This article was originally published on Kueez
We know more about the moon than what is in our oceans. The lowest depths of Earth's waters prevent us from discovering many more creatures, ecosystems, and who knows what else could be living down there. The bottom of the ocean is no place for a human, but somehow, under the harshest circumstances, there is life, and it is thriving. We have items made by man that found their way to the seabed to creatures that might as well be aliens. Get ready to dive in and see what is lurking in the darkest of waters!
This Truck Never Made It To The Road
It might come as a surprise to you, but trucks and other vehicles are a common find at the bottom of the ocean. They didn't drive off a cliff or anything like that, but they tend to fall off the cargo ships that carry them. Although many sunken trucks are rescued or pulled out, some are left on the seabed, waiting for a visitor to find them. Imagine you are swimming in the ocean, and you come across this giant six-wheeler.
This truck never had its opportunity to drive on the road, but it did find a permanent home underwater. As you can see, it's still standing intact, almost looking ready to be driven on the seabed.
A Sunken Treasure From Thousands of Years Ago
If you are lucky, the next time you go swimming in the ocean, you might find a sunken treasure that was lost thousands of years ago. This specific treasure was carried on a merchant's vessel 3400 years ago and sunk in the Mediterranean Sea, near the coast of Turkey. Here's an interesting fact for you, there are more artifacts in the bottom of the ocean than in every museum combined.
We don't know about you, but we are getting our diving gear to explore what else is out there in the waters. You might come back to the water's surface a lot richer than when you were diving down.
Beware Of The Goblin Shark When You Swim In The Deep
This creature is called a Goblin shark, and it lives in the deeper parts of the ocean, making it visible only to well-trained divers. The shark's lineage dates back 125 million years ago, and it has been an ugly and terrifying fixture in the bottom of the ocean ever since. Today this type of species is rare, and honestly? We're happy to keep it that way. We wouldn't want to swim in the ocean and find ourselves face-to-face with this gnarly fella.
Luckily, as we said, it lives only at the bottom of the ocean, so the chance of meeting it is like the seabed itself. It is low.
An Underwater Population Of Mexican Human Statues
Off the coast of Cancun, Mexico, if you are willing to dive deep into the Caribbean Sea, you will find this remarkable sculpture park. Accessible to any diver, more than 500 statues stand still on the seabed. The park became a tourist attraction for visitors from all over the globe, who, much like us, are fascinated with this underwater population of statues. This park should definitely go on anyone's bucket list.
The craftsmanship it took to make these statues is blowing our minds. They look so real, like they were simply taking a casual stroll underwater.
The Underwater Jesus Accepts You For You Are
Get ready for a religious experience. Italian sculptor, Guido Galletti, created this sculpture of Jesus raising his arms to the sky, but unfortunately, in 1956, the sculpture sunk near Portofino, in the Italian Riviera. The sculpture's discovery only happened decades later when a group of divers accidentally found it. Today, our underwater Jesus is surrounded by aquatic friends, fish, and other ocean wildlife and turning into a reef covered with corals.
Underwater Jesus is waiting for anyone who wants to visit him, and with his arms open, he welcomes everyone. Surprisingly, this sculpture of Jesus isn't the only one in the ocean.
This Red Lipped Batfish Looks Like It's Angry
This weird creature is called a Red Lipped Batfish, and it lives on the ocean's floor. It gets its name from one bold feature. Can you guess what it is? If you said it's their bright red, perfect lipstick shade of lips, you are correct. Typically, you can find them between 30 and 60 feet underwater, but they can be found even deeper than that.
Here is a surprising fact. The red-lipped batfish doesn't have legs. What you're seeing in the image, are fins which the fish uses to stand on and to take a look around.
Ships Sink A Lot More Than You Think
We're not trying to scare you, but the truth is there are a lot of sunken ships scattered across the seafloor. It happens a lot. For example, take this ship that sunk deep down in the Atlantic ocean near the Bahamas. This sunken ship could have been a result of the Bermuda Triangle's curse, or it was simply bad weather that brought it down to its watery demise.
This ship will probably remain where it is right now for the rest of time, so you might want to think about visiting the area and diving down there to see it for yourself.
You Can Only Board This Plane With A Scuba Mask
In the waters of Oahu, Hawaii, you will find this F4U Corsair that went crashing down into the deep sea after its fuel ran out in 1946. Almost eight decades later, this plane is still there, only now it's covered with corals and is surrounded by marine wildlife. Just the fact this plane still is standing underwater and has become part of the scenery makes for a great reason to dive down and explore it.
If you're wondering what happened to the plane's pilot, do not worry. His remains aren't sitting there in the cockpit. He landed his plane on the water and swam safely to the shore.
Relaxing Underwater With This Polynesian Moai Statue
Take out your cameras because you will want to take a selfie with this guy. You will find him waiting for you near Easter Island, deep underwater, resting at the bottom of the sea. Its origin isn't clear, from rumors saying this statue is a prop from a 1994 film named Rapa Nui directed by Kevin Reynolds, or it is a prop for a Chilean television series. Either way, it will look good on camera.
Today, the statue has become part of the scenery, with coral and seaweed growing on top of it. Both beginners and experienced divers can go down and see this breathtaking Moai statue.
Egyptian History Can Be Found Underwater Too
The ancient Egyptian city of Heracleion was submerged underwater and was lost for nearly 1200 years until divers managed to find it. One of the artifacts, near the city's new underwater location, was an Egyptian tombstone, along with many more items. The tombstone was carved with Egyptian hieroglyphics and designed beautifully. In the depths of the ocean, we can discover unbelievable things. It includes part of history we thought was lost forever.
The lost city's artifacts are now on display around the globe in various museums and are open for public view. It might be worth checking your city's museums, as they might happen to have an artifact from Heracleion.
Pirate Ships Don't Just Float Above Water, They Sink Too
Another item you can find underwater is this staggering pirate ship. These ships would travel between piers and islands and wreak havoc where ever they went. It is safe to assume it was a joyous occasion for a pirate ship to sink deep into the ocean. Usually, a pirate's ship would hold coins, gold, jewels, and other valuable items in its cargo, creating a substantial treasure to find. Divers found one on a sunken pirate's ship in Columbia in 2015, worth billions.
That's right. A pirate treasure worth billions of dollars. Somewhere between 10 to 20 billion dollars. Who is up to dive in with us for a treasure hunt?
Neapolis, A Roman City Taken Over By Tsunami
When you swim underwater, you expect to see sea creatures, or maybe a reef, but those don't compare to an actual underwater city. This next unbelievable underwater find is the entire city of Neapolis, which got submerged underwater being hit by a tsunami nearly 1600 years ago. Neapolis was rediscovered only in 2017 off the coast of North Africa, close to Tunisia. Does this remind anyone of another lost city that drowned in water?
For thousands of years, people told their children stories of cities submerged in the ocean. Atlantis might ring a bell. There are also Harecleion, Atalit-Yam, Pavlopetri, and as we now know, Neapolis.
All Aboard The Underwater Train, Final Destination Is The Ocean
New Jersey is probably the last place you would think of when you want to go diving in the ocean, but we have a surprise for you. You can not only scuba dive in Long Branch, New Jersey, but you can visit this underwater graveyard for trains. No one is sure how these trains managed to find their way to the bottom of the ocean. If you're looking for a great spot to explore, this might be it.
The trains are located about 90 feet below the water surface and are dated back to a hundred years ago! Today, the trains are covered with coral growing on them, creating a stunning feature on the seabed.
This Fantastical Creature Is Not All That Fantastic
We have here a Pink See-Through Fantasia, and it is a sea cucumber. Its home is in the deeper parts of the Celebes Sea in the western Pacific, east of Borneo. This sea cucumber remained hidden underwater until the year 2007 when scientists discovered it. The Pink See-Through Fantasia lives up to its name, as it is completely see-through, and you can see all its organs through its sheer body: its mouth, intestines, and anus.
This creature has a unique tactic to help it ward off predators. It uses bioluminescence, making this creature somewhat magical. When it senses danger, it emits light that scares off its attackers.
Tanks Find Their Way To The Bottom Of The Sea Too
In certain areas around the world, finding tanks underwater is quite common. On the coasts of England, The Philippines, and others, abandoned tanks have become popular sites for divers. Many of them fell off from cargo ships carrying them during wartime, while others are dropped in the water on purpose, to create an underwater playground for trained divers for example. A tank at the bottom of the ocean might look strange, but it makes for a one-of-a-kind experience.
Tanks have existed for about 100 years, but you will be shocked to find out the number of tanks currently in the water, simply rotting away.
The Titanic's Final Resting Place In The Atlantic Ocean
We had to include the most famous sunken ship in history, the Titanic. On its maiden voyage, the Titanic sunk in the Atlantic ocean after hitting an iceberg in 1912, resulting in the loss of more than 1500 lives of crew members and passengers. The Titanic is still there at the bottom of the ocean, broken into two pieces, where it went down almost 110 years ago.
We believe divers would love to visit this ship because of its size and options to explore inside it. Also, we have news for you, in 2022, a new boat named Titanic II will set sail for the first time. Would you buy a ticket?
Unfortunately, The Ocean Is Filled With Massive Pollution Too
Pollution is destroying our planet. We all know this. Right now, there are millions of dollars worth of garbage piling up on the ocean's floor. It harms not only marine life and the ecosystem, but it hurts humans too. Divers know first-hand, there are more than just treasures and wonders waiting in the deep. You will find plastic bags, containers, bottles, and the sheer amount only seems to grow each year, with no sign of slowing down.
The ocean is home to many living creatures, and it's crucial to our planet's survival. We need to do better to prevent the pollution from getting any worse.
The Ancient City Of Pavlopetri Is Located At The Bottom Of The Ocean
We've mentioned this city earlier, so it's time to explore it some more. The Greek city of Pavlopetri was submerged more than 5000 years ago and was lost until 1967, when Dr Nicholas Flemming, a marine geo-archaeologist discovered it. It is the oldest underwater city found, and according to several scholars and researchers, served as the primary inspiration for the well-known story of Atlantis. The city has 9000 square feet consisting of buildings, streets, and pathways.
To this day, the reason behind the city's fall into the oceans' depth has yet to be determined. No one has a clue what happened. They might never be an answer to what happened to the city of Pavlopetri.
Billionaire Goes Deep Underwater To Retrieve Parts Of Apollo 11
Who hasn't heard of Apollo 11? The NASA shuttle that brought the first humans to the moon in 1969. You're probably asking yourself, what does a space shuttle have to do with the ocean? The answer is its booster engines. They detached from the shuttle and landed at the bottom of the sea. An important piece of human history was left down there, unbothered for decades, deep underwater. Luckily, Jeff Bezos wanted to find them.
The world-renowned billionaire and his team went on a secret recovery expedition and used expensive deep sonar equipment. Their finds were unbelievable. They have located hundreds of components from Apollo 11.
The Peacock Mantis Shrimp Loves To Punch Other Creatures
Meet the Peacock Mantis Shrimp, which you can find in the Indian and Tropical Western Pacific oceans. Don't let the cutest name in the world fool you. This underwater creature is known for quite literally packing a punch. It uses its two front appendages to punch its prey. A study performed by Oceana, the international ocean preservation advocacy group, discovered this creature's punch is one of the fastest movements in living beings.
Their punch movement is so fast it can break an aquarium's glass wall. So if you come near this creature, try not to get on its bad side. You wouldn't want to lose your teeth from their punches.
A Frogfish Looks Like A Coral Reef
Next, we have a Frogfish, which is a type of anglerfish. Their appearance resembles that of a coral reef, they look like sponges or algae-covered rocks. They come in a variety of colors and even textures. They use their appearance as an advantage when they mimic a poisonous sea slug to ward off any predators. We can't believe this thing exists. The bottom of the ocean sure keeps a lot hidden from us, including this little fella.
These fish are so interesting and bizarre. Even though they can swim, they walk on their pectoral fins. Thanks to evolution, their fins look like tiny arms, with a joint resembling an elbow.
The Ribbon Eel Is Waiting For You In The Ocean
What we have here is a ribbon eel, also known as the leaf-nosed moray eel. You can find it in the waters of East Africa, Southern Japan, Australia, and French Polynesia. They start their lives all black, with a pale yellow stripe on their fins. As they grow, they change their colors to bright blue and yellow. As long as these eels don't electrocute us, we would be happy to dive underwater and meet them.
They are protandric hermaphrodites, which means they live their lives as more than one sex. Throughout their lives, these eels change from male to female a few times.
The Frilled Shark Is A Very Old Creature
You need to stay alert when you dive underwater and travel down to the bottom of the sea. If you're in certain regions of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, then you might come face-to-face with this nasty-looking monster. This creature is called a frilled shark, and that's because of its gills that have a frilly appearance. It is considered a living fossil because of its primitive shape, color, and movement.
Although not a serpent or an eel, this shark moves in a serpentine motion. Don't worry about being eaten by it though, because its diet consists of squids eaten whole.
The Holidays Season Is Upon Us With A Christmas Tree Worm
If you travel to Lizard Island, by the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, you might stumble onto this creature, named a Christmas tree worm. Their home is usually inside a coral, and once they have settled in, they don't go anywhere else. Their bright colors are easy to notice. When they feel threatened, they retract their radioles, which are hair-like appendages covering the tree-like crowns. We would love to take a picture with them underwater.
These creatures stay permanently in their place once they find a home, whether it's a burrow on a coral or clam. They will not move to find another place unless they absolutely have to.
In The Vast Open Sea, You Will Find The Squid Worm
The squid worm gets its name for its squid-like appearance, so no surprise there. It's a worm that has 10 appendages that resemble tentacles. Researchers found it in 2007, in the Coral Triangle, an area between Indonesia and The Philippines. They found that the squid worm feeds on marine snow, a term for debris falling from the open waters above.
There are probably so many creatures at the bottom of the ocean, and it is safe to assume we don't know half of them. Think about this creature. Scientists found him only recently. Who knows what else is down there?
It's Time For You To Meet A Giant Isopod
These crustaceans were discovered in 1879 in the Gulf of Mexico by French zoologist Alphonse Milne-Edwards. In 2010, a giant isopod measuring 2.5 feet was discovered. Their large size is due to their habitat in deep ocean waters and their need to survive the extreme pressure at the bottom of the ocean. Luckily, you might never see this creature, as they live far, far away from humans.
They reside in the darkest corners of the ocean, about 7000 feet below, and unless you have a remotely operated vehicle, we doubt you will come face-to-face with this terrifying creature.
The Nudibranch's Home Anywhere In The World
This little guy is called a Nudibranch. It is a sea slug, and you can find it basically anywhere in the world. It resides in shallow water, deep water, the North Pole, the South Pole, and tropical areas. They are versatile creatures. They do not have a shell, which forces them to have other defense tactics in nature. They either use camouflage to blend into the scenery or use bright colors that contrast each other to warn off predators.
There are two kinds of Nudibranch. Dorid nudibranchs have smooth feather-like gills in their back that allow them to breathe. The second kind is Aeolid nudibranchs, who use a different organ on their back for breathing called cerata.
The Angel Of The Sea Isn't A Heavenly Creature
A sea angel is a predatory sea snail. This creature you see before you is living in the freezing waters of the Antarctic and feeds on smaller snails. These creatures got their name because of how they move around in the water. They flutter around with their fins, which resemble a wing, and propel themselves in the water, making them look like they are flying. They are also semi-translucent, and it gives them a heavenly appearance.
They aren't just male or female. They are protandrous hermaphrodites, as we learned earlier, which means they change their sex. They start as a male and change into females later in life.
You Want To Avoid The Gulper Eel
The Gulper eel, also known as a pelican eel, is known for its wide mouth and jaw that resembles a pelican's. They rely on this advantage to swallow their prey whole. However, don't go thinking they eat humans. Their diet consists of mostly little creatures like crustaceans. They live in extreme depths, ranging from 500 to 6000 feet, and you can find them in every tropical area in the world.
Unfortunately, we don't know enough about this eel because of where they reside. The only specimens we can examine are the result of them getting caught in deep-sea fishing nets.
The Marrus Orthocanna Is One Big Happy Family
These creatures can be found in freezing deep waters, somewhere between 650 and 2600 feet below the surface. They reside in the deepest parts of the Anaractic, pacific, and Mediterranean, meaning you really can't go down there and see them for yourself. They have survived the most extreme climate in the depth. They begin their lives as an egg, and once it is fertilized and hatches, it finds others like it to form a colony.
These creatures do everything together once they form a colony. They hunt for prey using sting cells in which produce toxins that can paralyze or kill. Their food sources are decapods and other smaller crustaceans.
No One Is Sure What This Thing Really Is
Meet the Munnopsis Isopod crustacean. Besides its living in deep southern ocean waters, the fact that they've been around for about 300 million years, give or take, there isn't much information about them. We know they have no backbones, but they do have seven pairs of legs. We also know they are related to the pill bug that resides on land. These creatures live their lives quietly in the cold waters. It's how they like it.
They are about 10,000 species of isopods, and they are very diverse. They live up in the mountains, in the scorching desert, and of course, in the chilly depths of the ocean.
This Snail Is Protected From Any Harm
This creature is called a Chrysomallon squamiferum. Now that's a mouthful! They live in the depths of the Indian ocean above three known hydrothermal vents, so they like the warmer waters. They have survived impossible living conditions because those vents exude searing temperatures, high pressure, high levels of acidity, and low oxygen. These snails don't eat anything, too. They rely on energy produced by bacteria, to which they act as a host.
They have a few other names, such as scaly foot snail and the sea pangolin. Lastly, their multilayered shell structure has inspired the design of airplane hulls and military equipment.
We Need A Catchy Name For The Bioluminescent Octopus
The Stauroteuthis syrtensis octopus, also named the glowing sucker octopus, lives in the North Atlantic ocean. The depths you will need to go to meet them are about 1600 to 13000 feet. If you ask us, it's probably not worth how cold it gets there. Each of their arms has about 40 suckers, but they lost their ability to suck. Don't feel too bad for them because those suckers became light-producing organs.
This species is one of the few known octopus that can use bioluminescence, and it uses its light-producing organs to fool creatures, and lure them into swimming right into its mouth.
A Colorful Surprise Coming From A Snail
Here we have the flamingo Tongue Snail. It lives on coral reefs in the Caribbean and tropical western Atlantic. Its vivid colors and pattern don't come from the shell itself. They come from live soft tissue which covers over the snail's shell. When the snail feels threatened, it retracts that tissue inside and reveals the bland and colorless shell underneath. Their food is mainly soft corals. They crawl over the coral and eat its soft tissues, leaving behind only a coral's skeleton.
It has a unique defense mechanism of incorporating chemicals from its prey to its soft tissue. It provides them a chemical defense against predators. Also, the snail's bright colors act as a warning of poison to its predators.
Count Dracula's Pet Is A Vampire Squid
We have reached the end of our list! Our last introduction to the wonders you can find at the bottom of the ocean is the vampire squid. It is not a vampire and, believe it or not, is not a squid either. Scientists concluded the creature to be a completely different animal. Their home is the darkest place you can imagine, somewhere between 2000 to 3000 feet below the surface.
The vampire squid might be the most harmless creature on this list. It doesn't have poison or venom, and it doesn't eat live animals. They eat marine snow. Yes, they eat debris that peacefully falls from the surface.