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A whopping 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water, and if things keep going as they are, that number is only going to go up. Thing is, a significant part of that ocean remains largely unknown to us, as the extreme pressures at the ocean’s deepest depths provide as many challenges as the lack of pressure out in space. Still, life perseveres, and in the case of the deep, deep sea, that life is weird as all hell. Check out 11 of the most bonkers deep sea creatures below.

Amphipod

Look at this thing, would ya? Sure, it’s basically just a shrimp with mittens on, but here’s the thing you might not be able to gather from this specific photo: Amphipods can grow up to a foot in length! If you’re a beachgoer and these things look familiar to you, it’s probably because they’re closely related to sand fleas, except these monsters can survive more than three miles beneath the surface of the waves.

Anglerfish

When you’re discussing crazy deep sea creatures, the anglerfish is a go-to. That’s because they’ve got approximately 8million different nutso things about them. Among them are: Its massive jaw, the vicious fangs contained within, that terrifying underbite and, of course, the dangly lure that protrudes from its head, helping it catch its prey and giving the beast its name.

Barreleye

Unlike most fish, which have eyes on the sides of their heads, barreleyes sport peepers that look directly upward, making it easier for them to look for their lunch and attack from below. The craziest thing about these things isn’t their eyes though – it’s the transparent dome that allows you to see the inner workings of their head, giving them the popular name, “spook fish.”

Blobfish

Once you get significantly below sea level, the pressure of all that water makes life rather difficult, which is one of the reasons that many deep sea creatures have evolved into something so different than what we’re used to seeing. The blobfish, for instance, deals with the pressure by being a floating, gelatinous mass that looks unnervingly like Ziggy.

Chimaera

In Greek mythology, a Chimera was a fire-breathing monster that was part lion, part goat and part snake. So it’s fitting that the chimaera fish look like they were assembled out of spare parts. Closely related to sharks, they used to be all over the place, but these days are restricted only to the extremely deep sea. Pictured above? That would be a chimaera of the ghost shark variety.

Dragonfish

Like the anglerfish, the dragonfish has a danglybob (technical term) that it uses to aide it in hunting. But the dragonfish takes it to another level, because its danglybob actually glows, providing the light necessary to maneuver around the deepest, darkest oceans. And as if that wasn’t weird enough, the dragonfish’s danglybob actually sprouts out from its lower jaw.

Frilled shark

Let’s get the obvious right out of the way, shall we? The frilled shark looks like a penis. But that’s not what makes it so crazy – plenty of things out there look like penises. No, what makes the frilled shark so insane is how it hunts. It’s basically just a big underwater snake, bending its body before shooting forward and proceeding to gulp its prey down whole.

Giant isopod

Once we’ve finished ruining the Earth, I’m fully confident that it’s going to be between giant isopods and cockroaches to figure out who inhabits the world next. And, given the rate at which the oceans are rising, I’m probably going to give it to these things. While normal isopods only get up to about 2 inches, giant ones get up to almost 6 inches, and supergiant ones can be a whopping 20 inches.

Giant squid

Like the giant isopod, what makes this beastie so wild isn’t what it is, but how massive it gets. Both are examples of abyssal gigantism, which is when deep sea creatures grow far larger than their counterparts in shallower waters. The giant squid is insane because it seems less like a real thing and more like something out of a Jules Verne novel or an ancient map with krakens and sea monsters swimming around the edges.

Pacific blackdragon

As mentioned earlier, it’s not unheard of for deep sea creatures to exhibit bioluminescence – the ability to generate their own light. The Pacific blackdragon hunts a lot of those glowing fish, which leads to a problem: How do you continue to sneak up on things if you’ve got a belly full of bioluminescent material? This particular critter deals with it by having a stomach that prevents any of that light from escaping, allowing it to keep passing all those stealth checks.

Stargazer

The stargazer gets its name because, like the barreleye, its crazy-looking eyeballs stare straight up. But wait, there’s more! The eyes also share space on the top of the stargazer’s head with the beast’s mouth, allowing the fish to hide in the sand and dart upwards to attack anything unfortunate enough to swim above it. But the best thing about the stargazer? Some varieties can generate lethal shocks to take out their prey.

As crazy as deep sea life is, it was extremely difficult to limit this list to only 11 entries. Did your favorite insane sea creature make the list? If not, tell us what we missed down in the comments.

Aubrey Sitterson is the creator of SKALD, the ongoing sword & sorcery serial podcast, available on iTunes, Stitcher & Podomatic. Follow him on Twitter and check out his website for more information.