Much of the ocean is still unexplored. That’s why, whenever we manage to go to an area of the water we’ve never been to before, we’re continually amazed by what we find there. There are all sorts of little critters under the sea, many of which range from beautiful to terrifying.


Earlier this year, a team of scientists went down deep to see just what kind of bizarre creatures they could find. The results were the expected range of “oooh, look at that!” to “dear God what is that?”


In our recounting of this, we’re going to start normal, then get weird. To that end, look at this lobster…


Property of Seamount SE Pacific -  Image Unchanged.


…and these sea urchins…


Property of Seamount SE Pacific -  Image Unchanged.


…and, ooh! Some coral!


Property of Seamount SE Pacific -  Image Unchanged.


Here’s where things get strange. This bright red squid is absolutely terrifying — note its huge, monster-like eyes.


Property of Seamount SE Pacific -  Image Unchanged.


Finally, we get to my favorite: whatever the hell this guy is.



Scientists aren’t sure what this is, but there’s speculation that it’s either a red sea toad or coffinfish. Surprisingly, this dude has already developed quite a fanbase on the internet.





This is only a taste of what the team of scientists, led by Javier Sellanes, discovered in the seamounts along the Nazca and Salas y Gómez Ridge near Chile — in fact, the group claims to have potentially found more than 100 unknown species.


With a little bit more time and funding, let’s hope they can continue to find more strange little fellas for us to enjoy.