While it may be tempting to believe that humans are pretty well-versed on most of our planet’s creatures, prepare to think again. Considering that 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered in water, we know fairly little about what exactly lurks beneath the waves. It’s estimated that up to 80% of the underwater realms of our oceans remain unexplored.
Roman Fedorstov’s Crazy Catches
That’s where a deep-sea fisherman named Roman Fedorstov comes in. Based in the port city of Murmansk, Russia, Roman spends his days fishing in the Arctic Ocean. There he comes across all manner of insane sea creatures, many of which look like something from another planet altogether. Consider yourself forewarned that what you’re about to see may not be the best viewing material for the easily freaked out or those who regularly love indulging in seafood buffets.
Roman decided to help advance the cause of science by sharing some of his most bizarre deep-sea catches on his Instagram account. Once the Internet got a load of the strange and often grotesque creatures that Roman regularly pulls up from the depths, he began to build a following which is now close to 50,000.
If you’re wondering where some of these creatures have been hiding, then fear not. Here’s a sort of crash course in the deep sea regions they call home.
The Literal Twilight Zone
First, you’ve got the what’s commonly known as the ocean’s “twilight zone,” a place where few scuba divers dare to lurk. It’s only in the recent past that scuba equipment capable of safely transporting divers to this zone has even begun to be developed.
The twilight zone is technically known as the Mesopelagic and it’s not easy to get too. In order to take a trip there, you’d be faced with swimming down anywhere from 200 to 1,000 meters (around 660 to 3,300 feet) beneath the ocean’s surface.
If that’s not quite crazy enough for you, then rest assured that an even deeper part of the ocean called the Bathyal zone, also known as the ‘midnight zone.’
The Midnight Zone
The midnight zone extends 1,000 to 4,000 meters deep (3,300 to 13,000 feet) and takes its name from the fact that not a speck of sunlight is able to reach it. Here you’ll find animals you won’t see in your average aquarium and there’s actually a pretty good reason why.
Creatures that call the midnight zone their homes have adapted to a very specific set of conditions that involve super cold water and very high pressure. Combine that with the need for complete darkness and it makes for hard conditions to recreate on land, much less in an aquarium environment.
That said, there are some aquariums that have attempted it, though the vast majority of them have been set up for research purposes alone. The only exception is an aquarium in France which set up an “Abyss Box.” Unfortunately, their tank was only big enough to hold about 16 liters of water so they stuck to displaying small crustaceans.
Considering that most of these faces are those that only a mother fish could love, perhaps it’s best that, for the most part, they’re left to enjoy their deep-sea habitat.
