Strange creatures are found on marine expedition in Australia

From time to time, images of strange creatures appear on social networks - and the animals are so weird that it's hard to believe that they really exist.

So, if you browse the internet and come across any of these marine animals, know that they were found not long ago by an Australian team of scientists.

The expedition, which began in September and lasted 36 days, had a partnership with 31 researchers and aimed to explore an unknown region of the Indian Ocean: Christmas and Cocos Islands - the location is called the “abyss zone”. The animals were collected at a depth of 5,000 meters.

There, the team led by the chief scientist of the operation, Dr Tim O'Hara, from the Museum Victoria Research, discovered dozens of species that - according to him, 30% of them - are probably new to science.

In the gigantic underwater mountains, biologists found extravagant and very strange creatures. Among them are the tripod fish, bat, a blind eel and other animals not yet identified.

O'Hara said in an interview with The Guardian, that the data should take years to be disclosed, as the working group needs to compare all the information collected with those of known animal species, so it will be possible to know the level of connection with each of them.

See some of the bizarre animals found by biologists, according to the Australian Geographic website:

Batfish: It has dark skin and has an extension in front of its face - scientists are calling it a "rod" because it has a pear-shaped "bait" at the end.

Sloane's Viperfish: the interesting thing about this fish is that the upper organs and fins produce light, which makes it, while attracting prey, also to get rid of predators.

Spiderfish: its long lower fins with thick tips allow it to sustain itself on the bottom of the sea, with which it can feed on small shrimp.

Lizard fish: These are voracious predators with mouths full of long, sharp teeth. They belong to a group of simultaneously hermaphrodite fish; they have an ovotestis with functional male and female reproductive tissue at the same time.

See more photos below.