.
5. The Giant Sea Spider.
Plenty of people are scared of spiders. Few things are more classic Halloween than a big scary spider.
But what about a spider that’s as big as the largest land spiders in the world, but lives deep beneath the surface in Antarctica?
At least with this one, you probably don’t have to worry about accidentally encountering it.
In reality, these “spiders” aren’t even true spiders – they are members of a group of arthropods called the pycnogonids, and they eat things like worms, jellyfish and sponges. But, if spiders aren’t for you, these are probably also not for you. And, they “suck up their prey with a proboscis”, which is, you know, horrifying.
4. Moray Eels.
OK I actually really like running into moray eels. They’re very photogenic, and there’s some really unique species with very interesting colors and patterns. They’re also very important members of their ecological communities.
But, also, frightening. All those teeth! Especially when you’re happily cruising around a reef, and focused on something else, and then there’s a big 6-foot moray with its mouth opening and closing in a hole by your ankle.
I like to see moray eels when I know where they are, not when they come out of nowhere…
You can photograph morays with either a wide angle or a macro lens. Wide angle for more context in your image, or a more CFWA approach, macro for portraits. Macro lenses are especially good for morays if you want to capture cleaner shrimp or cleaner wrasse interactions, which are very common and interesting.
3. The Lamprey.
This species should be #1 on this list. I don’t have any good reasons why it’s number 3. This is the one thing on this list that actually freaks me out. Sharks? Meh. Giant sea spiders? Whatever. LAMPREYS?? ABSOLUTELY NOT. BIG NOPE FROM ME ON THIS ONE.
Is it their parasitic nature? Their slimy bodies? Their absolutely nightmarish mouth things that look like some kind of torture device? I can’t exactly put my finger on what makes my skin crawl when it comes to lampreys, so I guess, all of it.
I have no tips for photographing these. If you see one, throw your camera into the abyss and hope the lamprey goes after it and not you.
2. The Goblin Shark.
No chance you’ll see this deep-sea dweller. But, would you really want to?
There’s a good reason this creature is top of my list for spookiest underwater animals. I mean, look at it.
The Goblin shark, usually sighted off the coast of Japan, is able to extend its jaws three inches outside of its mouth to catch prey. It can also reach 12 feet in length.
I’m not sure there’s really any need to go on about why this animal is terrifying. But also so cool right?? Way cooler than a lamprey.
1. Humans, duh.
The scariest species that enters the ocean? Humans, duh. When I see cheesy articles like this one about scary things in the ocean, it’s usually hard to take them seriously – but one thing we should take seriously is our potential as a species to negatively impact every single creature in the ocean.
Sharks, eels and, yes, even lampreys, belong to the ocean more so than we do. Be a responsible ocean guest!
Happy Halloween 🙂
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1 comment
great article Morgan, I enjoyed photos and comments!!!