I am posting this for someone else. Here’s the description:
I saw a “discovery channel” type show at a friends house a few years back that featured a really creepy ocean animal very much like the “swamp worms” in king kong '05, but cannot find anything using all sorts of “creature that’s just a mouth” & “ocean hydra” etc. type searches online. i could have sworn they’re called hydras
They have upwards pointing mouths like the swamp worms on a stalk with an inverted mushroom base. they have no sensory organs at all. they are literally just mouths & very creepy. Their teeth are only around their mouth like flower petals. otherwise, the resemblance is scary.
Hmm. There’s no shortage of creepy worm like things in the ocean, but I can’t think of anything that matches those worms. Are you describing a sessile (non-moving) animal? Those probably won’t have teeth, since they are usually filter feeders that eat tiny things floating through the water.
That might be a crinoid. It sort of sounds like your description, but they’re rather flower-like and not very creepy IMO. There are also various tube worms, but again there are no teeth.
There are a couple weird fish that might be part of what you’re thinking of. Hagfish and lampreys come to mind, especially if you just look at their mouths.
Maybe it was some sort of very small parasitic worm?
ETA: Here’s a (rather gruesome) site with pictures of the worms from King Kong.
Some form of bristleworm, maybe? There was a recent case in the news where a four foot specimen was found responsible for a sudden decline in fish population in an aquarium. They named him Barry.
Here’s a pic of something somewhat reminiscent of the King Kong critters, though thankfully a little smaller…
