The Depths

"Ocean is more ancient than the mountains, and freighted with the memories and the dreams of Time." - H. P. Lovecraft

One of the greatest fears of humanity is the unknown, and what is more unknown then the place that makes up 71% of planet? Well- to put the sheer mystery of the ocean into context we know more about the moon then our own oceans. This is mainly because we cannot travel down due to water pressure. This difference makes the ocean not only inaccessible but also alien. The lifeforms down there evolved with far harsher limitations than us. Let's take a look at a few of the standouts, yeah?

Bone Apple Tea

Boneworms also known as "zombie worms" are worms that lives deep in the abyss usually on decaying whale corprses. These worms don't have teeth rather they secrete an acid that breaks down the host's bones! Boneworms collect nutriets from the host's bones usually whales but they also feast on other vertebrates.

Heres a freaky fact, in one female boneworm 50 - 100 dwarf males live inside them! These males never even develop past the laval stage- talk about a "manchild"... it goes to show just how alien marine animals are, I mean- reread this paragraph and think of the worms as humans.

Boneworms can only live due to whale falls (put simply a whale dies and it's corpse gets lodged somewhere in the great below greater than 1,000 m). Despite the macabe nature of such an incident these incidents are actually incredibly helpful to the boneworms! Whale carcasses are huge and need to be destroyed but boneworms and other animals flourish on their remains! Whale carcasses ironically make a very diverse and lively ecosystem.

Reality Looks a Whole Lot Stranger Than Fiction

This is a nudibranchs, a soft-bodied gastropod mollusc. More specically this is a Spanish Dancer. These sea slugs come in all shapes and sizes. Some theorize their extraordinary colours are ward off creatures- I mean what's scarier than a tiny clown?

Here is another example of a nudibranch, a blue glaucus better known as a blue dragon. Although despite the name this is infact a type of sea slug. Blue glaucus are interesting because they will attack the venomous Portuguese man o' war and collect venomous parts of the organism to store. They reuse these parts agaisnt their prey. These parts will be pushed into the top creature's cerata. Those are the parts that look a bit like tendrils.

Doctors Hate Them !

This is a Turritopsis dohrnii. A jellyfish that gives vampire squids a run for their money. These jellies are immortal they use a process of literal de-aging to do this. A turritopsis dohrnii that experince injury or illness it can revert to a polyp (it's earliest stage of life) then regrow until it must return to a polyp once more. This ability allows the jelly to hijack life's most important rule: NO SECOND CHANCES. Well I suppose it's not a second chance as it doesn't really die. Although it should be noted that this can only occur in perfect circumstances. And it is extremely rare.