The ocean is full of mysteries–from sunken ships to the deep sea creature that can create their own sources of light, there are quite a few things most people wouldn’t want to encounter in the depths of the sea.
Two fishermen off the coast of China had one such encounter that they wished they could undo…
Urban Legend
The city of Zhoushan lies in northeastern China. While Zhoushan was originally a small, quaint village, it has since grown into a bustling fishing town, partially because of a wild urban legend that kept the fishermen coming back for more…
Strange Creature
Throughout the years, many fishermen had reported seeing a strange creature lurking beneath the surface near their boats. While most had been unconfirmed, recently, two fishermen finally caught the creature on-camera…
“Zhoushan Shadow”
For centuries, the legend of the “Zhoushan Shadow” haunted the fishermen. Many men painted this creature into an enormous figment of their imagination, saying it was as large as a skyscraper. Many claimed to have seen it lurking beneath the surface but it had never revealed itself, until now…
In Their Path
When two fishermen set off for what they thought would be just a normal day on the water, they were blown away when they encountered the Zhoushan Shadow right in their path. They were both excited and nervous, ready to find out once and for all what this beast was…
Shark?
The two fishermen set out early in the morning for what they thought would be a normal day. Not long into their day, though, they spotted something terrifying. Originally, they thought it was a shark, but as they got closer they realized this was it–they had found the Zhoushan Shadow…
Making History
Cautiously, they crept closer. One of the men grabbed his phone to record the beast. They had no idea what they were dealing with and they were surely frightened, but they were making history…
Sharing Online
He quickly shared the images with the Internet to see if they could identify this unknown creature. His video went viral very quickly and everyone who saw it chimed in with their best guesses as to what the creature was, however, many struggled to figure it out…
No Dolphin
After a while, the creature was nicknamed the “crocodolphin” because of it’s likeness to both a crocodile and a dolphin, but more research would reveal that it was actually neither…
Fleeing the Scene
After capturing some footage, they headed the opposite direction away from the “crocodolphin” to get away without disturbing it, after all, they had no idea what it was capable of…
“Crocodolphin”
The Internet buzzed with their guesses and researched their own ideas. People were divided between crocodile and dolphin, however, they were actually both wrong…
Creature Confusion
Researchers around the world viewed the short clip posted by the fisherman and tried their best to identify the creature. They thought maybe the men had discovered a new species entirely…
Not Convinced
Researchers weren’t sure about that theory, though, because what would make a species that had never been identified randomly surface after all this time?
A Breakthrough
After some continued research. they came to a major revelation. This sea creature wasn’t the “crocodolpin” species they believed at all, in fact, it was not an unidentified creature at all…
A Rare Whale
The creature turned out to be a very rare type of whale that was almost never seen in the wild. The “crocodolphin” was actually a beaked whale, a sea creature typically never spotted by fishermen, the reason why they couldn’t identify it when they spotted it swimming near their boat. It’s distinct appearance, though, would have people who didn’t know what it was, definitely spooked…
A Rare Sighting
The Beaked Whale is in fact, part of the whale family, but its odd-shaped mouth lends itself to a dolphin-like appearance. This is what confused the fishermen, and so many people on the Internet…
Beaked Whale
The Beaked Whale is a mammal that lives in the deeper parts of the ocean, which makes it a bit of an enigma for marine biologists to study. They have a long and exceptional snout that looks like a dolphin, but if you get too close to one, you realize they’re anything but…
Dangerous Snouts
The Beaked Whale uses its snout for feeding. They are actually quite dangerous and should not be approached in the open water…
Fishing Tools
The snout comes in handy when the whales are fishing for their dinners in the deep sea. It’s this handy tool that allows them to do this…
How They Feed
Instead of capturing prey with their teeth, beaked whales suck it into their oral cavity. Suction is aided by the throat grooves, which stretch and expand to accommodate food. Their tongues can move very freely. By suddenly retracting the tongue and distending the gular (throat) floor, pressure immediately drops within the mouth, sucking the prey in with the water. There is on major reason not much is known about them, though…
Deep-Sea Lurkers
Beaked whales are known to congregate in deep waters off the edge of continental shelves, and bottom features. Because of their deep-sea preference, they are hardly ever spotted at the surface. But, they do breathe air, and therefore, their impressive dives hold world records…
Record-Breaking Dives
One species of Beaked Whale, the Cuvier’s beaked whale, regularly dive for an hour at a depth over 1,000 m (3,300 ft). The longest and deepest foraging dive recorded is 137.5 minutes at 2,992 m (9,816 ft). This is the greatest dive-depth known for a mammal without mechanical assistance. There are over 22 species of them, but the number that have actually been studied will shock you…
New Species
Of the 22 species of beaked whales, only FOUR have been studied in detail by researchers. It makes perfect sense that the fishermen had no idea what they had seen that day out on the water, and this isn’t the first time that the fishermen encountered something mysterious…
Disturbing Discoveries
There have been thousands of reports of unknown sea creatures discovered by fishermen on their expeditions. Some of these unknown creatures disturb us to the core…
The Philippines Discovery
This white, hairy creature actually washed ashore in the Philippines. While some believed it was a deadly creature from the deep, others believed it was some kind of bad omen. When they pulled it ashore, it was frightening…
The Big Globster
A local resident spoke to the press when the creature washed ashore and said, “An earthquake is heading for Oriental Mindoro. The big globster is a sign of something bad coming. Please pray for us.” But the truth was even more terrifying…
Decaying Body
No one identified the actual species that washed up because the creature has suffered such severe decay that the hairs that appeared on the carcass were actually muscle fibers in the process of decomposition…
The Axolotl
The axolotl, also known as the Mexican walking fish, is actually not even a fish, but an amphibian. First discovered in Lake Xochimilco, these weirdly cute looking creatures are unusual among amphibians in that they reach adulthood without undergoing metamorphosis.
Ghost Shark
The Ghost Shark was discovered off the coast of Australia and belongs to the cartilaginous fish family, which also includes rays, skates, and other shark species. These odd-looking creatures are actually a very popular fish-and-chips staple in New Zealand restaurants…
Common Fangtooth
These vicious-looking deep-sea fish are predators recorded at depths well over 16,000 feet. They use their long, sharp teeth to catch and hang on to prey of just about any size that might wander by them in the darkness.
Sea Butterfly
Sea Butterflies are actually small pelagic swimming sea snails. The Sea Butterfly is actually one of the most threatened ocean animals as their fragile shells are now dissolving as the ocean becomes more acidic.
An Ocean Full of Mystery
The fact of the matter, though, is that the ocean is full of unknown mystery, and humans have so much more to learn and uncover about the life below the surface.