10 MOST DANGEROUS OCEAN CREATURES IN THE WORLD

10 Most Dangerous Water Animals In The World

There are many different types of creatures that live in streams, lakes, seas and oceans. And while many of these creatures are harmless, there are many that are incredibly dangerous if you happen to have an encounter with them.

These dangerous animals lurk beneath the surface of the water in a world vastly different than ours, and must be deadly to survive.
Join us as we take a look at 10 of the most dangerous water creatures.

10. Australian Box Jellyfish – This creature is not one to be messed around with if you happen to swim into a swarm of them. And while they may seem harmless, the Australian box jellyfish is considered to be the most venomous marine animal in the world. They have tentacles that are covered with tiny darts called nematocysts, and they are loaded with poison.

9. Flower Urchin – Beautiful but deadly, these sea urchins are extremely venomous. They look like a bouquet of small flowers; to which they get their name from. They feed on invertebrates, sponges, and dead fish, and have well developed jaws for grinding up their prey.

8. The Saltwater Crocodile – Evolving around 200 million years in the Mesozoic epoch, crocodiles have far outlived the dinosaurs. The Salt water crocodile is the world’s largest reptile, and they have been known to grow up to 27 feet long and weigh 2,465 lbs.

7. Textile Cone Snail – Mother nature teaches us that anything in nature that is beautiful, is most likely deadly, and a warning to predators and humans to not touch or disturb them. This holds true for the Textile Cone Snail.

6. The Sea Snake – These highly venomous marine snakes are closely related and belong to the same family as the cobra. There are two independently evolved groups: the true sea snakes which are related to Australian terrestrial elapids, and the sea kraits which are related to Asian cobras.

5. The Lionfish – Lionfish are skilled hunters, using specialized bilateral swim bladder muscles to provide exquisite control of location in the water column, allowing the fish to alter its center of gravity to better attack prey. The lionfish then spreads its large pectoral fins and swallows its prey in a single motion.

4. The Stingray – Stingrays are a group of rays, which are cartilaginous fish related to sharks, and are one of the oceans deadliest creatures. Most stingrays have one or more barbed stingers on their tails, which are used exclusively for self-defense.

3. Blue-Ringed Octopus – This octopus has some of the most striking colors of any ocean creature. They get their name from the brightly blue colored rings on its body.

2. Needlefish – These strange looking creatures are very slender, and have a single dorsal fin, placed far back on the body. Needlefish are capable of making short jumps out of the water at up to 37 mph. Since Needlefish swim near the surface, they often leap over the decks of shallow boats rather than going around.

1. The Moray Eel - Most attacks stem from disruption of a moray's burrow to which they react strongly, but an increasing number of accidents also occur during hand feeding of morays by divers, an activity often used by dive companies to attract tourists.