The Ocean’s Weirdest Creatures!
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

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 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

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!
Northern Stargazer

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

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

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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COMMENTS1
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
mitt008
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
10lw18
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
ramatu
that is really cool guy isn t it but bye
jake11
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
Guru
Weird but cool
Ern
EPic love wobbegong
Scorpion
cool
Cormac
What a great collection of weird and wonderful things! Loved it.
Seabluescience
i like this
maxx
Wobbegongs are funny!
James
Rocks
Venkatesan
Awesomely awesome awesomely addictive
DAULET719
wierd but cool!
mohamedamin
fablous
jake44556
yay
KhalilahamdMaggie
AWESOME
jake44556
kool
lbug7
that is so cool
Scuba-Diver
I love extraordinary marine life!
SophieW
Wow, these creatures are amazing!
Jarvis
cool animals
jake4455
marine biology yaaaaaaaaaay
Seahorse Sahara
Wow weird anmials
elea
they are weird
ibiz
ASOWMELY WIERD.
Mahier
this is great learning for me
moana
They are so weird and agly some look like rusty rocks
izbiz
awesomeness!!!!
Aoife 4537
Thàts weird
animalfan
there pretty cool
sammm
the northern stargazer is so scary !
Factgirl
When I saw the picture of the angerlerfish I was on the edge of my seat amaze facts awesome
Bobble
Weird i never knew any of these creatures before! ( :
aston
yyyyyyyyyiiiiiiiiiiiiikkkkkkkkkkkksssssss!
lbug7
cool!
Shan
Lovely
Please
I would like some more creatures please
Ellie-Elephant
The Wobbegong is cool
Narva
I always wondered about some weird creatures of the ocean,but now I have seen some so thanks alot
Giomar
cool!
Becky123
Wow
sscooldudess
awsome
Delisha
Its nice but more facts
MC_QUACK
Pretty cool and yet pretty weird!! #Funny
mateo
wow this website is good
seasand
weird!!!
Nishy
A little bit weird but awsome well at least a little bit awsome plus the wobbegong and afialy the most weirdest.
doll
wow
mikel
i didnt know there were so many cool fish
T
Freaky but cool, I repeat freaky but cool
78910
Wow I never knew animals who live under water are amazing
lagops
cool
1000-78_teddy
Where are the sqid facts for the kids
thunderboyz
awsome
Cody123
Very cool
Hemish
Nice learning for school:)
Hemish
Nice learning for school:)
lolkiuj
cool
kristaps
nice history for homework
sebasticus
bit creepy
kadence
weird.. but cool!!!
shivanshi
Intresting
sofe
coolyo but creppy
1234
WOW
12ed
EPIC
12ed
Epic animals :)
Younes
Amazing
Duncan
Weird but wonderful!!!
turtlederp
over the moon be the same crazy animals
Iby
Thats the weirdest thing Ive ever seen in my life.
esperanza
thts sooo cool
dragonhero
Totally crazy
eriana
that was so silly
Ivy4
CRASY WHOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is that the first! WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Olaostra1
Epic and cool
shae
Amazing and freaky.
Saphire
Love underwater sea creatures and how strange they are my favorite animal was the Christmas tree worms and the Red hand fish.
realCookie
new favourite subject. strange creatures in the sea
anna2323454
asome
Nicolette
Crazy!
Break-free
Seriously freaky!
Aaron 123 qwerty
Weird definitely weird
Elfondijo
SO WEIRD!!! my fav is the christmas tree worm!
Elfondijo
dude so awsome
ABC 123
THOSE ARE SOOOOO STRANGE!!!!!!!! THERE LIKE ALIENS!!!!!!!! MY FAVE SEA ANIMAL IS THE SEA HORSE!!!! ( LOL)
NilJaiMil
cool and freaky
Sparkle10
This is so interesting and fun dont you guess think
Sarahe1209
the red hand fish is awesome loveit!!!!!!!!!11
Joe
these cretures are so awsome dude i wish i had one of those fish acittuly i wish i had all of those crusty things
Isabelle
Weird
12344
awsome
sofieke
Amazing creatures of the sea!
lizard14
We are looking at sea life at school the seaweed seahorse one especially interested me!
superkid1111
;-D
Finn
weird no double weird no triple weird no quadruple weird
KATARYAZAN
tHE ANGULAR FISH IS IN nemo! i REALLY ENJOYED THE CHRISTMAS TREE FISH
emmaandlola
this is pretty cool
Brandyboo
This website is AWSOME
Melody99
Learning is AWSOME!
hannah
facts are cool
bethany123leeds
there are some wacky little ugly animals in the sea #wierd ...
imani
some creepy but cool animals the creepiest one was the Wobbegong
mia
cool they are freaky but cool
123PAA456
these creatures are so weird and great at camouflage!:)
ellie-mai
amazing sea critters though never heard of any of them lol :)
Jodie
I think these animals are so cool
Maryam
Cool!
Hemma
This is really cool!
thiscole
cool
thiscole
I think the red hand fish is the coolest but also weird!
thiscole
wow never heared of most of these bizarre creatures
Sophie
I think the animals that I have just seen were amazing. I mean I knew there was fish in the sea but I never knew there were things like that!
BlueBaboon
Awesome!though the stargazer freaked me out a little. Love BlueBaboon xxx
Niamh
I really didnt like them and I really, really, really would not like to bump into one of them in the swimming pool!
arthur
they are so cool I wish I could have one.
jordan
this is so weird
olivia
i love the sea and when i am older i want to be a marine biologist. but these fish have really helped me study. the sea is more than you think but there is nothing to hate about the sea! my adventure is just begining.
Evie
I didnt know there were fish like that in the sea. COOL!!!
bailey
omg these r so cool the angler fish is wicked!!1
Fifi
Red hand fish is so imaginative
Fifi
Its so ugly but cool
turtleshell1000
these are so wacky!!!!!!!!
oliver
they are so weird
SUSIE
Theyre WEIRD!!!!!!!!!!!!!
JoJoCoolBoy123
The pics ars so cool!!! I wish i could be there with you have a good time ok!!!
Sloth123
Epic!!!!!!
viking10573
wow, amazing fish are incredible
Emily
Cool
crazydolphin711
wow!
35i2sa
wow i wish i was a fish
alice
scary
James
Freaky!!!
annailsa
Id really like to learn more about freaky fish!
Violet
LOL!!!
akasha
i love sharks and defiantly MEGALADONS .
testing12
nice fishes
Harvey
cool pictures!!
Topidia
Lol so cool
calum
a dinasaur
CUSTOMIZE YOUR AVATAR