-
Narwhals
The narwhal was first dicovered by Europeans by a scientist named Tulpius while he was studying another species. For a long time, their tusks were sold as unicorn horns,. Nowadays the narwhal is an iconic animal amongst young people, and a mysterious creature that is still being studied among biologists. -
Oarfish
Washed on shore in Bermuda, this 16 foot fish was originally thought to be a sea serpent. Since they float to the surface when they die, their bodies caused many myths amongst sailers, explorers and other sea-farers. -
Coelocanth
Originally thought to be extinct, this "living fossil" was found of the coast of madagascar --alive-- in a fisherman's net. The coelocanth even displays some attributes only otherwise found in extinct species of fish. This lobe-finned fish is thought to be the "in between" step in the evolution of fish into land animals. -
Garden Eel (Gorgasia hawaiiensis)
A new species of garden eel was dicovered 100m north of Waawaa point on the Kona Coast, Hawai'i by J. E. Randall and J. R. Chess. Most species of garden eels wre discovered by SCUBA diving, and this species is believed to be found only in Hawai'i. It is a lot like species found in the Phillipines, but with a shorter tail and scattered teeth in stead of neat rows. -
Carnivorous Harp Sponge
Discovered in a shallow cave in the medditeranean by Jean Vacelet and Nicole Boury-Esnault, from the Centre of Oceanology at France’s Aix-Marseille University, this sponge actually eats small fish and crustaceans instead of absorbing bacteria and organic particles. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute used ROVs to study them in their usual habitat off the coast of california. -
Pacific Barreleye (AKA spookfish)
Thepacific barreleye, commonly known as the spookfish, gets its names from its eyes, which it can move around inside of its transparent head. Its eyes, as well as its smell organs, are not actually very accute. The spookfish was discovered with an ROV at more than 2000 feet deep. -
Frilled Shark
Although it normally lives in waters 5000 feet deep, the frilled shark was discovered by a fisherman in Japan, where it had swam to the surface beacause of it's weak condition. The shark, considered a living fossil, was brought to Awashima Marine Park, but unfortunatley it died later anyways. -
Flabby whalefish
New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research recently discovered a new deep-sea fish at 2.3km deep. Not many other fish live at that depth, but several stations captured images of this creature. Their lack of ribs is what makes them look "flabby", but as it is a very newly dicovered species, little else is known about it. -
Two-Toned Slickhead
The two tone slickhead was caught and discovered by Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute 2.4km below the surface, off the coast of New Zealand. The slickhead is one of only ten species of fish in the world with a curved beak-like jaw. This incredible find was donated to a museum in Wellington, where it can be studied and stored in the National Fish Collection -
Young Skate
Several young skate were caught by New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research east of New Zealand. The species is rarely seen because of how deep it lives, but it was caught with 66 foot wide nets that took 3 hours to bring back up.
