What do you think?
Rate this book
Weird Sea Creatures
An illustrated look at the weird and wonderful creatures that live in the very deepest parts of the sea. Humans have always wondered, with a mixture of fear and fascination, what lurks beneath the surface in the depths of the ocean. In this book, Erich Hoyt introduces 50 of the oddest creatures you will ever meet in the sea. From the carnivorous comb jelly to the lantern-carrying deep-sea dragonfish, from a vampire squid with giant eyes to dancing jellyfish, Hoyt explores these peculiar conditions and their equally peculiar environment. These creatures have adapted to lack of light and, using sound pulses (echolocation) or light-producing organs and pigment cells (emitting light via bioluminescence), they are able to communicate without giving their location away to predators. These stunning, captivating photographs weren't taken from the portholes of submarines. Photographers David Shale, Solvin Zanki and Jeff Rotman worked with oceanography institutes, museums and the BBC Natural History Unit, taking long cruises across the ocean to record and try to understand these little-studied residents of the deep sea. To capture the creatures for observation, a net was lowered far beneath the surface. As soon as the trawl was hauled aboard, the photographers would race to transfer the most unusual animals to fresh seawater aquariums in a chilled laboratory on board. These pages let readers gaze into strange, wild eyes and study faces with toothless or crooked smiles that witness the fruits of deep-sea evolution. Informative captions explain what the patterns of lights on their bodies are "saying" to others in their absolutely dark world. The wonder and extraordinary weirdness of what lives in the deep seas, so far away from us and yet so close, will become more familiar with this book.
64 pages, Paperback
First published March 14, 2013
About the author
Erich Hoyt
39 books39 followersErich Hoyt has spent much of his life on or near the sea, working with whales and dolphins and marine conservation. An award-winning author, he has written or co-written 25 books and hundreds of magazine articles on whales, dolphins, as well as the deep sea, ants, insects, wild plants and other subjects.
His latest books include Planktonia (2022, 176pp, 150+ photos) and Strange Sea Creatures (2021), both of which offer a deep dive into the new species scientists are discovering in the ocean, some of them no larger than a fingernail. In 2019, he produced an expanded, updated edition of his best-selling Orca: The Whale Called Killer, lavishly illustrated with 90 all new photos, illustrations and maps. Before those books, Encyclopedia of Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises (2017) chronicled the 40-year revolution in whale research with first-hand stories and insights into the lives of these highly social, intelligent mammals and the drive to save their habitat. Other books include the award-winning Creatures of the Deep (2014) and Weird Sea Creatures (2013) — both of which explored the frontiers of the deep sea with state of the art photography and tales of bizarre new species.
Erich is currently Research Fellow with WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation in the UK. For the past 20 years, he has jointly directed the first killer whale (orca) study in eastern Russia (in Kamchatka), an international collaboration with Russian scientists. The project won the prestigious Klüh Prize for Innovation in Science ($10,000 prize) from Germany. Erich is also a member of the International Committee on Marine Mammal Protected Areas and co-chair of the IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Area Task Force.
Erich has authored numerous conservation and scientific papers and reports as a consultant and advisor for international conservation groups and governments and is considered an authority on whales and dolphins, marine-protected areas and marine conservation, whale watching and ecotourism. He has given talks in Japan, Russia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Iceland, Mexico, Chile, Canada, U.S., Germany and the Caribbean. He has also taught as a visiting lecturer at the Ohio State University, the University of Edinburgh, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Erich’s magazine and newspaper credits include: National Geographic, Natural History, Geographical, New Scientist, Canadian Geographic, The Sunday Times (London), The Guardian, The New York Times, Hakai, Defenders, International Wildlife. Twice a James Thurber Writer-in-Residence, and a Vannevar Bush Fellow at MIT and Harvard in 1985-86, he has 15 magazine and book awards including the Outstanding Book of the Year Award from the American Society of Journalists & Authors, Inc., in New York (2002) and the Choice selection as one of its Outstanding Academic Books (2012).
Three of his adult nonfiction books, The Earth Dwellers, Insect Lives and Orca: The Whale Called Killer, have been optioned for films. His books for children (age 10+) include Weird Sea Creatures, Whale Rescue, Meeting the Whales and Riding with the Dolphins (all published by Firefly Books) and Extinction A-Z. His books have been published in 15 languages in 25 countries.
A dual Canadian-American citizen, Erich lives in Dorset, England, with his wife and four children.
His latest books include Planktonia (2022, 176pp, 150+ photos) and Strange Sea Creatures (2021), both of which offer a deep dive into the new species scientists are discovering in the ocean, some of them no larger than a fingernail. In 2019, he produced an expanded, updated edition of his best-selling Orca: The Whale Called Killer, lavishly illustrated with 90 all new photos, illustrations and maps. Before those books, Encyclopedia of Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises (2017) chronicled the 40-year revolution in whale research with first-hand stories and insights into the lives of these highly social, intelligent mammals and the drive to save their habitat. Other books include the award-winning Creatures of the Deep (2014) and Weird Sea Creatures (2013) — both of which explored the frontiers of the deep sea with state of the art photography and tales of bizarre new species.
Erich is currently Research Fellow with WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation in the UK. For the past 20 years, he has jointly directed the first killer whale (orca) study in eastern Russia (in Kamchatka), an international collaboration with Russian scientists. The project won the prestigious Klüh Prize for Innovation in Science ($10,000 prize) from Germany. Erich is also a member of the International Committee on Marine Mammal Protected Areas and co-chair of the IUCN Marine Mammal Protected Area Task Force.
Erich has authored numerous conservation and scientific papers and reports as a consultant and advisor for international conservation groups and governments and is considered an authority on whales and dolphins, marine-protected areas and marine conservation, whale watching and ecotourism. He has given talks in Japan, Russia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Iceland, Mexico, Chile, Canada, U.S., Germany and the Caribbean. He has also taught as a visiting lecturer at the Ohio State University, the University of Edinburgh, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
Erich’s magazine and newspaper credits include: National Geographic, Natural History, Geographical, New Scientist, Canadian Geographic, The Sunday Times (London), The Guardian, The New York Times, Hakai, Defenders, International Wildlife. Twice a James Thurber Writer-in-Residence, and a Vannevar Bush Fellow at MIT and Harvard in 1985-86, he has 15 magazine and book awards including the Outstanding Book of the Year Award from the American Society of Journalists & Authors, Inc., in New York (2002) and the Choice selection as one of its Outstanding Academic Books (2012).
Three of his adult nonfiction books, The Earth Dwellers, Insect Lives and Orca: The Whale Called Killer, have been optioned for films. His books for children (age 10+) include Weird Sea Creatures, Whale Rescue, Meeting the Whales and Riding with the Dolphins (all published by Firefly Books) and Extinction A-Z. His books have been published in 15 languages in 25 countries.
A dual Canadian-American citizen, Erich lives in Dorset, England, with his wife and four children.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
June 5, 2018
It is really rather saddening that I just cannot give Erich Hoyt's in many ways utterly amazing and oh so enlightening Weird Sea Creatures more than three stars, for if I were to consider Weird Sea Creatures from just its text and photographs, it would definitely be a four if not even a five star read for me. Featuring both exceedingly informative but still always engaging and approachable printed words (including an extensive introduction that is indeed intellectually to die for, as it not only introduces the fifty so-called weird sea creatures of the deepest reaches of the ocean that are about to be presented, but author Erich Hoyt then also takes the time to explain that many of these denizens of the abyss are so recently discovered that they do not even as of yet have commonly accepted names and designations) and visually stunning (albeit at times also almost a bit frighteningly uncanny) accompanying photographs, a wonderful marriage of informative, enlightening narrative and equally thus visual images emerges (with enough presented scientific detail to be informative but never so much as to be overwhelming, although I do consider Weird Sea Creatures as most definitely a book for older children and teenagers, for readers above the ages of nine or ten, as there is indeed quite a bit of advanced vocabulary used and the narrative can be a bit dense).
However, my enjoyment and indeed my appreciation of Weird Sea Creatures notwithstanding and considering that this is an entirely science and as such also research based non fiction book for children (for older children), I personally cannot and will not forgive and forget that unfortunately and annoyingly, Erich Hoyt has chosen to include NO bibliographical information whatsoever (no suggestions for further reading, no footnotes and endnotes, basically nothing of the sort, period), a really and truly problematic academic and intellectual shortcoming that totally and sadly very much lowers and limits the teaching, learning and especially the supplemental research value of Weird Sea Creatures (and something that I for one do NOT AT ALL understand, for I simply cannot fathom how and why Erich Hoyt would consider his in most other ways so excellent Weird Sea Creatures to be in any manner complete without a list of works cited and/or suggestions for further research and study). Still recommended, but really, without supplemental bibliographical details, Weird Sea Creatures at least to and for me is quite massively lacking (and indeed, while I also wish that Erich Hoyt had perhaps included a glossary and some visual aids as to where his presented animal species of the deep have been found, such as detailed oceanic maps, I can most definitely accept and handle the lack of a glossary and accompanying maps, but I just cannot stomach the non inclusion of bibliographical information).
However, my enjoyment and indeed my appreciation of Weird Sea Creatures notwithstanding and considering that this is an entirely science and as such also research based non fiction book for children (for older children), I personally cannot and will not forgive and forget that unfortunately and annoyingly, Erich Hoyt has chosen to include NO bibliographical information whatsoever (no suggestions for further reading, no footnotes and endnotes, basically nothing of the sort, period), a really and truly problematic academic and intellectual shortcoming that totally and sadly very much lowers and limits the teaching, learning and especially the supplemental research value of Weird Sea Creatures (and something that I for one do NOT AT ALL understand, for I simply cannot fathom how and why Erich Hoyt would consider his in most other ways so excellent Weird Sea Creatures to be in any manner complete without a list of works cited and/or suggestions for further research and study). Still recommended, but really, without supplemental bibliographical details, Weird Sea Creatures at least to and for me is quite massively lacking (and indeed, while I also wish that Erich Hoyt had perhaps included a glossary and some visual aids as to where his presented animal species of the deep have been found, such as detailed oceanic maps, I can most definitely accept and handle the lack of a glossary and accompanying maps, but I just cannot stomach the non inclusion of bibliographical information).
June 24, 2019
Great images of lots of different creatures from the ocean.
I especially appreciated that he explained how these images were taken, and articulated why title is a bit of a misnomer. These creatures are not weird for the environment where they live. If humans attempted to live deep under the sea, we would not survive (without a lot of technology to help us).
Took this out to local elementary schools in May/June 2019. Explained to the kids how if an alien landed on Earth randomly, chances are they'd land in the ocean. They could easily leave Earth without ever seeing a human. So they could go back to their home planet and report that these creatures are the native species of Earth. Etc. etc.
Good stuff. I'd love to see an update, assuming projects like this continue to be undertaken.
I especially appreciated that he explained how these images were taken, and articulated why title is a bit of a misnomer. These creatures are not weird for the environment where they live. If humans attempted to live deep under the sea, we would not survive (without a lot of technology to help us).
Took this out to local elementary schools in May/June 2019. Explained to the kids how if an alien landed on Earth randomly, chances are they'd land in the ocean. They could easily leave Earth without ever seeing a human. So they could go back to their home planet and report that these creatures are the native species of Earth. Etc. etc.
Good stuff. I'd love to see an update, assuming projects like this continue to be undertaken.
October 7, 2013
I thought this book was awesome. The pictures are incredible and I appreciated the explanation of how they were taken. It is the perfect amount of information for just touching on a subject, but yet still coming away with some real knowledge. The text pages were interesting and well organized. I was excited about what I learned and while writing a booktalk for 6th graders on this title, I had to keep rewriting so it didn't sound like a report (but the info was presented in such a readable and concise way that I actually remembered it and wanted to share it!) I also liked how the explanations that accompanied the pictures were kept short yet packed with useful information, and the smaller font size kept the focus on the photograph of the animal itself.
October 15, 2013
I'm a sucker for everything deep-sea, and so this amazing book of photography (with sparser-than-I'd-like) details about the sea creatures was a fabulous read. I was pleased to see the mantis shrimp in the book (actually, several pages earlier I had brought it up to the coworker who was reading the book with me), and several types of squid and sea cucumber.
May 21, 2014
The pictures in this book are just phenomenal. Otherworldly, bizarre, magical...and all real. Stuff like this (reality that looks like fiction) makes the best book-talks. Excited to bring this to the schools!
August 8, 2013
Fascinating photos of deep sea creatures that are so foreign looking they almost resemble alien life forms! My favorite was the Comb Jelly which can aptly be described as a "mouth that swims."
The text is little too textbook for my tastes, but the blurbs accompanying each photo are jam-packed full of information. A lengthy introduction reveals the details of how the author approached this project. Grades 3-5.
The text is little too textbook for my tastes, but the blurbs accompanying each photo are jam-packed full of information. A lengthy introduction reveals the details of how the author approached this project. Grades 3-5.
April 15, 2014
“Weird Sea Creatures” by Erich Hoyt is a beautiful book, which I won through Groodreads First Reads Give Away. It is full of the strangest creatures from the deep sea. The book is for all ages, as it gives wonderful information for those wanting to know more and photos that at are beautiful by their self. The text does not talk down to the reader as so often it does in children‘s picture books. Thank you, Mr. Hoyt, for giving us a beautiful, educational book for all.
November 28, 2017
In this book, the pictures used really make the book. The book is geared towards kids and uses real photographs so that the students can better understand what these unique creatures look like. This book does not have any illustrations, but the photographs more than make up for this. The book could be used for any grade really, even I learned a couple neat facts from this book.
January 2, 2015
Great pictures and fascinating snippets about a couple dozen remarkable sea creatures. Oddly the introductory text is unappetizingly presented, which unfortunately means most will skip it to jump ahead to the photos. Great for browsing.
October 7, 2013
Amazing photos of deep sea creatures, many as yet unnamed. Art imitates life!
November 1, 2013
Brief, encyclopedia-style text, but STUNNING photographs--not the most appealing read, but ideal for browsing.
April 4, 2014
Awesome photos
June 12, 2014
No wonder SciFi uses fish like creatures for some of their weird alien looks. After seeing some of these photos, I would certainly get some great inspiration.
Read
August 9, 2020Really neat photos of deep sea creatures. Some are just plain spooky.
January 27, 2021
Stunning photography and great information.
November 11, 2025
I like learning about weird sea creatures. This book was full of them and with good information about each one!
August 9, 2024
I understand the explanation for it, but the completely black background is still disappointing. Was there really nothing else they could do to make the pictures more interesting? Still a good, short book on sea creatures even though it'd be nice if there were a little more effort put into the design of the book. Some maps of the locations of the creatures would have been nice too.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews