Ready to meet some seriously strange creatures? Things you won’t believe actually exist?! Then take a deep breath and join National Geographic Kids as we dive into the deep to get up close and personal with the ocean’s weirdest wonders…

 

Leafy Sea Dragon

leafy sea dragon

Kangaroo Island, South Australia, Australia. A leafy sea dragon fish.

This may look like your average piece of seaweed but, believe it or not, it’s actually a fish! Found along the southern and western coast of Australia, the leafy sea dragon is a member of the same family as the seahorse – the Syngnathidae family. They grow to around 20-24cm long and feed on plankton and small crustaceans. Moving through the water using their tiny fins, this fab fish”s long, leafy extensions allow it to hide from predators by blending in with seaweed! David Attenborough has said he counts the leafy sea dragon as his favourite animal. Cool, eh?

 

Christmas Tree Worm

christmas tree worm
Christmas Tree Worm (Spirobranchus giganteus) filter feeding while attached to Great Star Coral (Montastraea cavernosa), Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles, Caribbean

Christmas Tree Worms are found on coral reefs in tropical waters around the world. They get their name from the two spiral “plumes” that look just like – yep, you guessed it – Christmas trees! These hair-like tentacles grow from their small, tube-like bodies, and are used for feeding on microscopic plants and for respiration, allowing the worm to breathe. These cool critters come in different colours, including orange, yellow, blue and white!

 

Anglerfish

ocean's strangest creatures anglerfish
Deep sea anglerfish (Diceratias pileatus) uses bioluminescent lure to attract prey. Brought up from a depth of 3,300 feet (1000m) in water intake pipe at Natural Energy Lab of Hawaii, Keahole, Kona, Hawaii

Now here’s a creature that might give you a fright! With its huge head and enormous mouth, these fearsome fish swim in the dark depths of the ocean. Ranging from around 20 centimetres to one metre in length, there are more than 300 species of anglerfish, most of which are found in the Atlantic and Antarctic oceans. So what makes this creature super strange? Well, the female has her own glowing light hanging above her mouth! This luminous flesh attracts unsuspecting prey close to the anglerfish”s sharp, see-through teeth and then…chomp!

 

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Northern Stargazer

northern stargazer
Whitemargin Stargazer, Uranoscopus sulphureus, Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Ever seen a fish that looks like this before? Found mainly off the east coast of the United States, this creepy creature grows to around 50cm long. It has a blackish brown body with white spots on its head, and stripes on its tail. The wacky bit? The northern stargazer’s eyes and nostrils are located on the top of its head, and, unlike most fish, its mouth faces upwards! This cunning critter buries itself in the sand, leaving its eyes poking out. And when an unlucky smaller fish swims by, it rises up and swallows its meal in one big gulp!

 

Red Handfish

ocean's strangest creatures wobbegong red handfish
Red handfish, Thymichthys politus, rare and critically endangered species known only from this area, Southeastern Tasmania, Australia (Photo by: Auscape/UIG via Getty Images)

Rather than swim through the ocean like most of our fishy friends, this cool creature prefers to walk along the seafloor! Found in the waters of southern Australia and Tasmania, it grows to around 15cm long and has skin covered in tooth-like scales, called “denticles”. So why the name “handfish”? Well, these quirky creatures move around the ocean floor using a unique set of fins that look similar to human hands. There are other kinds of handfish, too, including the spotted handfish and the pink handfish.

 

Wobbegong

ocean's strangest creatures wobbegong
Indonesia, Tasselled wobbegong (eucrossorhinus dasypogon) sitting on a rock on the ocean floor.

Meet the Wobbegong, a species of the “carpet shark” family – not the piece of old rug that it may first seem! To find one of these super sharks, you’ll need to explore the tropical waters of the western Pacific Ocean and Indian Ocean. Wobbegongs spend their time resting on the sea floor, camouflaged by their flat, tasseled bodies. There they wait for a tasty treat – including fish, octopuses, crabs and lobsters – to pass their way, before…gulp! Some wobbegongs have also been seen to slowly sneak up on their prey, too, in search of some grub.

Photos: Getty Images UK

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COMMENTS

  • super cool

  • Genevieve

    So cool

  • freg

    woah

  • Incredible. My favourite is the wobbegong

  • Katie

    So cool!

  • ELLIE

  • Hello

  • Eric Hu

    Awesome!

  • Eric Hu

    Awesome!

  • Wow

  • Arianna

  • Ella

    This is super interesting. My favourite one is the Red Handfish.

  • Micah

  • Dolly

    These are super cool!

  • Donidaze

    WHAT? These are crazy. I didn't think they were even real! I researched these creatures on the internet and I saw some of the photos they used. I learnt something new today about fish.

  • Julianna Zarate

    Try your best

  • Gfff

  • Cool

  • Eh

    Cool beans!

  • ERIN

    COOL!

  • Zero

    cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool

  • Kassie

    Cool

  • Jada

    The fish is big it get people

  • Viyan

    Coolest ever!

  • Cool

  • Nicole

  • Yujun

    Cool

  • You set

  • i have seen an anglerfish

  • Samantha

    Cool as creachers my fav is the leafy sea dragon

  • Samantha Gentle

    Cool as creatures I love the Christmas tree worm

  • Jameson

    Coolio

  • attttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt

    creeeeeepy

  • purplesealion

    awesome

  • Reece92

    So cool love the facts

  • epicburger123

    ok

  • epicburger123

    ._.

  • sddvfb

    cool

  • Chevelle

    Its so cool stuf about sea creatures

  • angel dragreages

    these are great facts about animals and helps me with my homework

  • styj

    WHERES THE VIDEO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:(:(:(:(:(:(

  • IndigoRiver

    do ya know out of all the fish in the sea the angler fish is my fav it has been for a long time

  • kirby

    I love these fish!!!

  • Gorwel

    they are very weird and wacky especially the red hand fish it is very funny

  • Taheim Brown

    LOL

  • Calaena

    Magneficent and Breathtaking!!!

  • adsharc

    you put allot of efert in this websight

  • Filly

    This is very interesting

  • hulkbuster

    its owsome

  • OLLY24

    Its AWSOME!!!!

  • ontaria11

    Amazing sea creatures!!!!

  • 1234567890njcgjgjmmhj

    sick

  • Class 4B

    We really like this web page.

  • booooooooooooooooooooooooo

    lol

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    sssssstttttttttttrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaannnnnnngggggggg

  • van

    coool

  • Hans12

    it is cool

  • joemmmmm

    awesome

  • Amber

    Some cool photos

  • Amber

    Cool

  • hart

    Good for my biome

  • hart

    good for my biome

  • Jessier

    That is just the weirdest thing Ive ever read.

  • Grace lola -9

    They look amazing!

  • BIGBADWOLFENDY

    Huh? these things are rally STRANGE… X-D

  • CHEDHLI

    spectacular!

  • joshua 2227777

    yay

  • joshua 2227777

    awsome

  • 23ty23ty

    lol

  • Shopiey

    Yeh cool

  • KarmelKitkat

    I like NG Kids! Thanks for the facts! I could write some down on paper for School :D but the Nothern Stargazer scared me tho!

  • gfudgwie

    really awesome I love it

  • Gecko_lover_XD

    LOL

  • aryplayz331

    THESE ARE THE WEIRDEST CREATURES IVE EVER SEEN!1!!!!!!!!!!

  • tandon

    asom

  • Girl-1

    Completely AWESOME!!

  • Lars

    The nothern stargazer looks freaky but all of them are amazing!

  • keiraf41

    its great and silly at the same time

  • slugterra

    coooooooooooooollllll

  • Social

    Wicked

  • Iwan

    I thought it was amazing to see such weird fish and sea creatures all on one national geographic page it was bliss!

  • the top man 111

    this is banter and just mad

  • RAINBOWDRAGON

    AMAZING these animals are freaking me out!

  • RAINBOWDRAGON

    AMAZING! These creatures freak me out a lot!

  • natt

    the northern stargazer is creepy x10

  • rainbows

    they look but ugly

  • cdxfvghhb

    MAJOR COOL GUY!

  • Littlemouseathome

    Never new that but now I do !!!!

  • MIless

    COOL

  • MrFrog-246

    cool I love it!!!:) The Red Hand fish is the weirdest and the BEST!!

  • skyla21

    I found this very interesting because i didnt even know any of them even existed! I would love to see more curious looking creatures and know much more about them all.

  • lily

    cool

  • SeaMan

    I Like This Website!

  • ACAK9

    That was amazing all the different pictures and the facts make it sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo interesting

  • ggggg

    nice

  • petra

    I am a witch.

  • Lor

    wow

  • ghgh

    Cool!!

  • Oski

    Awesome!!

  • dogesmasher177

    *shivers* some of them are gross

  • kiera999

    seahorse is my favorite!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Supersquid59

    Woah!

  • S

    Wow

  • S

    Wow

  • BOBnbjhgfbhdiof

    epic

  • oceanico

    amazing and totally wierd

  • TheGoldenwolf76

    Weird

  • LiaSellyei

    Thanks for the great information and pics! :-)

  • KingL90

    this is cool

  • kiddietigerbare111

    These creatures are sooooooooooo cool! Thanks National geographic kids for giving me more information!

  • Ssundee

    Soooooo SICK

  • omgloveit

    i love this site!!!

  • Yuck8

    Great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Maxinemarianesleta

    By the way the hand fish is not the cause of evolution

  • Maxinemarianesleta

    Ok my thoughts on the red hand fish some people think that might be the cause of evolution but for it is not

  • 70saintspider

    Save the sharks

  • Happy halo333

    Lovely helped me a lot

  • freddybfhvcf

    I love sea creatures

  • poppys

    thanks allot for the facts

  • poppys

    wow wow wow thanks for the facts National Geographics

  • dareeya

    I love it so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!$$$$$

  • nooba

    Thats weird

  • nooba

    Soooooooooo! weird!

  • Grace bastable

    I love this lol

  • Grace bastable

    I learnt so much!!!!! Thanks

  • Evangeline145

    So amazing! Wow!

  • eric

    poop

  • Ethan-L

    Awesome

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    cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool c

  • Sharky5

    These are the most dorkiest creatures ever.

  • Jackson

    Booooo

  • Jackson

    Lol

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    that is really cool guy isn t it but bye

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    nous

  • Aasil Khawaja

    Aasil Khawaja

  • alex

    sooo cool and woow and cool a nd wow and soooo wooooooooooow

  • EpicNature

    Thats Cool!

  • kyleene

    wow IT IS AMAZING i did`ent know there were so many diffrent animals under the sea

  • Abilovesanimal

    COOOLLL!!!

  • the_lion_king_

    cool I did not know most of them existed until now thank you for showing :) :0 :1 :I

  • Hogs123

    Lol

  • FreyaC193

    cool!

  • ARYAH

    WOW

  • ARYAH

    WOW

  • ARYAH

    WOW

  • ARYAH

    WOW

  • NGkids

    You should include blowfish, its funny!

  • Cessie

    Awesome!

  • amiie

    cool

  • keeley

    AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • amiie

    AWESOME

  • keeley

    COOL

  • Ssssss

    Cool

  • adison

    so awesome

  • jake445566

    noys

  • #Cool_dude117

    Elephant weigh as much as a blue Wales tongue

  • Killerbert246

    LoL

  • isiah

    so freak me out i wet my pants

  • Catalin

    Very awesome legendary

  • chiaanimalfan

    they are really wierd but awesome!

  • 123896GO

    SO COOL !

  • noodle

    wow! i never knew so much about the sea!

  • jackkinka

    looks cool

  • EllieAlice

    A and E;I liked the fish with legs it was silly!!!

  • Q

    Wow cool

  • Kennan

    This is amazing...and creepy!

  • Kennan

    This is amazing...and creepy!

  • nlap

    wow

  • koke

    cool

  • Edwin Marquez

    My favorite!

  • fynn

    i love the angler fish.

  • wilber351

    CRAZY!

  • DJB

    Cool!

  • Pig-Lover123

    it kinda freaked me out, but I have seen a jelly fish the size of 2 double decker buses before! I never knew that the ocean had such amazing creatures in it!!!

  • Peachy

    I never knew the ocean was so weird and wonderful!

  • connor11

    cool