14 Marine Creatures That Show Just How Wild The World Actually Is

Mother nature has her beauty as well as danger.

The news of life on Mars is frightening of course. But, have you ever stopped for a while to think about the exciting guests that are there in our world. We've only seen a small percentage of the beauty in the world. Here is a microscopic amount from all the critters that dwell on Earth.

1. Striated Frogfish

Thomas Ozanne / Getty Images

Antennarius striatus which is commonly called the Hairy frogfish or the Striated Frogfish is a creature that has camouflage. It has a wonderful talent to match its color to the surrounding.

The front dorsal fin of the Frogfish acts as a lure. This frog moves its fin pretending to be a small worm or a small fish. The frogfish can swallow animals twice their size. This means that these frogs are experts in eating.

2. Portuguese man o' war

By Wildestanimal / Getty Images

Aldorado10 / Getty Images

Physalia physalis is more commonly popular as the "Portuguese man of war". Though it's often mistaken as a jellyfish, it is a siphonophore. Siphonophores are animals made of colonies working together means that they are a group of animals and not one.

The man o' war has received its name by the uppermost polyp, which is a gas-filled bladder that floats above the water. The uppermost polyp had resembled an old warship. The tentacles of the man o' war can grow over 165 feet in length. It can release venom that has the potential to kill small fish and other small creatures. However, it cannot kill humans. Instead, it can release a nasty sting.

3. Dumbo Octopus

BBC

This octopus has been named 'Dumbo' due to the resembling features to the Disney character Dumbo. It is usually found in depths of 400m in the ocean. This octopus is around eight inches in length. However, it's cute and cuddly-looking, as same as the elephants and other adorable creatures.

4. Anglerfish

BBC

The unique fleshy growth that's present in the forehead of this creature is the reason for its name. It is a bioluminescent creature that is a living light in the complete darkness. The light on the end of its growth is often used to attract the prey. Bioluminescence has become an important feature to attract prey towards the fish. Anglerfish are also seen in the Pixar film Finding Nemo which does a great job of demonstrating how the anglerfish hunts.

5. Japanese Spider Crab

4fr / Getty Images

The largest crab species in the world is the Giant Spider Crab. The leg span of it is around four meters and the lifespan is around 100 years. The Japanese spider crab has a resembling appearance to the creature that was attached to that guy's face in the film Alien.

Objects such as kelps are used for the decoration of their shells by the younger crabs. Those kelps help them to hide from the predators. See how brainy this crab is to accessorize itself.

6. Sunflower Sea Star

Jennifer Idol / Getty Images

The Sunflower Sea Star is among the largest starfish species in the world. The maximum arm span of the starfish is around one meter. The starfish is a tactful predator and its meals consist of small invertebrates. The sunflower starfish often extrudes its stomach when eating its prey. Then, a liquifying process takes place inside the stomach.

7. Frilled Shark

Getty Images

The Frilled Sharks are often called the living fossils. They have been living in the world for 80 million years. They are old as shit!

It has been given the name after its frilly gills. The frilled shark has more than 200 sharp teeth and lunges like a snake to catch its prey. They are usually found in the deepest parts of the oceans.

8. Sea Angel

Cultura Rf / Getty Images

This is another type of sea slug. It has received this name due to its translucent appearance and wing-like flaps. Wing-like flaps are used to swim. These sea slugs are quite small and the length is around 5cm. There's a rowing motion in their wings. Perhaps, one to two times per second. Their main food is sea butterflies.

Their translucent look is one of my faves.

9. Leafy Seadragon

Cvdiver168 / Getty Images

Leafy Sea Dragons normally grow up to 30cm in length. Their bodies are specified to blend in with the environment in which they live. This helps them to be undetected by the predators and to own their prey.

The leafy seadragon is unable to move very well due to its seaweed-like appearance.

10. Pycnogonida Sea Spider

Ribeirodossantos / Getty Images

Sea Spiders come in different sizes and varieties. They range from 3cm to 50cm in length. (Imagine a 50cm SPIDER!)

Sea spiders usually crawl on the sea beds and suck the juice inside the soft-bodied invertebrates. The eggs are carried by the male sea spiders in their dedicated pair of legs. Thus they are called the "egg legs."

We should admit that there's one other-worldly looking creature in any list.

11. Giant Trevally

Mookmook / Getty Images

BBC

The Giant Trevally is an apex predator found in the Indo-Pacific region of the world. The giant trevally can grow up to 170cm in length. Their main meals consist of fish and ocean crustaceans.

Sometimes, they feed on birds too. The creature has amazing skills as a hunter. It sometimes leaps out of the water to grab the flying birds.

12. Flamingo Tongue Snail

Damocean / Getty Images

The Flamingo Tongue Snail is a tiny marine molluscan that lives in tropical waters. Though it has been named 'Flamingo' there are no resembling features in both of them. The most striking feature of it is the handsome, bright orange shell with markings on its back.

13. Jawfish

Brook Peterson / Getty Images

Jawfish often drive into the sand holes for safety. The strangest fact about this fish is that the males are the ones who carry the eggs in their mouths. They carry eggs in their mouth for about 1-2 weeks to protect the eggs before they hatch.

14. And finally...The Whitemargin Stargazer

Brook Peterson / Getty Images

These ocean creatures are often deceiving their prey lying in the sand with just their mouth and eyes. The Whitemargins possess electric organs behind their eyes and these are used to stun their prey with a shock of up to 50 volts. More than a Pikachu!

Unfortunately, many wonderful ocean creatures die due to the increasing pollution of the oceans. Over 150 million tonnes of plastic floats in the oceans. This has been a major reason for the extinction of marine life, birds, and mammals. Read this helpful list if you're interested in reducing plastic waste and becoming eco-friendly.