Deep-sea versus sci-fi
William Beebe, who was one of the first two bathynauts to venture into the ocean depths, once wrote that "at these abyssmal depths there are fish that can outdragon any mere figment of human imagination". So what sci-fi aliens resemble inhabitants of our blue planet? Here's a quick run-down:
One of my fave deep-sea/sci-fi matches: benthic siphonophore vs monsters from Doctor Who & Space1999 #DeepAliens #BluePlanet2 / pic.twitter.com/wPKR0Ytm32
— Dr Jon Copley (@expeditionlog) November 2, 2017Goblin sharks: extenable jaws like Aliens, & resemble Knifehead from "Robots Bashing Monsters" aka Pacific Rim #DeepAliens #BluePlanet2 / pic.twitter.com/S0inPzoLgO
— Dr Jon Copley (@expeditionlog) November 2, 2017& there's some video of the goblin shark's extendable jaws in action here https://t.co/WFIRnZ0PRL /
— Dr Jon Copley (@expeditionlog) November 2, 2017Not surprisingly, James Cameron's Avatar appears to have deep-sea inspiration, e.g. Iridogorigia coral & plants? #DeepAliens #BluePlanet2 / pic.twitter.com/MWZk1W89AU
— Dr Jon Copley (@expeditionlog) November 2, 2017
...but as Thomas Dalgren pointed out, there's a much better match for that with the Christmas Tree Worm:
The ”Helicoradian” from Avatar was probably inspired by Christmas tree worms, the annelid (Spirobranchus giganteus). https://t.co/wyHKUkX12S
— Thomas Dahlgren (@mucofloris) November 2, 2017And swimming crinoids (feather stars) cf. seeds of the World Tree from Avatar (to me, at least!) #DeepAliens #BluePlanet2 / pic.twitter.com/PZNiZtaCRW
— Dr Jon Copley (@expeditionlog) November 2, 2017Deep-sea crustacean Phronima has a similar life-cycle to the "Alien" of the movies, as well as looks #DeepAliens #BluePlanet2 / pic.twitter.com/k1QoaCtBoU
— Dr Jon Copley (@expeditionlog) November 2, 2017...it uses the body of another animal (a salp) as a nursery for its young https://t.co/jfVarRKAlY /
— Dr Jon Copley (@expeditionlog) November 2, 2017Giant sea-spiders remind me of face-huggers from Alien etc movies too ;) #DeepAliens #BluePlanet2 / pic.twitter.com/ZwFj5j9zfI
— Dr Jon Copley (@expeditionlog) November 2, 2017A little obscure perhaps, but this slickhead fish looks like Harvey Keitel's helmet from Saturn 3 #DeepAliens #BluePlanet2 / pic.twitter.com/atZOuctKaQ
— Dr Jon Copley (@expeditionlog) November 2, 2017Dragonfish jaws have an extra joint to open super-wide, a bit like Predators https://t.co/yVgF9yIaHL#DeepAliens #BluePlanet2 / pic.twitter.com/vMu1x6opnQ
— Dr Jon Copley (@expeditionlog) November 2, 2017...while the hatchetfish's skin bends light around its body, like a Predator's camouflage https://t.co/vOVr77kp2Q /
— Dr Jon Copley (@expeditionlog) November 2, 2017This googly-eyed squid from 900 m deep near the Marianas looks like a larval Sea-Devil from Doctor Who #DeepAliens #BluePlanet2 / pic.twitter.com/UMJatoptJm
— Dr Jon Copley (@expeditionlog) November 2, 2017That Bobbitt worm in #BluePlanet2 though - like something from sci-fi...
...<rummage rummage> e.g. this beastie from Blake's 7 :) pic.twitter.com/qveFfXZm5b
— Dr Jon Copley (@expeditionlog) November 12, 2017A final deep-sea thing resembling something from sci-fi? My haircut in early 90s & Prof Jones in #DoctorWho "The Green Death" ;) / pic.twitter.com/L3PcUzQQTh
— Dr Jon Copley (@expeditionlog) November 2, 2017
Jon Copley, November 2017
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