The Terrors of the Deep Sea: Why Are They Scary?

Written by Silas Lucas

I want you to imagine this: down in the ocean, 7,000 meters down below the sea level, and all you can see in front of you is the dimly lit dark waters, illuminated by the headlight on your submarine. It is dark for miles and miles in front, until…you see a small, glowing light in the distance. You squint, just in time to see teeth and a mouth emerge from the light, as it scoops up a fish into its mouth. It is then when it strikes you, just how alien the fish of the deep truly are. 

An image of an anglerfish who was able to make it to the surface of the ocean from it depths, only to pass away a few hours later

“As we descend deeper and deeper in this region, its inhabitants become more and more modified, and fewer and fewer, indicating our approach towards an abyss where life is either extinguished, or exhibits but a few sparks to mark its lingering presence.”- The Natural History of the European Seas, by E. Forbes (1859).

A question that struck me personally, when I had first started getting interested in deep sea creatures was simple: how are some of them so big?

Deep Sea Gigantism is the term that had been coined for it. The reason that so many of these animals are as large as they are, is because of the unique combinations of their living conditions. Due to the scarce amount of food available, they naturally adapt to their environments by evolving larger, because then they will have a slower metabolism (AKA, conservation of resources.) It also has to do with slower growth in cold, freezing and highly pressurized temperatures, as well as limited resources. 

A picture of a real, deep sea giant squid from 1954, at a whopping of 30 ft.