00:00The Stonefish
00:02Stonefish aren't going to win any beauty contests,
00:07unless the pageant is for best rock look-alike.
00:10Their tiny, unreflective eyes and rough skin
00:13blend in perfectly with their environment.
00:15A large head, an even bigger mouth,
00:18and a home full of, yeah, it's rocks.
00:21And just because you're on the beach
00:23doesn't mean you're safe.
00:25Stonefish can survive for 24 hours out of the water.
00:29Stepping on one, or even handling one, won't be that fun.
00:33Their dorsal fin spines have extremely strong venom.
00:37It shoots out when they get stepped on,
00:39and it can lead to paralysis or even heart failure.
00:42You'll need help fast.
00:44No wonder they're one of the most dangerous creatures in the water,
00:47or anywhere.
00:49Be careful when scrambling around rocky areas.
00:52They love to play hide-and-seek.
00:55The Deep Sea Dragonfish
00:58If there were a prize for the most hideous fish in the ocean,
01:02the Deep Sea Dragonfish would win.
01:05With slimy, scaleless skin,
01:07massive teeth,
01:08and a face only a mother could love,
01:11this bad boy of the sea is nothing to mess with.
01:14It likes to swim between 700 feet
01:16and 6,000 feet below the surface of the ocean,
01:19where the waters are the darkest and coldest.
01:22Along with some other creatures on this list,
01:24the Deep Sea Dragonfish relies on its bioluminescent body parts to catch prey.
01:30It also uses its hanging appendage,
01:33which boasts a little red light on the end,
01:36coming out from its lower jaw.
01:38Many fish mistake this little light for prey,
01:41luring them right into the jaws of the Deep Sea Dragonfish.
01:44Very clever, Dragonfish.
01:46Very clever indeed.
01:47The Fang Tooth
01:50The Mariana Trench is an underwater trench with a depth of 35,000 feet,
01:57nearly 7 miles below the ocean's surface.
02:01Let that sink in.
02:02While scientists know the Mariana Trench exists,
02:05it's one of the least explored places on Earth.
02:08It's also the deepest area of Earth's oceans.
02:11And although many creatures down there probably haven't even been seen by humans yet,
02:16scientists have had the creepy pleasure of getting to know the Fang Tooth.
02:21The Fang Tooth fish shamelessly lives up to its name.
02:25Just look at that thing.
02:27The Fang Tooth is carnivorous,
02:29and feeds on just about anything it can find
02:31that gets caught in its sharp-toothed mouth.
02:34These fish rely on their contact chemo reception to find prey.
02:38In other words, they can sense chemical residue
02:42that comes off of other living organisms in the deep sea.
02:45This is because they don't have any light-producing cells on their bodies,
02:49unlike many other deep-sea fish.
02:52On top of all that, it's pretty dark down there,
02:55so whatever crosses their path, they chomp on.
02:58While these guys look pretty scary,
03:00they're not a threat to humans.
03:02They only grow about 7 inches long.
03:05Even so, I wouldn't want to run into one of these things
03:08during a relaxing swim in the ocean.
03:12The Dunkleosteus
03:13Strangely enough, this prehistoric fish,
03:18known as the T-Rex of the seas,
03:20had no teeth.
03:22Those were replaced with bony plates
03:24that allowed it to have the strongest bite
03:26among other monsters of its size.
03:30The Goblin Shark
03:31If you thought the movies about sharks were scary,
03:36this next deep-sea creature will make you swear off
03:38going for dips in the ocean forever.
03:41However, it lives 3,000 feet underwater,
03:44so you'll never likely see it face-to-face.
03:47The Goblin Shark
03:49looks like a cross between a shark
03:51and a creature from your worst nightmare.
03:53These sharks boast a protruding sword-like snout
03:56with a jaw that juts out to match.
03:59Unlike other sharks that have more of a gray hue,
04:03this creepy thing looks not so pretty in pink.
04:06Aside from their scary demeanor,
04:08what do scientists really know about the Goblin Shark?
04:11Well, not much,
04:13except that they can grow up to 18 feet in length.
04:16Looks like there's still a lot to learn about these guys,
04:19if you dare to.
04:22By the way,
04:23did you know that sharks don't sleep?
04:25Many species have to keep water moving over their gills to get oxygen,
04:30so they can't fall into a deep sleep like we do.
04:33That's why they stay half-awake during rest.
04:36Typically, sharks don't even close their eyes.
04:39The Cookie Cutter Shark
04:42This shark is a living horror,
04:46with lower teeth being big and sharp,
04:48while the upper ones are much smaller.
04:51When its teeth fall off,
04:53the shark eats them to maintain calcium levels.
04:56Pretty smart solution for a shark.
04:59The Frilled Shark
05:01Studying the frilled shark
05:04is like looking through a portal back to prehistoric times.
05:07That's because scientists think
05:09that these eel-like sharks
05:11haven't changed much
05:12since their oldest ancestors roamed the deep sea waters.
05:16So, they're sometimes referred to as living fossils.
05:20These sharks' mouths
05:21are filled with a terrifying 25 rows
05:23of backward-facing sharp teeth.
05:26300 in total!
05:28They're designed to grasp prey
05:30and hold them tight so they can't get away,
05:32according to early studies of the shark
05:34conducted in 1884
05:36and published in
05:37The Bulletin of the Essex Institute.
05:40Luckily for swimmers,
05:41the frilled sharks
05:42lived between 390 feet
05:45and 4,200 feet
05:46below the ocean's surface.
05:48So, they'll probably never run into them.
05:51Probably.
05:52This is probably the worst nightmare
05:54of any dentist.
05:55The Northern Stargazer
05:57Take a look at this cutie.
06:01The Northern Stargazer
06:02is definitely not something
06:04you'd wish to see on the ocean floor.
06:07This horrid creature
06:08hides its body under the sand,
06:10leaving its face above
06:11to wait for prey.
06:15The Tasseled Wobagong
06:17Here's another carpet shark on our list.
06:22It lies low on the bottom of the sea
06:24and patiently waits for its prey
06:26to come by.
06:28The Australian Ghost Shark
06:30The Australian Ghost Shark
06:33isn't really even a shark,
06:35but a very bony fish.
06:37It's also a living fossil.
06:39It hasn't changed
06:40within the last 400 million years.
06:44Believe it or not,
06:45sharks and humans
06:47have a common ancestor
06:48that lived around 440 million years ago.
06:51Even though we both evolved
06:53in our own way,
06:54there are still some signs
06:56of that connection.
06:57For example,
06:58the genome of an elephant shark
07:00is very similar to humans.
07:04The Leopleurodon
07:06This list of terrifying creatures
07:09would be incomplete
07:10without mentioning
07:11the terrifying and prehistoric
07:14Leopleurodon.
07:15This carnivorous marine reptile
07:18existed during the Colovian stage
07:20of the Middle Jurassic era
07:22and ruled the waters
07:23at 9 feet in length.
07:25Scientists believe
07:26Leopleurodon thrived
07:28in this deep-sea trench
07:29because of its ability
07:30to swim long distances
07:32and its four paddle-like limbs.
07:35While they probably
07:36weren't able to propel themselves
07:38toward prey
07:38like other animals of the area,
07:40they did manage to accelerate
07:42and attack very ruthlessly
07:44and efficiently.
07:45Additionally,
07:46they relied on their long snouts
07:48to smell prey,
07:50which leads scientists
07:51to believe
07:51they didn't rely on sight
07:53for hunting.
07:54This means
07:55they could have thrived
07:56in the dark Mariana Trench.
07:59Around 150 million years ago,
08:02Leopleurodon became extinct
08:04due to competition for prey
08:06against other thriving marine reptiles.
08:08And I think I speak for all of us
08:10when I say,
08:11thank goodness for that.
08:13Considering that scientists
08:16have only explored
08:175% of the ocean floor
08:19and found some of the scariest
08:20sea creatures imaginable,
08:22one can only dream
08:23of what other animals
08:25reside in the deep-sea waters.
08:27Perhaps it's best
08:28to keep them in your imagination.
08:30Am I right?
08:32The Megamouth Shark
08:34This shark is a filter feeder
08:37and it's friendly to humans,
08:39although its huge mouth
08:40can look quite threatening.
08:42Like basking sharks,
08:44it swims with its mouth
08:46constantly wide open,
08:47as if it were on Twitter.
08:50The Gulper Eel
08:52This deep-sea eel
08:54has an easily distended belly
08:56that allows it to swallow prey
08:58twice its size
08:59in a single monstrous bite.
09:01They have very unusual jaw shapes
09:03and can reach about
09:052 to 3 feet in length.
09:08Do you see that large log
09:10near the ocean floor?
09:12Maybe it's part of an old ship.
09:14Treasure, gold, diamonds.
09:16I'm rich!
09:17Well, as you get closer,
09:19you notice something.
09:20It's swimming!
09:21It's not a shark or a dolphin.
09:23It's a saltwater crocodile!
09:26Now, don't panic.
09:28If you bump into
09:29one of these reptiles in the sea,
09:31it's unlikely
09:32it'll think of you as food.
09:34Crocodiles have a special valve
09:35in their throat
09:36that stops them
09:37from drowning underwater.
09:38But that doesn't mean
09:40they can't bite!
09:42Usually,
09:43they're heading
09:44to a nearby island,
09:45and the quickest way there
09:46is to body surf.
09:48They can't really
09:49take the ferry, you know.
09:51Watching one from a distance
09:52should be okay.
09:54Just don't swim
09:54to shore right away.
09:55They love to ambush
09:57their lunch
09:58in shallow water.
09:59If there's one time
10:00I'd want to see
10:01a great white shark,
10:03it's when I'm diving
10:04with crocodiles.
10:05They'll gladly take
10:06a crocodile-sized nibble,
10:08given the right motivation.
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