Top 10 Creatures that Make Us Most Scared to Go in the Water

Spending your time in the water while on vacation is one of the most relaxing activities you can do. There are so many beautiful underwater creatures to observe and admire. However, these scary looking monsters strike fear into our hearts and make us think twice before we get in the water.
The Top Ten
1 Jellyfish

Jellyfish are the worst because they are extremely deadly (in some species) and difficult to see. Not so sure why either the Colossal Squid or the Black Dragonfish are on here, since they both live far too deep down to affect the swimmer or divers, as far as we know.

Really scared of jellyfishes. And the thing that scares me the most is some jellyfishes can go on land.

If you live in Australia, the Box Jellyfish can kill you in minutes. That's why I avoid the beach.

2 Colossal Squid

The colossal squid is also known as the real life Kraken for it's tremendous size - it reaches lengths of 35-43 feet and weigh in at over 1,000 pounds. They also have the largest eyes of any creature in the entire world; the eyes are about a foot long. Except for a recorded case in the Antarctic (2003) and in New Zealand (2007), we haven't seen very many living, breathing examples of colossal squid. The colossal squid is a very mysterious sea creature because we have seen so few of them and don't know much about them. Besides for the few dead ones that have washed on shore, or have been found in the stomach lining of a sperm whale, we haven't been able to examine the colossal squid. We do know that instead of the traditional suction cups of other squid and octopi, the colossal squid has hooks on the inside of their tentacles. There has been evidence on the skin of a sperm whale - the only real threat to a colossal squid - of hook marks leaving deep indentations. Although scientists assume the colossal squid aren't killing machines, it's not something we want to go swimming with.

3 Great White Shark The great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), also known as the white shark, white pointer, or simply great white, is a species of large mackerel shark which can be found in the coastal surface waters of all the major oceans. It is notable for its size, with larger female individuals growing to 6.1... read more

Ok iv dived with white sharks and I loved every minute of it but jeezus I would not go in the water without a large metal cage with em. they are totally un afraid of anything and went for people even through we were protected. was great fun but you don't want to get on the other side of the bars. plus the ones I saw were only little ones, a tiny length of 3.5 meters

Not the deadliest, but surely the most feared.

Dun dun... dun dun...dun DUN!

4 Saltwater Crocodile The saltwater crocodile, also known as the estuarine crocodile, Indo-Pacific crocodile, marine crocodile, sea crocodile or informally as saltie, is the largest of all living reptiles, as well as the largest riparian predator in the world.

The largest reptile in the world and literally eats whole cows for breakfast

5 Goliath Tigerfish

The Goliath tigerfish lives in rapids of the Congo River in Africa. This monstrous fish can grow up to 5 feet long and weigh over 150 pounds, although there are some reported cases of the fish weighing in at over 300 pounds. Not only do the Goliath tigerfish have a fearsome bite, but they also have a fearsome reputation. Many locals say it's the only fish they know of that isn't afraid of the crocodile and will even attack and eat some of the smaller ones. The Goliath tigerfish has excellent eyesight that can see through the murky and turbulent waters it lives in. Each of the 32 teeth a Goliath tigerfish has, is razor like and about an inch long. Their bite is known for being a surgically clean cut, and for literally slicing their victims - even a 60 pound Catfish - in half. Few humans brave the water that the Goliath tigerfish calls home, and those who have fared badly. The Goliath tigerfish has been known to brutally attack humans. Basically, this fish will eat anything that moves in the water.

6 Stonefish Synanceia is a genus of fish of the family Synanceiidae, the stonefishes, whose members are venomous, dangerous, and even fatal to humans. It is one of the most venomous fish known. They are found in the coastal regions of the Indo-Pacific.

The stonefish hides in the coastal reefs and in the sands of shallow waters. The stonefish is brown and green in color so it perfectly camouflages into the rocky or sandy ocean floors. The stonefish is quite a threat if you happen to be walking on the ocean floor, because of how flawlessly it blends into it's surroundings. It has many venomous spines on it's back that can cause seizures, paralysis and death if it's not treated. The venom of the stonefish is extremely toxic - it can kill a human within 2 hours. The reason stonefish are so dangerous and deadly is because it's difficult to see them in the water. A swimmer can unknowingly step on the stonefish thinking it's just a rock or even sand, and get venom injected into their foot. Although the stonefish is not aggressive and won't go out of it's way to attack a human, their venom can do some serious damage. So swimmers beware!

7 Leech Leeches are segmented worms that belong to the phylum Annelida and comprise the subclass Hirudinea. Like the oligochaetes, such as earthworms, leeches share a clitellum and are hermaphrodites.

Leeches TERRIFY me! One time we went swimming in a lake and my mum came out with two leeches on her. Worst part is she didn't notice them for an hour

The only animal in the entire animal kingdom I have a fear of.

This is definitely making me scared of the water. They make me pass out

8 Black Dragonfish

The snake-like, black dragonfish lives in the dark depths of the ocean around 5000-7000 feet below the surface. The female black dragonfish reaches lengths of 40 centimeters while the male only reaches about 5 centimeters long. This long, skinny fish has photophores - which is a light producing organ - along it's body that is uses in order to communicate with other black dragonfish or to lure and disorient it's prey. The long barbel that hangs from the dragonfish's chin is also covered with photophore, which it uses to wave back and forth while flashing light to attract prey. Once the prey gets too close, the black dragonfish will snap it up in it's powerful fang-like teeth. With it's wide-opening jaw, the black dragonfish is able to swallow prey up to half it's size with ease. Because of the black dragonfish's unique feature of bioluminescence, they are able reverse fluorescence in which it transfers the red wavelengths into blue or green wavelengths. This means that the black dragonfish can see their prey clearly, similar to night-vision goggles, without being seem themselves. This gives the black dragonfish a tremendous advantage in the dark waters they live in.

9 Hippopotamus The common hippopotamus, or hippo, is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae, the other being the pygmy hippopotamus.
10 Box Jellyfish Box jellyfish are cnidarian invertebrates distinguished by their cube-shaped medusae. Some species of box jellyfish produce extremely potent venom: Chironex fleckeri, Carukia barnesi and Malo kingi.
The Contenders
11 Bull Shark The bull shark is a requiem shark that is considerably dangerous. These sharks live in both freshwater and saltwater environments. Bull sharks can be recognized by seeing a shark in freshwater and watching the shark due a hit and run.
12 Electric Eel
13 White Sturgeon

The white sturgeon is known for their sheer size and muscle. They can reportedly grow up to 20 feet long, and weigh in at 1,300 pounds. The body of the sturgeon is covered in extremely strong armor like plates, which may explain why the sturgeon can live for over 100 years, and have been swimming the earth's water for millions of years. Although the sturgeon are generally docile fish, it's the size of them that really poses the most threat to humans. Sturgeons have been known to cause some unintentional but serious harm to fisherman on the water, which includes broken bones, collapsed lungs, concussions or even death in the rare case. Due to it's archaic roots, sturgeons are known to leap out of the water - which still puzzles scientists. So while the sturgeons is completely harmless, they can do some serious damage to you if they leap out of the water.

14 Fangtooth An abyssal fish species, the Fangtooth is native to the deep ocean and is characterized by its elongated, fang-like teeth and a compressed body. It has a bioluminescent quality, allowing it to navigate the extreme depths where light is scarce.

The fangtooth fish gets it's name from it's vicious teeth that are actually the largest teeth of any fish, in proportion to their body. The fangtooth's teeth are so large, the fish have special pockets on the roof of their mouth, so the lower teeth can slide in when the jaw shuts. The fangtooth fish eats prey by sucking it into their mouth using a vacuum like suction. Once the fish is trapped in their mouth, it has little chance of escaping. Because the teeth of the fangtooth are no use for chewing, they will swallow their prey whole. Thus, the fangtooth will go after prey as large as itself. The fangtooth is found about 700 - 6,000 feet below the ocean surface, and because food source is so rare, they will eat anything they can. The fangtooth lives in complete darkness, so it's not likely we will find it swimming around our feet in the ocean - which is just as well!

15 Piranha A piranha or piraƱa, a member of family Characidae in order Characiformes, is a freshwater fish that inhabits South American rivers, floodplains, lakes and reservoirs.
16 Alligator An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. The two living species are the American alligator and the Chinese alligator. Additionally, several extinct species of alligator are known from fossil remains. Alligators have long existed since the Oligocene epoch 37 million... read more
17 Goblin Shark

The 5 foot goblin shark lives in the deep, dark waters of the ocean. They are considered to be one of the most mysterious sharks because little is known about them, and so few have actually been seen. The goblin shark has a unique appearance that it's so known for. They are known to appear grey-pink to bright pink, not due to color pigmentation but because of their translucent skin. The pink color comes from the oxygenated blood flowing through their body. They also have an elongated, sword-like snout that appears to be flattened. When the goblin shark wishes to attack something, it's jaws protrude out of their snout and are able to independently move in order to bite down on their prey. When the mouth of the goblin shark protrudes out of it's body, they reveal a mouthful of fang-like teeth. Because of the look of their snout, and their fang-like teeth, goblin sharks are also known as "Snaggletooth". The only way to fully appreciate the way a goblin shark is able to use their unique features to their benefit, is to examine it for yourself.

18 Moray Eel
19 Portuguese Man-of-War

Most people confuse the Portuguese man-of-war with a jellyfish, because of it's balloon-like top and long tentacles. But the Portuguese man-of-war is not a jellyfish, it's actually a siphonophore - an animal made up of many different organisms. The man-of-war has a gassed filled bladder that floats above the water and actually helps it move around. Sometimes to avoid threats, the man-of-war will release the gas filled pockets, and submerge into the water. The tentacles of the man-of-war can reach lengths of over 150 feet - although 30 feet tends to be the average length. These tendrils are filled with venom used to paralyze and kill their prey. Once the prey has been paralyzed or killed, the muscles of the tentacles carry the fish up to their digestive system. Even a dead man-of-war that washes on shore can carry a powerful punch, and deliver a painful or lethal sting. Sometimes man-of-wars are found in groups of hundreds or thousands, floating together in the ocean water - imagine getting caught in all those tentacles!

20 Stingray
21 Blobfish The blobfish is a deep sea fish of the family Psychrolutidae. It inhabits the deep waters off the coasts of mainland Australia and Tasmania, as well as the waters of New Zealand.

These are cute, how are they harmful?

22 Sarcastic Fringehead

The sarcastic fringehead gets it's name from it's large appendages on the side of their head and their aggressive demeanor. If a fringehead feels threatened, it will expand it's gigantic mouth to make it appear three times bigger. If this scare tactic doesn't work, the fringehead won't retreat but instead, it will aggressively attack. The fringehead is a stubborn fish and won't give up so easily - they don't back out of a fight, and they usually end up winning. When two fringeheads fight with each other, they both expand their mouths and press them together, almost as if they were kissing. The fish with the larger mouth is considered to be the larger fish, and is prevailed the winner. Even divers unknowingly swimming by the fringhead's home - which tends to be abandoned snail shells - haven't been spared by the attacks of these territorial fish. Many people confuse the fringehead with an eel because of it's scaleless body, and prominent snout. Even though the fringehead only reaches a length of 30 centimeters, it's ferocious attitude makes up for it's small size.

23 Northern Stargazer

The stargazer fish is found mostly along the sand beds of shallow waters in the Atlantic Ocean. The stargazer will camouflage into its surroundings by burying itself under the sand so only the eyes and the mouth can be seen - the reason why it was given the name stargazer. This fish uses it's lip to catch it's prey. It quivers it's lower lip, mimicking the movements of a worm to attract the prey, then it creates a vacuum inside its mouth to suck the prey in. Stargazers are a lethal fish because they have two poisonous spines located on each side of the body. Not only are the spines of the stargazer poisonous, but they are electrifying as well. They can discharge about 50 volts of electricity at a time. Stargazers are known to be aggressive fish and have even attacked humans - especially night divers. Although the stargazer only ranges from approximately 18-90 centimeters long, they come with quite a punch.

24 Megalodon The megalodon is an extinct species of shark which was about 59 feet (18 meters) long and hunted in the seas until about 1.5 million years ago. It was similar to today's great white shark-but three times longer and 20 times heavier... read more

The megalodon is the largest shark ever known. The megalodon is bigger than the whale shark.

25 Viperfish A viperfish is any species of marine fish in the genus Chauliodus. Viperfish are characterized by long, needle-like teeth and hinged lower jaws. A typical viperfish grows to lengths of 30 to 60 cm.
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