While we adapt to shorter, darker days with less sun and more snow, an ultra-rare sea creature well adapted to darkness was recently sighted again. In the deep sea—some 600 to 800 feet underwater, where sunlight dwindles to near pitch-black—there dwells a fish with unusual features well suited to that extreme environment. Several species of…

A mysterious black blob of a fish—featuring terrifyingly pointy spines, rows of long needle-sharp teeth, and strange alien-like appendage growing out of its head—gave lifeguards a start after washing up in Encinitas, California, in early December. The exceedingly rare specimen, called a Pacific footballfish, one of the largest species of anglerfish, was found by a surfer…

An oceanic expedition recently sighted an incredibly rare deep-sea specimen—with see-through skin and eight legs—among a number of other extraordinary sights in the central Pacific. On July 8, research vessel Falkor completed the 34-day voyage through the remote Phoenix Islands Archipelago, according to a press release from the Schmidt Ocean Institute (founded by former Google…