SAFETY LEVEL: They aren't even in the ocean. And even if they were the most harm they could do is give you a dirty look.
Spook Fish
The Dangers of the Sea Awareness Alliance
SAFETY LEVEL: They aren't even in the ocean. And even if they were the most harm they could do is give you a dirty look.
Spook Fish
Frillshark
SAFETY LEVEL: Don't go deep sea diving dressed as a squid, shark, or bony fish, and you should be cool.
This Parrotfish is for all you Bears fans out there :) What a true fan. Take that T. Brums, this guy LIVES it. Parrotfish are mostly tropical and are abundant on shallow reefs of the Red Sea, Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Parrotfish are named for their oral dentition; their numerous teeth are arranged in a tightly packed mosaic on the external surface of the jaw bones, forming a parrot-like beak which is used to rasp algae from coral and other rocky substrates. Many species are also brightly coloured in shades of blue, green, red and yellow. [So technically I suppose we could have Bear, Charger, Packer, Patriot, and Seahawk fans roaming the sea as well ;) Sigh...I miss football season.] Although they are considered to be herbivores, parrotfish eat a wide variety of organisms that live on coral reefs. Parrotfishes stay within shallow waters of no more than about 70 meters in depth. By night they cram themselves into crevices, some species secreting a thick coat of mucus, like a little surrounding bubble. The mucus is thought to mask their scent from nocturnal predators such as the moray eel and may serve to protect the fish from infection by parasites.
SAFETY LEVEL: Safe. And pretty.
Pingpong Tree SpongeThe organism resembling a modernist light fixture is a Ping-Pong tree sponge, which can reach a height of 50 centimeters. A carnivore, it has Velcro-like spicules [Spicules are skeletal structures that occur in most sponges] on its surface, the better to capture the creatures that alight [settle] on it. Cells in the sponge then migrate toward the prey and consume it.
SAFETY LEVEL: Well it dwells pretty freaking deep in the sea, so as long as you don't alight on it's spicules you should be cool. The whole migrating cell thing is just wrong, however. Le blegh!
Unidentified Species
These guys are so wacked out the people who discovered them can't even identify them. Sweet.
SAFETY LEVEL: Guilty until proven innocent. The top one looks like a squid hybrid with a huge mouth, and the bottom like a jellyfish tangled in ribbons. No bueno. Thankfully they lurk deep, deep down, which is probably better for everyone.
That's all for [Car and] The Look At Me's! You've been a great audience! Thank you and good night!
NEXT CATEGORY: DAMN YOU OLD
SAFETY LEVEL: Not noted to be dangerous to humans, but anything covered in spines is something to be wary of. They tend to dwell deepsea though, so if you are out there in the first place, you are kind of asking for trouble anyway.
Batfish
Holy mollusks Batfish!
Wolf Eel
They are found in deep, lightless waters of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. Females reach a total length of 20cm, but males only grow to 1.6cm. Males have well developed sense organs that are used to find a female. When a male finds a female, he bites her and doesn't let go. His skin fuses with the female and he becomes a parasite on her. (I think we've all had relationships like this, yes?)
SAFETY LEVEL: Unless you are a female Fanfin, probably not that worrisome. But still kinda grosso :(
SAFETY LEVEL: While understandably named for their disproportionately large, fang-like teeth and unapproachable visage, fangtooths are actually quite small and harmless to humans.
Scaly DragonfishFound worldwide in tropical, subtropical and temperate oceans (except the north Pacific and northwest Atlantic Oceans), at depths of between 200 and 1,500 m. Its length is between 20 and 32 cm. The scaly dragonfish's head appears to be all jaws and eye with a short thick chin barbel. All the fins, apart from the pectorals, are set well back towards the tail.
SAFETY LEVEL: Not much reported on the Scaly Dragonfish's interaction with humans. They are most known of the coast of Australia. Considering they are rather small, they may not be too dangerous. Still, large fangs are not the most inviting aspect of a fish. Caution is advised.
That wraps up the Fanged fish! Mostly interesting to the eye, and less astounding as the ever popular Blob Fish, these dudes are just a good thing to avoid, as most things with fangs are I feel.
NEXT CATEGORY: Fugly Fools
The fish are named for their characteristic method of predation. Anglerfish typically have three long filaments sprouting from the middle of the head; these are the detached and modified three first spines of the anterior dorsal fin. In most anglerfish species, the longest filament is the first. This first spine protrudes above the fish's eyes, and terminates in an irregular growth of flesh at the tip of the spine. The spine is movable in all directions, and can be wiggled so as to resemble a prey animal, thus to act as bait to lure other predators close enough for the anglerfish to devour them whole.
They occur worldwide.
SAFETY LEVEL: Listed by the ICES as "outside safe biological limits".
Blob Fish
This fish is called blob Sculpin due to its blob like, flabby shape. This fish has no traditional spines like many other fish do and look and feel different to those fish living in the shallower seas. It has very small eyes in comparison to many deep sea fish.
SAFETY LEVEL: There aren't any official reports on it, but it doesn't seem very harmful at all. Just icky.
That seems to be it for the Blob Freaks category! Kinda grosso...
NEXT CATEGORY: Fang Faces