10. Black Seadevil Anglerfish:
When you think of deep-sea horror stories, you’re thinking
of creatures like the black seadevil.
This terrifying-looking fish has a huge gaping mouth, sharp
teeth that look like broken glass, and a glowing lure hanging right over its
head to catch prey. The seadevil’s “fishing rod” glows because of bacteria
living inside it. Males are tiny, just 2 inches long, and latch onto females
like parasites, feeding off their blood.
Until now, it was only filmed thousands of feet below the
surface. In 2025, underwater photographer David Jara Boguñá, who once worked
with BBC’s Blue Planet, filmed a female black seadevil near Tenerife, Spain.
This anglerfish, was swimming just 50 feet below the surface. Scientists think
this one rose to the surface due to underwater volcanic vents heating the
water. Sadly, it died shortly after filming, likely from the pressure change.
Its body is now displayed in Madrid’s Natural Science Museum, alongside a T.
rex skeleton.
9. 'Extremely Rare' Hybrid 'Rockaroni' Penguins:
When researchers on the Falkland Islands were filming
penguin colonies for a BBC Earth special, they captured something shocking: a brand-new
hybrid penguin chick.
Nicknamed the "Rockaroni," it’s a cross between a
Rockhopper Penguin and a Macaroni Penguin — two species that usually don’t mix.
This was filmed and confirmed for the first time in early
2025. The pair’s successful breeding, captured in National Geographic’s Secrets
of the Penguins.
The hybrid chick had messy yellow head feathers like
macaroni penguins but stood shorter and had the rugged personality of a
rockhopper.
Wildlife biologist Dr. Michelle LaRue explained that climate
change and shifting food sources may be forcing different penguin species to
mingle more than before. According to People.com, Rockaroni chicks were
officially recorded after drone footage showed multiple mixed pairs raising
hybrid babies in the wild.
8. Red sea toad or coffinfish (Chaunacops coloratus):
In the deep waters off Chile’s Nazca-Desventuradas Marine
Park, cameras from Schmidt Ocean Institute’s ROV captured something truly
bizarre: a bright pink, round fish sitting motionless on the seafloor.
It turned out to be a Chaunacops coloratus, better known as
the Red Sea Toad or Coffinfish.
At nearly 1,400 meters deep, the coffinfish survives by
inflating its body like a balloon when threatened, and using a tiny lure on its
head to catch passing prey.
Its creepy, bloated appearance and tiny legs, actually
modified fins, give it the nickname “walking balloon” among researchers.
In 2025, high-resolution footage showed one popping up and
"squatting" like a toad on a hidden underwater seamount, something rarely
captured before. National Geographic called it one of the most “oddly
beautiful” sightings of the year.
Interestingly, the Red Sea Toad is related to anglerfish,
sharing the same sneaky ambush style — sit, wait, and snap.
7. Mystery Mollusc (Bathydevius caudactylus):
Near the California coast in early 2025, researchers aboard
the exploration ship Nautilus made a thrilling find: a mystery mollusc that
acts like a Venus flytrap.
Nicknamed the “mystery mollusc”, this strange creature has a
large, glowing, flower-like body that snaps shut when small fish or plankton
float nearby. Its body is completely transparent with vivid neon blue lights
flashing along its rim, almost like a sci-fi movie prop.
Scientists described it as a cross between a jellyfish and
an overgrown carnivorous plant. According to Ocean Exploration Trust, the
Bathydevius belongs to a group called gastropods, but its exact place in the
mollusc family tree is still unknown.
MBARI’s advanced cameras captured its neon-blue bioluminescence,
a trait evolved independently in only three sea slug lineages.
By the way, "Venus flytrap" molluscs were first
guessed about decades ago, but this 2025 video is one of the first clear
captures of one in the wild.
6. Glacial Glass Squid (Galiteuthis glacialis):
Imagine a squid so clear you can see
its brain and stomach — that’s exactly what the Glacial Glass Squid
looks like. In 2025, scientists working near Antarctica filmed these incredible
creatures striking what they called a “cockatoo pose,” spreading their arms
upward like a parrot's crest. The Glacial Glass Squid is nearly invisible in
open water because its body is almost entirely transparent. It uses this
invisibility to avoid predators like whales and seals.
New footage released by Ocean Census this year showed how
they use gentle pulses to float upward, conserving energy in the freezing
Southern Ocean. These squids live around 700 to 1,000 meters deep, but warming
ocean temperatures may be pushing them into slightly shallower waters, where
they’ve become easier to film. Researchers compare their movement to a slow
underwater ballet — soft, ghost-like, and nearly silent.
This squid also appears in David Attenborough’s newest 2025
documentary series "Frozen Worlds," bringing more attention to life
hidden beneath Antarctica’s ice.
Talking about squids, you can also checkout our video on World's Most Beautiful
Octopuses and Squids.
5. Bioluminescent Bobtail Squid (Euprymna brenneri):
One of the most adorable discoveries from the deep came in
2025 with the Euprymna brenneri, a tiny bioluminescent bobtail squid found off
the coast of Madagascar. Although this species was technically discovered in
late 2024, the full study confirming it came out in early 2025.
This little squid, barely the size of a walnut, has a secret
weapon: it partners with special glow-in-the-dark bacteria. The bacteria live
inside the squid's body, and together they produce a glowing light that matches
the brightness of the ocean surface above. This clever trick, called
counter-illumination, makes the squid invisible to predators lurking below.
Scientists say understanding this squid’s light-producing
partnership could someday help create better bio-inspired lighting or even
invisibility cloaks for submarines. Its cuteness even got it a nickname in
media outlets: "the glow bean."
4. Sea Butterfly:
When people imagine sea creatures, they usually don’t think
of snails flying underwater — but that’s exactly what sea butterflies do.
In 2025, detailed filming of these creatures in the Arctic
and Antarctic oceans showed just how fragile and beautiful they really are. Sea
butterflies are small planktonic snails. Instead of crawling on a surface, they
have wing-like flaps that help them "fly" through the water. Their
shells are thin and transparent, often no thicker than a human hair.
Researchers are worried, though — sea butterflies are
extremely sensitive to ocean acidification, a side effect of climate change.
Their shells dissolve easily when water becomes even slightly more acidic.
The 2025 Ocean Census report called them "the canaries
in the coal mine" for the health of the oceans, meaning if they start
disappearing, it’s a serious warning. Footage shared by the Schmidt Ocean
Institute showed swarms of sea butterflies glowing faintly as they floated like
tiny underwater snowflakes.
3. Pygmy Pipehorse:
In early 2025, marine scientists exploring the reefs off
South Africa discovered one of the tiniest and most camouflaged fish ever
recorded — the Pygmy Pipehorse.
This little creature, officially named Cylix nkosi, is only
about 4 centimeters long. The name "Cylix" means "cup" in
Latin, referring to the cup-like shape of the top of its head.
It’s a close relative of seahorses and pipefish but has a
thicker, stubbier body and a short snout that makes it look like a mini
seahorse wearing a camouflage suit. Researchers from the South African
Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity found it clinging to algae and seagrasses,
blending in so well that it took hours to spot one even when they knew it was
there.
National Geographic featured the pygmy pipehorse in their April
2025 issue as part of a special on "Tiny Creatures Changing Our View of
the Ocean." Many experts believe there could be dozens of pygmy pipehorse
species still waiting to be discovered.
2. Headless chicken monster (Enypniastes eximia):
Yes, the name sounds like a joke, but the Headless Chicken
Monster is a real animal!
In 2025, fresh footage from the East Pacific Ocean showed
this bizarre sea cucumber gliding above the seafloor. It gets its nickname
because its body looks like a headless chicken floating
in water. It’s about the size of a football and has a see-through body
where you can even see its internal organs working. Instead of crawling on the
ocean floor like most sea cucumbers, this one swim using little fin-like
structures, flapping awkwardly through the dark water.
The Headless Chicken Monster was also spotted during
previous expeditions, but 2025 gave us some of the clearest, high-definition
videos yet. Its footage became a favorite during World Oceans Day 2025, with
thousands sharing clips online and even turning it into memes comparing it to
Halloween costumes.
1.
Xishui Leaf-Litter Toad:
Ending the list with something tiny but no less amazing —
the Xishui Leaf-Litter Toad, discovered in the dense forests of China's Guizhou
Province. This little toad, barely the size of a grape,
was officially named after the Xishui Nature Reserve where it was found.
The toad’s skin is brown and speckled, making it nearly
impossible to spot among fallen leaves on the forest floor. Unlike many frogs
and toads that have loud mating calls, the Xishui Leaf-Litter Toad makes soft,
chirping noises, almost like crickets. The toad also shows how fragile
biodiversity is — many species like this one could disappear without humans
ever even knowing they existed.
Interestingly, the same region was once famous for the
discovery of the rare Chinese giant salamander, the world’s largest amphibian.