10 Stunning Exotic Aquatic Animals That Will Blow Your Mind

Underwater life has always been a very interesting topic for human research. Aquatic life seems so fascinating that we try to dig as much information as we can about those amazing creatures that are destined to live their whole life submerged in water.

We all know that oceans cover more than 70% of the surface of the earth. We can’t rule out the fact marine species outnumber the species residing on the land.

In this article, we have tried to introduce some exotic aquatic animals that will really blow your mind, So here is the list:

Ribbon Eel

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Also known as Rhinomuraena quaesita or Bernis eel. It is a species of Moray eel. They attract their prey with their leafy nostrils and then capture them with their jaws.

One of the most interesting facts about this aquatic animal is that they are not born differently as males and females rather all of them are born males, it is later in their life cycle that they exhibit protandry i.e., the ability of a male to change its sex from male to female which becomes a necessity for their survival.

The adult male reaches up to 1 meter in length when fully grown. It is rare to see a female eel that is yellow in color due to its short life span.

These tiny eels are carnivores and can stay in the same hole for months.

Dumbo Octopus

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This pudgy shaped aquatic animal is often called the cutest octopus in the world. It is an 8 inch long creature that usually possesses huge ears. And like any other Octopus, they also possess eight arms.

Its scientific name is Grimpoteuthis. It is the deepest living octopus known to live at extreme depths of up to 13,000 feet below the surface of the water. They have webbed arms that help them to swim. They are carnivores and eat creatures like bristle worms, isopods, and copepods, etc.

They are well adapted aquatic animals to live in deep seas.

Tardigrades

They are very minute creatures that often grow up to 0.5 millimeters. They are always surrounded by a thin layer of water to prevent desiccation.

They are also called moss piglets because of the habitat that they often choose for dwelling. They are omnivorous, that is they feed both on autotrophs and heterotrophs. These eight-legged aquatic organisms look like miniature bears. They are even called extremophiles due to their ability to survive extreme conditions like they can survive 30 years without food and water.

There are tardigrades on the moon and they are, well, alive and kicking.

Read the Wired.com report: A Crashed Israeli Lunar Lander (Beresheet) Spilled Tardigrades on the Moon.

Goblin Shark

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Goblin sharks are a species of fish that usually reside along the continental shelves. This aquatic animal has a very strange way of capturing its prey, it moves its jaw three inches out of its mouth and grabs its food. This aquatic animal can grow up to 12 feet long and weigh up to 460 pounds. They are lousy creatures thus their extendible jaws help a lot to catch the prey.

Giant Tube Worms

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They are also known as Riftia pachyptila. They are found in the deep Pacific Ocean floor along with hydrothermal vents. They grow up to 8 feet in length and lack a mouth and digestive tracts. They feed on tiny bacteria and they can completely survive without light. They drive energy from a process called chemosynthesis where the organism uses chemicals to synthesize its food.

Flying Fish

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Flying fish has the ability to jump over warm waters. They are torpedo-shaped. This flying ability has given them the ability to escape from predators.

Its scientific name is Exocoetidae and it can grow up to 18 inches. This aquatic animal is omnivorous and has four wings that can help to reach a height of over 4 feet. These fish move towards the light which sometimes proves to be harmful to them as they are easily caught by fishermen.

Flamingo Tongue Snail

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They are also called Cymphoma gibbosum. They are riders of Purple sea fans that not only offer them space to live but also their soft tissue caters to the demand for food from these snails.

The body of these snails secretes digestive juices to digest the tissues. They are found mostly in the Caribbean Sea. This aquatic animal has yellow spots over its body which depicts the living tissues that disappear as soon as the animal dies.

Frilled Shark

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Sometimes even quoted as “Living fossil” because of its extremely slow rates of evolution.

The name for which this aquatic animal is famous is because of its gills. It has around 300 teeth that aim at grasping the prey so tightly that it can’t escape. It has a snake-like strategy to capture its prey.

The female frilled shark is longer than the male one. And they have a very long gestation period of around 3.5 years.

It is a bottom-dwelling animal that is a major threat to other fishes.

Yeti Crab

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It is a deep-sea crustacean and has a hairy appearance. They usually live in hydrothermal vents. They have bristles called setae all over their body that usually have bacterial growth all over, ginning a fur-like appearance. One of the fun facts is that they grow in their own food.

Pinecone Fish

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They have an oval body covered with spiny platelike scales that gives the appearance of a pine cone. This aquatic animal can grow up to 5 inches. The color of this fish ranges from yellow to orange. Pinecone fish have phosphorescent organs on each side of the jaw that attracts many microorganisms.