Count down through some of the planet’s funkiest looking fish. When you’re done counting be sure to comment to tell us which one you think is the strangest fish of all.
#1 Bearded ghoul (Inimicus didactylus)
Where we live: Eastern Indian and Western Pacific Oceans, especially around China, Philippines, Northern Australia, and the Andaman Islands.
Why we’re strange: Our skin looks like it is covered in warts but it is actually just our skin glands. Using our fins we can walk along the sea floor. Bearded ghouls also like to hide under mud or in coral reefs, waiting for supper to swim by.
http://www.eol.org/pages/211677
#2 Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon marinus)
Where we live: Oceans and bodies of fresh water, even the Great Lakes where we are an invasive species!
Why we’re strange: Our mouths are permanently open and we use them to attach ourselves to other creatures, like fish. We don’t have a jaw, in fact, we don’t even have any bones – our skeleton is made of cartilage (the stuff your nose is made of).
http://www.eol.org/pages/580535
#3 Ocean Sunfish (Mola Mola)
Where we live: In temperate and tropical waters throughout the world.
Why we’re strange: : We may look shinny, but our skin is actually rough like sandpaper. When we are stressed, we can change our skin colour from light to dark. Weighing about 2200 pounds on average, we are the heaviest bony fish in the world. However, we can get even bigger! One of use reached 4927 pounds, which is heavier than 5 Siberian tigers.
http://oceansunfish.org/lifehistory.php
#4 Oarfish or King of Herrings (Regalecus glesne)
Where we live: In oceans at depths of 200m to 1000m (almost 2x the length of the CN Tower).
Why we’re strange: We are the longest fish in the world. We usually grow about 8 meters, but some of us have grown as large as 17 meters. When we swim close to the surface, it is a spectacular sight. We are often mistaken for sea serpents and have been the cause of many myths.
http://australianmuseum.net.au/Oarfish-Regalecus-glesne
http://web.archive.org/web/20070723015815
#5 Hagfish (Myxinidae)
Where we live: Throughout the temperate oceans of the world, although we prefer colder waters.
Why we’re strange: Our skeleton is made of cartilage (like the Lamprey) and our eyes are hidden under our skin so we are nearly blind. We are most famous for our cocoon of slime, which is one of our defense mechanisms; if a predator tries to bite us, the slime will clog its gills. To get rid of the slime we just tie ourselves in a knot and move it down our body.
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/mix/hagfish.php
#6 Bandtail Sea-Robin (Prionotus Ophryas)
Where we live: Western Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico to Venezuela.
Why we’re strange: We have a curved-in head and a broad snout. Our gill rakers act like fingers to sift through the debris on the sea floor and look for food.
#7 Lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus)
Where we live: North Atlantic Ocean around Greenland, Great Britain, Scandinavia and Canada. We like to swim in places that have rock bottoms.
Why we’re strange: You probably won’t be able to see our most interesting feature because it’s most likely stuck to something. We have a suction disc on the underside of our bodies, which allows us to stick to things like rocks and walls.
http://www.eol.org/pages/1011820
#8 Common Stargazer (Kathetostoma laeve)
Where we live: Around Australia and Tasmania especially in shallow estuaries and bays with sandy floors.
Why we’re strange: We spend most of our lives buried under the sand. When a fish swims by that we might want to eat, we lunge out of our hiding spot and catch them.
http://www.reefwatch.asn.au
#9 Spearnose chimaera (Rhinochimaera atlantica)
Where we live: Close to the ocean floor at the bottom of continental slopes in the Atlantic Ocean.
Why we’re strange: We are light brown and have long snouts. From nose to tail, we measure about 140cm. You will know our eggs when you see them because they are hard and spiky.
http://www.eol.org/pages/223651?vetted=true
#10 Diamond Lizardfish(Synodus synodus)
Where we live: We usually live in shallow water and reefs. Sometimes we venture out into deeper areas near Europe, the Gulf of Maine, Mexico, as well as the Northwest Atlantic.
Why we’re strange: We get our name from the shape of our body, which is round and long. Like all lizardfish, we have many sharp teeth, even on our tongue and the roof of our mouth.
http://www.eol.org/pages/136659
http://www.fishbase.org/summary/speciessummary.php?id=2723
http://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?search=Synodus
Yeah! That’s really weird but good to know
I didn’t know that diamond lizard fish had teeth on their tongue!