Beware the Bottom of the Sea!!! by Kate Nox

Most of us will never see the bottom of the sea. Although recent drought and heat warnings in multiple locations around the world and the ever-rumored possibility that California will one day fall into the sea,(I first heard this in 1968), we all may see the bottom before we know it!  So, to help inform you, my fellow HorrorAddicts, I offer the following sea creatures for you to avoid – if you can!

The Vampire Squid

Should you happen to be 3,000 feet below sea level you might spy one of these large red Cephlapods named Vampyroteuthis Infernalis (Vampire from hell), with its huge red body webbed tentacles, and big blue eyes! Added to its possible bioluminescence, this creature could be a frightening sight! Should it feel threatened by you, it would perform the unheard-of feat of turning itself inside out to expose sharp-looking spines located on the underside of its tentacles. Should you imagine yourself being caught on said spines, you cacatapult it’s jaws forward to capturen then envisage that it would turn itself back inward, trapping you in with the webs between its tentacles like a cacoon and sucking all the blood from your veins before eating you! Add to that the fact that the animal uses very little oxygen and will not swim to the surface to catch a breath, affording you the opportunity to swim away to freedom! Oh my, this is something from my worst nightmare!  However, the truth is, the creature actually is neither a squid nor is it a vampire! It eats Marine Snow and has no interest in your blood or body parts. Whew!

 

Goblin Sharks

Recent news reports have detailed lots of shark bites happening in strange places. Reporters attribute these to the warming of the tides and increased visits to the beach by overheated residents. Because of this increase in catastrophes, the goblin shark becomes, even more, a frightening being!

This shark can grow 10 feet long whereas the average man is less than 6 ft., so it is doubtful it could swallow you whole, it’s the look of the beast and its method of attack that should give you fear. Because the creature is no a fast swimmer, it will most likely seek to ambush it’s prey.

From the look of it you would think that it’s long snout would get in the way of it’s ability too bite with it’s nearly 200 teeth. But this shark has the ability to catapult it’s jaw forward to the end of the snout to grab it’s prey and then retract it to complete the capture. This action takes place at the speed of 7 miles per hour, faster than any human can swim. But the job is not finished with merely catching the prey. After closing down, the bottom jaw can snap open and shut to effectively chew the captured portion of the prey off. Sounds painful, doesn’t it?

Probably you won’t be down at 4500 feet to encounter a mature goblin shark, but do be aware, my friend, that juvenals, like teenagers at the mall, do hang out at 40 to 150 feet below the surface. And who can predict youth?

Zombie worms

Don’t fear for your brains with this tiny creature. Zombie worms are a swarming creature that first appeared to be” a red flowing substance” on a dead whale carcas when first observed in 2004 by the scientists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Further inspection found that they are much like a plant with a root. They have no mouth or stomach yet they “eat ” the bacteria that feeds on bone of dead carcasses. The root of the female burrows it’s way into the bone to the marrow and attaches there, the plant part stays on the surface tocollect oxygen and protect the root.  and commonly called boneworms, zombie worms, or bone-eating worms. From the bone the creature obsorbs  lipids, on which they rely for sustenance.

The male burrows into the female of the plant-like worm to provide sperm and reproduce. Here’s where the story is a little different. If the root connects and bores into a  bone it becomes a female and if it bores into a female it becomes a male. And so the story continues until the carcas is covered by swarming hoards these worms. Once all the nutrients and bacteria are depleted, the swarms themselves will die.

If you should fall lifeless to the bottom of the sea some day, expect these creatures to come swarming your way for a feast!

Until then, beware the bottom of the sea!