What is lurking the bottom of the ocean?

[Sufjan]

I really like the idea of a gigantic seamonster like prehistoric animals or Cthulhu, but what's really there? I remember the bloop and it really sounds interesting, but I wonder if the ocean is big enough for really big fish to hide from mankind and if it's scientifically possible for larger than usual sea animals.

Edited May 14, 2013 by Alex Smith

[SHaYap]

This dino fish has been hiding from mankind for a long long time :

This is the astounding coelacanth ("see-la-kanth"), the fusion of life and time, that following a supposed extinction of 65 million years, head-lined into human consciousness with its discovery alive in 1938.

link

[Sufjan]

Yeah, that's really cool, so it's possible for animals to grow that big on the bottom? Is there a natural restriction under that pressure?

[Orcseeker]

I used to find trilobites really interesting when I was a kid for some reason... So yeh, here's a +1 for hoping some long time extinct organism is still crawling around down there.

[Mr.United_Nations]

Yeah, that's really cool, so it's possible for animals to grow that big on the bottom? Is there a natural restriction under that pressure?

Sleeper shark would be the largest I guess.

[Rafterman]

I really like the idea of a gigantic seamonster like prehistoric animals or Cthulhu, but what's really there? I remember the bloop and it really sounds interesting, but I wonder if the ocean is big enough for really big fish to hide from mankind and if it's scientifically possible for larger than usual sea animals.

Well anything is possible and the ocean is a big place, but I doubt we're ever going to find any giant "sea monsters" living at those depths simply because there's so little to eat down there.

As far as the bloop goes, it was solved a few months back - icequake - http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-11/29/bloop-mystery-not-solved-sort-of

[Sufjan]

The bloop was solved?

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Who knows how much there is to eat, when we actually discover big animals who have to feast on smaller animals? Why wouldn't bigger animals feast on the these predators, too?

Edited May 14, 2013 by Alex Smith

[Wickian]

There are lakes of tar/something that have waves and shores of their own, but are too thick for machines to enter too.

[Rafterman]

The bloop was solved?

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Who knows how much there is to eat, when we actually discover big animals who have to feast on smaller animals? Why wouldn't bigger animals feast on the these predators, too?

Well this is pretty much what's there:

Abyssal food chains begin with phytoplankton detritus, fecal mattter and organic debris, rather than with living producers. Since there's no light, there aren't any photosynthetic producers. The only food, with the exception of a dead whale, cold water reefs and a few other sources, is what falls down from above.

http://www.brighthub.com/environment/science-environmental/articles/41041.aspx

So is there a giant **** eater living down there - perhaps, but I'm not betting on it.

[Ashotep]

Wouldn't be surprised that there is something down there we know nothing about. Wouldn't be the first time if something thought to be extinct was found.

[A rather obscure Bassoon]

Deep ocean life does look very different and almost alien at times.

[Wyverna]

Who knows? The ocean is a huge place with many animals that have yet to be discovered. It might be unlikely for a really huge animal to be undiscovered and lurking, but I guess there's still a chance it could happen. I remember seeing a video of a strange sea creature that was thought to be an unknown animal, but was a jellyfish. It was too bad, because it looked really cool.

Still, there's plenty of amazing sea creatures as it is. Have you heard of the Bobbit Worm, Frilled Shark, or the Oarfish? They're all pretty awesome.

[MiskatonicGrad]

I wonder if our submarines pick up any interesting 'blips" on sonar? It's an awful lot of water to not be hiding something law of averages you know. if we could get Jeremy wade off the damn rivers and start fishing the oceans he would sort it out and have a right smart show to boot.

"coming up on the new episode of Ocean Monsters: megalodon the real Jaws"

[Zeta Reticulum]

There can be no reptilians down there.... because number one on any reptiles hitlist is AIR....... yes they are air breathers, just like whales.

And we never see giant reptiles taking the necessary breaths at least once per hour.

[Spinebreaker]

No-one's sure exactly how big a Colossal Squid can get. There are researchers who are adamant that they are finding massive bite marks in various creatures from some massive undiscovered shark...

Goldfish grow according to the size of the body of water they are in, is that true for all fish? Look at the size of some Catfish and Ray people have caught in lakes/rivers. Imagine if something similar had the Atlantic to grow into?

That's just the more 'realistic' stuff... Who's to say there's not some massive Cryptid down there? They say the surface of the Moon is better explored than the Oceans...

[SHaYap]

*deleted*

~edit : off topic

Edited May 15, 2013 by third_eye

[Rafterman]

Measuring 7 x 7 feet with a tail said to be 10 foot long, it took the help of twelve other men to lift the giant fish out of the water.

note : it's no longer just a fresh water fish this as its now believe to migrate between the sea and the mekong

.... a record that was previously held by a team of fishermen who caught a 646 pound (293kg ) giant catfish, also from the Mekong River.

link

Navy SEALs display a 23-foot (7.0-metre) giant oarfish discovered on the beach in 1996 in Coronado, California, USA

wiki

In February 2007 the longlining vessel San Aspiring, fishing for Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni Norman) in the Ross Sea, captured a colossal squid specimen. It was later weighed at 495 kilogrammes.

link

Yes, those creatures all exist and there are most certainly large creatures in the ocean - but let's not blur the actual with discussions of things like Cthulhu, megaladon, etc.

[SHaYap]

okay ...

[shrooma]

I wonder if the ocean is big enough for really big fish to hide from mankind

.

not much is known about the blue whale, and that's pretty big, AND we know it's there, so who knows what else could be lurking around....?

[Q-C]

I'd like to lurk at the bottom of the ocean. Someday that may be possible.

I have a recurring fantasy that involves aliens coming to earth in my lifetime and draining oceans and lakes so we can take images and get a good look (no creatures would be harmed in the making of this fantasy. In fact those that inhabit certain upper zones would be suspended in space temporarily).

That would just be so very very interesting to see, imo.

I know, my fantasy life is a little....odd.....

Edited May 15, 2013 by QuiteContrary

[shrooma]

odd QC, but extremely vivid and entertaining!

[trancelikestate]

Lost civilization of Octopeople perhaps?

[MiskatonicGrad]

Lovecraft's old ones, Cthulhu, statues of Dagon, a temple in a sunken city with a WWI german U-29 and R'lyeh the list goes on.

"there are older and fouler things then orcs in the deep places of the world."

Edited May 15, 2013 by MiskatonicGrad

[MiskatonicGrad]

but seriously I would love to know but could we? we can't be everywhere at once anything large can go deep to avoid sonar or a net. the ocean has always fascinated me more so than space (better chance of going down in a sub then up in a rocket) I think if we did know what was down there we would be less apt to go swimming in it.

[DKO]

I think some of the sea animals we already know about are pretty amazing. The colossal squids have always got my attention. Even Blue Whales, this image of a blue whales jaw is crazy.

Plenty of videos on youtube showing deep sea creatures.

And this weird Jellyfish that was filmed: