This story was originally published in January 2024.
Everyone loves Maine’s charismatic megafauna, charming sea mammals and cute little furbearers — moose and bear, lynx and foxes, seals and dolphins, rabbits and porcupines. They’re on T-shirts and calendars, they are the subject of viral videos, and some of them bring millions of dollars into the state from hunters.
But what about those other specials that are decidedly not cute or charming but make up for their lack of charisma with pure weirdness? The fish so ugly they had to rename it so people would eat it? The parasites that chomp onto unsuspecting prey like Draculas of the sea? The goopy balls of invertebrates you’d be forgiven for mistaking for your child’s latest slime-making experiment?
Here are six species found right here in Maine that might not be cute but are certainly interesting.
Monkfish (Lophius americanus)
There are lots of funky fish in the sea, but in the Gulf of Maine, the monkfish — also known as the goosefish, devil fish, molligut or satchelmouth — may be the funkiest of all. It’s a type of anglerfish, which means it uses filaments that sprout from its head to dangle around and attract prey, snapping them up whole. It has a huge mouth packed with sharp teeth, and it usually sits flat like a pancake on the ocean floor, waiting for something to eat to swim by. If it needs to move around, its fins act like tiny little feet that push it around like a very ugly Roomba. The least weird thing about them is that they are actually quite tasty — monkfish is firm like lobster, and tastes mild and sweet, ideal for stews and braising.
Sea squirt (Didemnum vexillum)
It is hard to believe that this species of sea squirt is actually an animal, and not a plant or fungus. With common names like sea vomit and pancake batter tunicate, it looks a lot more like a gooey fungus or algae than it does an animal — but it is. It’s found clinging in large colonies to rocks, dock pilings, boats and other objects, and it’s a fast-growing invasive species in the Gulf of Maine, pushing out other species that occupy similar parts of the ocean. It isn’t a particularly appetizing food source for predators, given its slimy nature. Tunicates like the sea squirt, however, do contain chemical compounds that scientists have already put to use in some cancer drugs.
Sunfish (Mola mola)
These impossibly gigantic fish can easily be mistaken for big pieces of ocean debris or even for whales or sharks. The ocean sunfish, or mola mola — shaped like a giant satellite dish, with two fins on its top and bottom and a beaky mouth — spend most of their lives swimming very slowly or drifting through the ocean, eating jellyfish and cultivating mass. They can weigh up to 2,200 pounds and grow up to 8 feet in length. They are spotted in the warmer months in the Gulf of Maine, and are more recent visitors to our waters as ocean temperatures warm.
Hagfish and lamprey (Myxine glutinosa and Petromyzon marinus)
Hagfish and lamprey are cousins and lucky us, they both live in Maine. These ancient species both lack jaws, and while they resemble eels they are not related to them. Both species suction themselves to their dinner, though lamprey feed on living creatures and the mucus-coated hagfish are scavengers that mostly feed on dead ones.
Hagfish are strictly marine fish, while lamprey — also called the vampire fish, as it clings to its prey with its spiny tongue and teeth — are anadromous, which means they migrate into rivers to spawn. There are thousands of them in the Penobscot River each spring, with some even making their way into the Kenduskeag Stream in downtown Bangor. Take a look in the canals in early June and see if you spot one — they are super creepy.
Moss animals (Bryozoans)
Just like the aforementioned sea squirts form colonies in the ocean, so do moss animals form colonies in freshwater ponds and lakes. Tens of thousands of freshwater bryozoans clump together to form gelatinous, gloppy mounds that can be as big as a basketball, and attach themselves to submerged branches or other objects. They tend to appear in late summer, as water temperatures rise, and produce chemicals that can irritate the skin and have an unpleasant odor. It looks like moss, but it’s an animal.
Star-nosed mole (Condylura cristata)
Finally, a certifiably weird creature in Maine that’s land-based! These odd little animals hang out in damp undergrowth and boggy areas, and snack on insects and other invertebrates. They detect prey using their eponymous “star” shaped nose, which has fleshy appendages coming out of it that are covered in Eimer’s organs, an adaptation unique to moles. These organs are so exquisitely sensitive they can detect whether or not something is edible in 25 milliseconds. That’s helpful, since star-nosed moles are essentially blind. Scientists continue to study the star-nosed mole for clues about how brains both human and non-human work.
