If you go deep enough in the sea, you might as well be on another planet. First of all, the deeper you go, the more intense the crushing pressure from the weight of the water above you. Many a submarine has found this out during war time when they had to dive very deep to try and escape the enemy destroyers, only to be squashed like an egg. Yet with all this tremendous pressure there is still life. Sometimes vents are visible where the heat from inside the Earth causes water to boil and yet there is life there also. It seems that life is a lot more hardy than we first suspected. Using these discoveries as evidence, we now suspect that life could exist on other planets, even those with harsh conditions.

Some sea life is quite different from what we are used to traditionally. Take the case of the Pontellid Copepod. This creature glows a mystical green color when you expose it to blue light. It has a claw for grabbing females, quite handy isn't it? The creature also has an antenna, what the purpose of it is, I don't know. There are some deep sea creatures that are blind or have no eyes, but they seem to survive quite well. Other creatures overcome the darkness by making their own light, one of these is a very deep living shell fish. Some of these deep sea creatures can actually see ultraviolet light. A photographer found this out the hard way with a creature over 6 feet long attacked his camera.

Tube Worms Enjoying The Heat From A Vent
Photo Source: U.S. Coast Guard

The vents in the ocean that I referred to above get super hot. A recent Coast Guard Study showed that one vent reached the amazing temperature of 380 degrees centigrade. This vent was discovered by the deep sea submersible Alvin in 1979 and was located on the East Pacific Rise. Notice the photograph above, it looks like plant life, but it is actually animal life. These tube worms have amazed science with their ability to withstand extremely hot temperatures and still flourish. Giant clams seem to also enjoy the tremendous water pressure at the bottom of the ocean without any harmful results.

Left: Alvin Collects A Giant Clam
Right: Giant Clams
Photo Source: U.S. Coast Guard

Isn't the size of those giant clams amazing? One of these giants would be enough to make gallons of chowder from. All is not peaceful in nature however. Most sea life has enemies. Below you will find a photo of a Spider Crab dining out on a meal of tube worms.

Spider Crab Eating Tube Worms
Photo Source: U.S. Coast Guard

The giant jelly fish makes quite a ghostly appearance as they glide across the bottom of the ocean with their translucent bodies that are semi transparent. They look more like alien creatures from another world than marine life. There are a lot of strange creatures at depth. Maybe this is because we are not used to seeing them because so few are ever brought up.

Left: Anglerfish And Others
Right: Yet Unidentified Cnidarian
Photo Source: NOAA

Left: Comb Jelly Aulacoctena (New Species)
Middle: Clione Imacina (Snail)
Right: Crossota Jelly Fish
Photo Source: http://www.coml.org/embargo/embargo6.htm

These unusual creatures were collected from the ice oceans and represent some animals that are rarely seen if ever. They come from the Canada Basin and Northern Seas.

Left: Sea Cucumber
Middle: Sea Anemone
Right: Pelegic Snail Shell-less
Photo Source: http://www.coml.org/embargo/embargo6.htm

The sea is a source of wonder for all of us. It's beauty is unrivaled and so is it's bounty. One thing we are finding out the hard way is that the life in the oceans of this world is not unlimited. It is very important for us to limit what we take out of the oceans and seas so that future generations can also enjoy the ocean's gifts.