So the idea behind this is the vastness of the universe and how little we actually know about it. The monsters themselves don't really represent anything specific, except the newt thing, which represents the parallel between space and deep sea, both of which are barely explored. I was inspired by one of my favorite quotes by H.P. Lovecraft-
"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far. The sciences, each straining in its own direction, have hitherto harmed us little; but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality, and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the light into the peace and safety of a new dark age."
Side note: Does anyone else get reminded of Calvin and Hobbes when looking at the skeleton? I can't look at it without thinking that..