Top Ten Weirdest Sea Creatures

They're weird in good ways, and they're weird in bad ways. But most importantly, they're just WEIRD. Really weird. And frankly, we felt like we were being totally selfish not sharing them with you. So put on your snorkel, goggles, and flippers, and hit the water with us to check out the absolute weirdest (but coolest!) sea creatures. But we're warning you—if our choices' names alone are any indication, it definitely won't be pretty. Case in point, Number 10 ... LINK


And be sure to check out the Top 10 Weirdest Sea Creatures' cousins— the Top 10 Scariest Sea Creatures.

Strange Japanese Sea Creatures

Exotic creatures lie at the bottom of Japan's Suruga Bay, including spider crabs, chimeras and lantern sharks. LINK: Youtube

Video of trippy sea creature, siphonophorae

The star of the latest CreatureCast, created by evolutionary biologist Casey Dunn and his students at Brown University, is the psychedelic siphonophore. Casey writes, "It is difficult to explain how beautiful these animals are, so we put together some clips from our friend Steve Haddock at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute with a voiceover by Phil Pugh, who has described more species of siphonophores than any biologist in history." CreatureCast: Diving for Jellies, Via: Boingboing, Via: Vimeo

Swarming Monster Worms And Sea Stars

Fascinating time-lapse movie of three-foot nemertean worms and carnivorous sea stars prowling the Antarctic in search of flesh. Finding a dead seal, the sea stars inject it with digestive juices... then suck it up like soup. LINK: The Presurfer, Via: Youtube

Nearly Immortal Sea Creature

Small but pervasive, this jellyfish-like hydrozoan (Turritopsis dohrnii) takes several forms. It can survive tough times by collapsing into a blob and then growing back into its youthful, stalklike form. Turritopsis often don't die. They just get young again.

Normally the organisms reproduce like grown-ups with sperm and eggs. In case of emergency, though, a bedeviled bell sinks down and the blob of tissue sticks to a surface below. There Turritopsis’ cells seem to reverse their life stage. When the blob grows again, it becomes the stalklike polyp of its youth and matures into a free-floating bell all over again. LINK

David Gallo On Amazing Sea Creatures

David Gallo shows jaw-dropping footage of amazing sea creatures, including a shape-shifting cuttlefish, a pair of fighting squid, and a mesmerizing gallery of bioluminescent fish that light up the blackest depths of the ocean. He focuses on the work of two scientists: Edith Widder at the Ocean Research & Conservation Association, and Roger Hanlon at the Marine Biological Lab. LINK, Via: Youtube