Deep-sea fish are amazing representatives of the world fauna. Inhabitants of the ocean floor, deep-sea fish Deep creatures

Deep-sea inhabitants of the seas and oceans, mostly predators. But among them there are detritophages - animals that feed on carrion and the remains of other creatures. Due to the darkness present at the depth of the ocean, many animals acute vision or they are blind. The bottom is covered with silt, so the inhabitants of the ocean floor have special structure, allowing you to move: long legs, needles or a flat torso. Bioluminescence is characteristic of some species of animals, it is intended for lighting, luring prey, as camouflage or scaring away other predatory animals.
Deep sea fish are those fish that live at depths of 200 meters or more. In addition to darkness, these places are dominated by high pressure and low temperature. Fishermen have already noted that deep-sea fish caught on the surface change their body structure due to a pressure mismatch with their habitat. And some creatures managed to see, with the help of special equipment and filmed on a camera, which greatly helped scientists describe the deep-sea inhabitants of the ocean.

Most deep sea fish in the world live at a depth of more than 6 kilometers, there are more than 2 thousand species. Some of them prefer the continental slope to the muddy bottom. A small part of the fish in shallow water lays eggs, and hatched young fish, as they grow older, go deep into the ocean. But the deeper, the less food goes to the organisms existing there, so many of them have a specific mouth structure, its size determines the size of future prey. But in most cases, deep-sea animals prefer invertebrates. A quick rise from the depths is risky for creatures - their body expands in volume, internal organs come out, and the eyes are pressed out of their sockets under pressure.

Inhabitants of deep waters

Nobody knows everything about deep-sea fish, because 99% of the bottom has not been studied, the ocean itself also remains a mystery, which for many centuries has kept many mysterious creatures in its waters. But what animals and fishes of the ocean depths are the most incredible and mysterious creatures that you can only meet in their habitat?
The most fascinating creature is considered to be the pig squid, which lives closest to the surface of the ocean and has an almost completely transparent body. The nature of his behavior has not yet been fully studied, while science knows only his external data. Some parts of the squid's body are covered with pigments - chromatophores, and under each eye there are luminous organs - photophores. These creatures by nature are not able to swim quickly, which made it possible to consider them.

Deep ocean fish have a low proportion of bone structure and a very soft body due to the too high fat content, which helps to balance the density of the fish itself and the water in which it lives. A sad expression is characterized by a drop fish. She, unlike other fish, does not have a swim bladder, because her life activity takes place at a depth of 800 meters, where it would be ineffective. The fish has a jelly-like body, which helps it move without problems at the very bottom of the ocean. prickly sea ​​urchins and passing mollusks make up the diet of this fish.
The most beautiful deep sea, but terrible scary fish- lionfish, or lion fish, the second version of its name is better known. It is deadly to those with a weak heart or severe allergies, its venom penetrating through the spikes making the bites even more painful. The lionfish escapes predators with its large and very sharp fins, but this species of deep-sea creatures, capable of eating itself, is one of the few that is characterized by cannibalism.

A very fragile small-mouthed macropinna has a head that looks like transparent jelly, on which barrel-shaped eyes are located - lenses that have special greenish wings to reduce ultraviolet radiation and sorting prevailing at depth of blue color from everyone else. These organs are only considered to be eyes, but in reality they are a kind of sensor, and the eyes are located below the protruding forehead.
Very similar to a dinosaur, the bathysaurus has a wide range of depths for its life activity - from 600 to 3500 meters, an adult individual reaches a length of 65 centimeters. On his tongue there are fangs that help to hold the victim. He eats everything that gets in his way. These lizard-headed deep ocean fish are the most dangerous predators. They do not look for a partner for reproduction; all individuals throughout evolution have been and remain hermaphrodites.

A rare species representing the deep-sea world of the ocean, which originated in Cretaceous- frilled shark. It has a structure like that of a snake, and the same movable jaws that help to capture big booty and swallow it whole. When attacking, the shark bends in half and makes a sharp jerk forward. Sharp fangs do not allow prey to break free. The predator's diet includes cephalopods, clawed fish and sharks.

Prefers loneliness and the depth of the seabed deep-sea monkfish - the ugliest of the representatives underwater world. Fish at the bottom of the ocean come across his luminous likeness of a tail, with which he twists the victim, luring him to his sharp teeth. The monkfish has a wide mouth and a very plastic body, which allows it to swallow prey twice its size.

Another deep-sea inhabitants of the ocean are viper fish. They are distinguished by special sharp fangs that are too large for a small fish mouth. Like many other predators, viperfish use luminous organ at the end of your body. The predator swims up to its prey at high speed and plunges its fangs into it, for which it has the fame of the most ruthless inhabitant among other fish in the depths of the ocean.

Perch-like fish living at the bottom of the ocean are called stargazers for their upward-pointing eyes. They tend to give strong current discharges. They usually lie in wait for prey by hiding in the silt, or with a special appendix in the mouth.

Bright colors and a unique body structure distinguish the mantis shrimp from other inhabitants of deep waters. The eyes of this predator are able to distinguish 12 primary colors, for comparison, human eyes only 3. The mantis shrimp kills its prey with strong blows of its legs, the strength of which is enough to break glass in one or two blows.

The ocean depths are one of the most mysterious and little-studied places in the world. There are many strange and unusual creatures living there, most of which do not look like anyone else. Many depth explorers agree with the statement that the most terrible creatures in the whole world live in the depths.

Pike blenny (lat. Neoclinus blanchardi)

The name of this fish is not the most intimidating, as well as the appearance. But one has only to provoke her, as she immediately opens her mouth and turns into a terrible monster, ready to swallow prey many times larger than herself. N. blanchardi, of course, is not able to swallow a large enemy, opening its mouth wide and showing its toothy mouth, the fish only seeks to protect its territory. It turns out that she is quite effective, sometimes in this way she manages to drive away even very large aggressors.

inhabit blennies predominantly off the Pacific coast of North America.

Latimeria (lat. Latimeria)

A real living fossil, the only species in the order of prehistoric coelacanth-like fish that has survived to this day. Coelacanths appeared on Earth approximately 400 million years ago and have not changed much since then. The modern population living in the Indian Ocean off the southern coast of Africa is estimated at only 300-400 individuals.

Toad fish (lat. Opsanus tau)

Predatory fish from the batrakhov family. Lives in the western part of the Atlantic Ocean. Leads a sedentary lifestyle. Most of the time he spends hiding in the silt or sand at the bottom of the ocean - this is how the toad fish hunts, waiting for the prey to swim up to it; and sleeps, safely hidden from enemies.

The body is covered with poisonous spikes, which pose a considerable danger to humans.

Emits very loud sounds, reaching over 100 dB in close proximity. Thus fish-toads warn: this territory is mine!

Catfish striped (lat. Anarhichas lupus)

A fish found primarily in the cold deep waters of the Atlantic. Due to its aggressive disposition, it was nicknamed the "Atlantic wolf".

The teeth of A. Lupus wear out very quickly, probably due to the heavy load, but new ones quickly grow in place of the worn ones.

Bumpy carpet shark (lat. Sutorectus tentaculatus)

One of the smallest sharks, the average body length is 72 cm, the maximum is 92 cm.

Lives off the southeast coast of Australia. They are found on rocky reefs and kelp-covered areas where prey can be ambushed. They move slowly dragging along the bottom, practically merging with it, which is greatly facilitated by the flattened shape of the body and masking coloration.

European anglerfish (lat. Lophius piscatorius)

Quite a large fish with a body length of up to 2 meters. Popularly, the species is better known as the "monkfish".

The body is not covered with lusk, the skin is dense with numerous outgrowths, tubercles and hairs that imitate algae and mask fish.

Hunts with a special bioluminescent bait, hiding at the bottom. Huge mouth and throat allow European anglerfish to swallow very large prey whole.

The character of the monkfish is bad, attacks on larger fish and even divers are not uncommon.

European stargazer (lat. Uranoscopus scaber)

Predatory fish from the perch order. Body size 20-35 cm. It lives in warm regions of the oceans and in the Mediterranean Sea.

The astrologer got its name because of the location of the eyes, which are constantly directed to the sky.

It is dangerous due to the poisonous spikes located above the pectoral fins.

Common Hauliod (Chauliodus sloani)

A real monster from the abyss. It is found in the temperate and tropical zones of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans at a depth of 500 to 4000 meters.

Because of the narrow, elongated body and huge teeth, they got the nickname "viper fish". The body length is small: up to 35 cm, while the teeth reach 5 cm in length, which is why the mouth never closes.

The mouth is capable of opening 110 degrees, thanks to which the howliod is able to swallow prey, which is up to 63% of the size of the predator itself.

West Atlantic bat (lat. Ogcocephalus parvus)

A very strange and still little-studied fish from the anglerfish order. It lives at the bottom of warm subtropical and tropical seas.

The fins of the bat perform rather the function of legs, with their help the fish slowly moves along the bottom.

The blob fish that

It is a deep-sea bottom fish living at depths of 600 meters.

Drop fish (Blobfish)

- deep-sea fish that lives in deep waters near Australia and Tasmania. It is extremely rare for humans and is considered critically endangered.

The appearance of this strange and extremely interesting fish is very bizarre. On the front of the fish's muzzle is a process that resembles a large nose. The eyes are small and set close to the "nose" in such a way that resemblance with a "human" face. The mouth is quite large, its corners are directed downward, which is why the muzzle of the drop fish always seems to have a sad and dull expression. It is thanks to its expressive "face" that the drop fish firmly holds first place in the ranking of the strangest sea creatures.

grows up adult fish up to 30 cm. It keeps at depths of 800 - 1,500 m. The body of the fish is a watery substance with a density less than that of water. This allows the drop fish to “fly” above the bottom without expending energy on swimming. Its lack of muscles does not interfere with the hunting of small crustaceans and invertebrates. In search of food, the fish soars above the ocean floor with an open mouth into which food is stuffed, or lies motionless on the ground, hoping that rare invertebrates will swim into its mouth on their own.

The blob fish has been poorly studied. Although it has been known for quite a long time in Australia as " Australian scalpin» (Australian steer) There are very few details about her life. Interest in the fish has increased recently due to the fact that it has become increasingly caught in trawl nets adapted for the extraction of deep-sea crabs and lobsters. Although trawl fishing in the Pacific and Indian Ocean limited, but this ban is only intended to conserve existing coral reefs, and in deep sea ocean is allowed. Therefore, biologists argue that trawling can significantly reduce the population of blobfish. There are calculations that say that it takes from 5 to 14 years to double the current number of fish.

Such a slow growth in numbers is associated with another interesting feature drop fish. She lays her eggs right on the bottom, but does not leave her clutch, but lays down on the eggs and “hatches” them until the young come out of them. Such reproduction is not typical for deep-sea fish, which lay eggs that rise to the surface and mix with plankton. Other deep-sea birds, as a rule, descend to great depths only at sexual maturity and remain there until the end of their lives. A drop fish does not leave its kilometer depth at all. The juvenile fish that were born are still under protection for some time. adult, until he gains sufficient independence for a lonely life.

Amazing creatures live at great depths of the ocean. Of all deep-sea creatures, sea devils, or anglers, live the most amazing lives.

These creepy fish, covered with spikes and plaques, live at a depth of 1.5-3 km. The most notable feature of the monkfish is the fishing rod that grows out of dorsal fin and hanging over the predatory mouth. At the end of the rod, there is a glowing gland filled with luminescent bacteria. sea ​​devils use it as bait.

The prey swims into the light, and the angler carefully moves the fishing rod to the mouth, and at some point swallows the prey very quickly. In some species, a fishing rod with a flashlight is right in the mouth, and the fish, without much bothering, simply swims with its mouth open.

Outwardly, bats are very similar to stingrays. They are also characterized by a large round (or triangular) head and a small tail, with an almost complete absence of a body. The largest representatives of bats reach half a meter in length, but basically they are somewhat smaller. In the process of evolution, the fins have completely lost the ability to keep the fish afloat, so it has to crawl along the seabed. Although they crawl with great reluctance, as a rule they spend their leisure time simply lying passively on the bottom, waiting for their prey or luring it with a special bulb growing directly from the head. Scientists have determined that this bulb is not a photophore and does not attract prey with its light. On the contrary, this process has a different function - it spreads a specific smell around its owner, which attracts small fish, crustaceans and worms.

Sea bats live throughout warm waters world ocean without swimming in the cold waters of the Arctic. As a rule, they all keep to depths of 200 - 1000 meters, but there are species of bats that prefer to stay closer to the surface, not far from the coast. A person is quite familiar with bats, which prefer surface waters. The fish is not of gastronomic interest, but its shell has become very attractive to people, especially children. Sun-dried fish leaves behind a strong shell, reminiscent of a tortoise. If you add pebbles inside it, you get a decent rattle, which since ancient times has been known to the inhabitants of the Eastern Hemisphere, living on the coast of the ocean.

As one would expect - the shell serves as a protective clothing for bats from larger deep-sea inhabitants. Only strong teeth strong predator can break the shell to get to the meat of the fish. In addition, finding a bat in the dark is not so easy. In addition to the fact that the fish is flat and merges with the surrounding landscape, the color of its shell also repeats the color of the seabed.

lancet fish

or simply lancetfish- big ocean predatory fish, which is the only living member of the genus Alepisaurus (Alepisaurus), which means "h eshuya lizards". It got its name from the word "lancet" - a medical term, a synonym for a scalpel.

With the exception of the polar seas, lancetfish can be found everywhere. However, despite its wide distribution, information about this fish is extremely scarce. Scientists are able to form an idea of ​​the fish only from a few specimens caught along with tuna. The appearance of the fish is very memorable. It has a high dorsal fin, which is almost the entire length of the fish. In height, it exceeds the fish twice, and outwardly resembles the fin of a sailfish.

The body is elongated, thin, decreasing closer to the tail and ending with the caudal peduncle. The mouth is large. The incision of the mouth ends behind the eyes. Inside the mouth, in addition to numerous small teeth, there are two or three large sharp fangs. These fangs give the fish an intimidating look of a prehistoric animal. One species of lancetfish has even been named as " alepisaurus ferocious”, which indicates a person’s alertness to fish. Indeed, looking at the mouth of a fish, it is difficult to imagine that the victim could be saved if she got into the teeth of this monster.

The lancet fish grows up to 2 m in length, which is quite comparable to the size of the barracuda, which is considered potentially dangerous to humans.

The autopsy of the caught fish has given some insight into the diet of the lancetfish. In the stomach, crustaceans were found, which make up the bulk of plankton, which is in no way associated with a formidable predator. Probably, the fish chooses plankton because they are not able to swim fast, and they simply cannot keep up with fast prey. Therefore, squids and salps dominate its diet. However, in some individuals of lancet fish, the remains of Opa, tuna and other lancets were also found. It appears to be ambushing faster fish, using its narrow profile and silver body coloration to camouflage itself. Sometimes a fish is caught on a hook during sea fishing.

Lancefish does not represent any commercial interest. Despite the edible meat, the fish is not used for food because of its watery, jelly-like body.

sack swallower this fish is named for its ability to swallow prey, which is several times larger than itself. The fact is that it has a very elastic stomach, and there are no ribs in the stomach that would prevent the expansion of the fish. Therefore, he can easily swallow a fish four times longer than his height and 10 times heavier!

So, for example, not far from the Cayman Islands, the corpse of a sack-swallower was found, in the stomach of which were the remains of a mackerel 86 cm long. The length of the sack-swallower itself was only 19 cm. he managed to swallow a fish 4 times longer than himself. And it was mackerel, known as mackerel fish, which is very aggressive. It is not completely clear how such a small fish coped with a stronger opponent.

Outside of Russia, the bag swallower is called " black eater". The body of the fish is a uniform dark brown, almost black color. Medium sized head. The jaws are very large. The lower jaw does not have a bone connection with the head, so the open mouth of the bag-swallower is able to accommodate prey, much larger than the head of a predator. On each jaw, the front three teeth form sharp fangs. With them, the black devourer holds the victim when he pushes it into the stomach.

Swallowed prey can be so large that it is not immediately digested. As a result, decomposition inside the stomach releases a large number of gas, which drags the sack-eater to the surface. In fact, the most famous specimens of the black eater were found precisely on the surface of the water with swollen bellies that prevented the fish from escaping to the depths.

It lives at a depth of 700 - 3000 m. Watch the animal in its vivo habitation is not possible, so very little is known about his life. They are known to be egg-laying fish. Most often it is possible to find laying of eggs in winter in South Africa. Juveniles from April to August are often found near Bermuda, have lighter shades that disappear as the fish mature. Also, larvae and young sack-swallowers have small spines that are absent in adult fish.

Opisthoproct lives at great depths up to 2,500 m in all oceans, with the exception of the Arctic Ocean. Their appearance is peculiar and does not allow them to be confused with other deep-sea fish. Most often, scientists pay attention to the unusual large head of the fish. It has large eyes that are constantly turned upward, from where sunlight comes. It is worth noting that quite recently, at the end of 2008, an opisthoproct was caught near New Zealand, which had as many as 4 eyes. However, it is known for sure that vertebrates with 4 eyes do not exist in nature. Further study of the find made it possible to determine that in fact there are only two eyes, but each of them consists of two parts, one of which is constantly directed upwards, and the second looks down. The lower eye of the fish is able to change the viewing angle and allows the animal to inspect environment from all sides.

The body of the opisthoproct is quite massive, in shape it resembles a brick covered with large scales. Near the anal fin, the fish has a bioluminescent organ that acts as a beacon. The belly of the fish, covered with light scales, reflects the light emitted by the photofrost. This reflected light is clearly visible to other opisthoprocts, whose eyes are directed upwards, but at the same time it is invisible to other deep-sea inhabitants, which have "classical" eyes located on the sides of the head.

It is believed that opisthoprocts are solitary and do not gather in large flocks. All the time they spend at depth, on the border of light penetration. For food, they do not make vertical migrations, but look out for prey at the top against the background of dissecting sunlight. The diet consists of small crustaceans and larvae, which are part of the zooplankton.

Very little is known about the reproduction of fish. It is believed that they spawn right in the water column - throwing massive amounts of eggs and sperm directly into the water. Fertilized eggs drift at a shallower depth and, as they mature and become heavier, sink to a kilometer depth.

As a rule, all opisthoprocts are small in size, about 20 cm, but there are species that reach half a meter in length.

- deep-sea fish that lives in tropical and temperate zones at a depth of 200 to 5,000 m. It grows up to 15 cm in length, reaching 120 g of body weight.

The head of the sabertooth is large, with massive jaws. The eyes are small compared to the size of the head. The body is dark brown or almost black, strongly compressed on the sides, and in compensation for the small eyes there is a well-developed lateral line running high on the back of the fish. Two long fangs grow in the mouth of the fish on the lower jaw. In relation to the length of the body, these teeth are the longest among fish known to science. These teeth are so large that when the mouth is closed, they are placed in special grooves in the upper jaw. To do this, even the brain of the fish is divided into two parts to make room for fangs in the skull.

Sharp teeth, bent inside the mouth, nip in the bud a possible escape of the victim. Adult saber teeth are predators. They prey on small fish and squid. Young individuals also filter out zooplankton from the water. In a short period of time, a sabertooth can swallow as much food as it weighs. Despite the fact that not much is known about these fish, it can still be concluded that sabertooths are quite ferocious predators. They keep in small flocks or singly, making vertical migrations at night for hunting. Having “worked up” enough, the fish descend to great depths during the day, resting before the next hunt.

By the way, it is possible that frequent migration to the upper layers of water explains the good tolerance of low-pressure saber teeth. Fish caught near the surface of the water can live up to one month in an aquarium in running water.

However, despite its formidable weapon in the form of huge fangs, saber-tooths often become the prey of larger oceanic fish that descend to the depths to feed. For example, the remains of saber-tooths are constantly found in the caught tuna. In this they are similar to hatchet fish, which also make up a significant share in the diet of tuna. Moreover, the number of finds indicates that the population of saber teeth is quite significant.

Juvenile saber-tooths are completely different from adult fish, which is why they were first assigned even to another genus. They are triangular in shape, and there are 4 spikes on the head, which is why they are called "horned". The juveniles also do not have fangs, and the color is not dark, but light brown, and only on the belly there is a large triangular spot, which will “stretch” over the whole body over time.

Saber teeth grow quite slowly. Scientists suggest that fish can reach 10 years of age.

Hatchet fish

- deep-sea fish found in temperate and tropical waters world ocean. They got their name for the characteristic appearance of the body, reminiscent of the shape of an ax - a narrow tail and a wide "body-axe".

Most often hatchets can be found at depths of 200-600 m. However, it is known that they are also found at depths of 2 km. Their body is covered with light silvery scales that easily bounce off. The body is strongly compressed laterally. Some species of hatchet have a pronounced expansion of the body in the region of the anal fin. They grow up to large sizes- some species reach a body length of only 5 cm.

Like other deep-sea fish, puffins have photophores that emit light. But unlike other fish, hatchets use their ability to bioluminesce not to attract prey, but, on the contrary, to camouflage. Photophores are located only on the belly of the fish, and their glow makes the hatchets invisible from below, as if dissolving the silhouette of the fish against the background of the sun's rays penetrating to the depth. The hatchets regulate the intensity of the glow depending on the brightness of the upper layers of water, controlling it with their eyes.

Some types of axes are collected in huge flocks, forming a wide dense "carpet". Sometimes it becomes difficult for watercraft to break through this layer with their echo sounders, for example for exact definition depths. Such a “double” ocean bottom has been observed by scientists and navigators since the middle of the 20th century. A large concentration of hatchetfish attracts some large oceanic fish to such places, among which there are also commercially valuable species, such as tuna. Hatchets also make up a significant part in the diet of other larger deep-sea inhabitants, such as deep-sea anglerfish.

Hatches feed on small crustaceans. They reproduce by spawning or laying larvae, which mix with plankton and sink to the depths as they mature.

ora chimeras

- deep-sea fish, the oldest inhabitants among modern cartilaginous fish. distant relatives modern sharks.

Chimeras are sometimes referred to as "a koolami-ghosts". These fish live at very great depths, sometimes exceeding 2.5 km. About 400 million ago common ancestors modern sharks and chimeras were divided into two "squads". Some preferred habitat near the surface. The other, on the contrary, chose great depths as its habitat and evolved over time to modern chimeras. Currently, 50 species of these fish are known to science. Most of them do not rise to depths above 200 m, and only rabbit fish and rat fish were seen not deep under water. These small fish are the only representatives of home aquariums, which are sometimes called simply " catfish ».

Chimeras grow up to 1.5 m, however, in adults, half of the body is the tail, which is a long, thin and narrow part of the body. The dorsal fin is very long and can reach to the very tip of the tail. A memorable appearance to chimeras is given by huge, in relation to the body, pectoral fins, giving them the appearance of a clumsy strange bird.

The habitat of chimeras makes their study very difficult. Very little is known about their habits, reproduction, and hunting methods. The collected knowledge suggests that chimeras hunt in much the same way as other deep-sea fish. In complete darkness, for a successful hunt, it is not speed that is important, but the ability to find prey literally by touch. Most deep sears use photophores to draw prey directly to their huge mouths. Chimeras, on the other hand, use a characteristic open, very sensitive lateral line to search for prey, which is one of distinguishing features these fish.

The skin color of chimeras is varied, it can range from light gray to almost black, sometimes with large contrasting spots. For protection from enemies, color at great depths does not play a fundamental role, therefore, for defense against predators, they have poisonous spikes located in front of the dorsal fin. I must say that at depths of over 600m. this one has enough enemies big fish not so much, except perhaps for the particularly gluttonous large female Indians. A great danger for young chimeras is their relatives, cannibalism for chimeras is not a rare phenomenon. Although most The diet consists of molluscs and echinoderms. Cases of eating other deep-sea fish have been recorded. Chimeras are very strong jaws. They have 3 pairs of hard teeth that can be used with great force to grind hard shells of molluscs.

according to inokean.ru

Deep sea fish are among the most amazing creatures on the planet. Their uniqueness is explained primarily by the harsh conditions of existence. That is why the depths of the oceans, and especially deep sea trenches and gutters, not densely populated at all.

and their adaptation to the conditions of existence

As already mentioned, the depths of the oceans are not as densely populated as, say, the upper layers of the water. And there are reasons for this. The fact is that the conditions of existence change with depth, which means that organisms must have some adaptations.

1. Life in the dark. With depth, the amount of light decreases sharply. It is believed that the maximum distance that a sunbeam travels in water is 1000 meters. Below this level, no traces of light were found. Therefore, deep-sea fish are adapted to life in complete darkness. Some fish species do not have functioning eyes at all. The eyes of other representatives, on the contrary, are very strongly developed, which makes it possible to capture even the weakest light waves. Another interesting device is the luminescent organs, which can glow using energy chemical reactions. Such light not only facilitates movement, but also lures potential prey.
2. High pressure. Another feature of the deep-sea existence. That is why the internal pressure of such fish is much higher than that of their shallow relatives.
3. Low temperature. With depth, the temperature of the water decreases significantly, so the fish are adapted to life in such an environment.
4. Lack of food. Since the diversity of species and the number of organisms decreases with depth, there is, accordingly, very little food left. Therefore, deep-sea fish have supersensitive organs of hearing and touch. This gives them the ability to detect potential prey at a great distance, which in some cases is measured in kilometers. By the way, such a device makes it possible to quickly hide from a larger predator.

You can see that the fish living in the depths of the ocean are truly unique organisms. In fact, a huge area of ​​the world's oceans is still unexplored. That is why the exact number of deep-sea fish species is unknown.

Diversity of fish living in the water depths

Although modern scientists know only a small part of the population of the depths, there is information about some very exotic inhabitants of the ocean.

Bathysaurus- the deepest predatory fish that live at a depth of 600 to 3500 m. They live in tropical and subtropical water spaces. This fish has almost transparent skin, large, well-developed sensory organs, and its oral cavity dotted with sharp teeth(even the tissues of the palate and tongue). Representatives of this species are hermaphrodites.

viper fish- another unique representative underwater depths. It lives at a depth of 2800 meters. It is these species that inhabit the depths. The main feature of the animal is its huge fangs, which are somewhat reminiscent of the poisonous teeth of snakes. This species is adapted to exist without constant food - the stomachs of fish are so stretched that they can swallow whole creature much larger than themselves. And on the tail of the fish there is a specific luminous organ, with the help of which they lure prey.

Angler- a rather unpleasant-looking creature with huge jaws, a small body and poorly developed muscles. It lives on Since this fish cannot actively hunt, it has developed special adaptations. has a special luminous organ that emits certain chemical substances. Potential prey reacts to light, swims up, after which the predator swallows it completely.

In fact, there are much more depths, but not much is known about their way of life. The fact is that most of them can exist only under certain conditions, in particular, when high pressure. Therefore, it is not possible to extract and study them - when they rise to the upper layers of the water, they simply die.

today I propose to see what fish live on the bottom of the oceans, you know many of them, but I think it will be interesting for you to learn more about them. Who is too lazy to read everything is in the first video)))
hope you enjoy it!http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BU7dD-4sbKM

Footbalfish - fish "soccer ball"

Footbalfish is a family of deep-sea fish of the anglerfish order, found in tropical and subtropical waters of the world's oceans. For its rounded shape, resembling a ball, in English-speaking countries, the name “soccer ball fish” has stuck to the fish.

Like other anglerfishes, this family is characterized by pronounced sexual dimorphism - female fish are large, almost ideally spherical in shape. The length of an adult female can exceed 60 cm. Males, on the contrary, are very small - less than 4 cm, and the body is slightly elongated. Both males and females are dark in color - from reddish brown to completely black.

Footbalfish was first discovered at the beginning of the 20th century while searching for flounder habitats. The habitat of these anglers begins at a depth of 1000 m and below. The fish are not very mobile.

Meshkort

large deep-sea fish found in all oceans except the Arctic Ocean. Weakly studied.
Do not confuse the bagworm with the bagworm, which is much smaller in size and lives closer to the surface.

Meshkorot (lat. Saccopharynx) - the only known genus deep-sea fishes in the family Meshkorotyh. It lives at a depth of 2 to 5 km. Adult fish can reach 2 meters in length. Coupled with a huge mouth planted with sharp teeth, a man sees a sackworm as a real monster from the depths.
The body of the fish is cigar-shaped, with long tail, which can be 4 times the length of the body. The mouth is large, strong and flexible, with teeth recurved into the mouth. Some bones are missing in the skull of the fish, so it is easy for the sackworm to open its mouth almost 180 degrees. Even the gills are not like the gills of other fish, and are located not on the head, but on the belly. At great depths, there is not always enough food, so the fish have adapted to eat up for the future, swallowing food more than their own weight and size. Having eaten "to the eyeballs" sackcloth can be long time go without food.

Unicorn comb fish. unicorn crestfish

Unicorn crestfish is a very rare little-studied fish, found everywhere at a depth of 1000 m. It got its name from a horn-like growth on its head.
Crested fish (crestfish) are inhabitants of tropical waters living at great depths. They are characterized by the presence of a huge dorsal fin, extending from the head to the tip of the tail. All of them have an extended subtle body silver color. The main "attraction" of some crests is ink bags, which allow the fish to throw out a cloud of ink in case of danger, confusing predators and allowing the fish to retreat.

Sticktail (Stylophorus chordatus)

The sticktail (Stylophorus chordatus) is a deep-sea fish with an elongated body and a long caudal fin, which is 2/3 of the total length of the fish. It lives in the warm waters of the oceans.
The sticktail lives at a depth of 300-800 m. At night, the fish rises closer to the surface, and at night it returns. The height of daily migrations can be 300 meters.

wandtail pretty rare fish although there is no exact population data. The discovery of Stylophorus chordatus took place in 1791 by the English zoologist G. Shaw, but the next time the animal was in the hands of scientists did not happen until a century later.

coal fish

Coalfish - deep sea commercial fish, living in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean, including in Russia.
Coal lives on muddy seabed at a depth of up to 2,700 m. Predatory - preys on small fish, jellyfish, cuttlefish and krill. It grows up to 120 cm. An adult can gain weight of 50 kg.

Coal fish is an object of commercial fishing. Fish is especially valued in Japan, where it is served in the most expensive restaurants in fried, baked and smoked form, used to make sushi.

Trippod fish (tripod fish)

Trippod fish (tripod fish) - deep-sea bottom fish, known for its long rays, on which it "stands" at the bottom.

Tripod fish indeed unique fish. It has very long rays growing from the pectoral fins and tail. The fish rests on these rays when it "stands" at the bottom. The length of these rays can be 1 m, and the length of an adult fish is 30-37 cm. It lives in all oceans, with the exception of the Arctic, at great depths from 800 to 5,000 m.

Most of the time the tripod fish spends standing on its rays on the seabed.

Observations of the fish showed that the eyes of the Trippod fish are poorly developed and do not participate in the feeding process. In complete darkness, they would not have helped. The fish uses its long front pectoral fins to locate prey. They act like hands, constantly feeling the space around them. Having caught any object, and having determined that it is edible, the tripod fish sends it directly into the mouth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yOKdog8zbXw

Mistake

Mistakes are a family of deep-sea fish whose name comes from the Greek ophis, meaning snake. They are found in temperate and tropical waters of the oceans.

Bugs live near the bottom. Most of these fish were found at great depths of 2000 m and below. One of the bug species Abyssobrotula galatheae was caught on a record for bony fish depth - 8,370 m. in the Puerto Rico deep-water trench in Atlantic Ocean.
Unlike their closest relatives - fish from the Brotula family, mistakes are not viviparous, but lay eggs. The appeared trifle grows close to the surface, merging with zooplankton numerous in the tropical region.
Let's look at some of the most interesting views wrong.
Abyssobrotula galatheae

Pink bug (Pink cusk-eel)

Giant Grenadier or Giant Grenadier

The giant grenadier or giant grenadier is a deep-sea fish from the cod-like order that lives only in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean. It has commercial value.
Giant grenadier is most often found in cold waters washing Russia - the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, the coast of Kamchatka, near the Kuril and Commander Islands. Here it is known as "small-eyed longtail" or "small-eyed grenadier", although in other countries it is generally accepted to call it a giant grenadier.

The size of the fish is really gigantic compared to other deep sea fish. Adults can reach 2 meters in height and weigh 20-30 kg. The maximum recorded age of an adult fish was 56 years, but it is believed that the giant grenadier can live even longer.

Lasiognathus - skillful angler

Lasiognathus is a fish from the genus of monkfish that lives in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Among ichthyologists, it is known under the unofficial name "skillful fisherman"

Lasiognathus got its nickname of the angler for a reason. This deep-sea fish has an almost real fishing rod with which it hunts other fish and invertebrates. It consists of a short fishing rod (basal bone), fishing line (a modified ray of the dorsal fin), a hook (large skin teeth) and a bait (luminous photophores). This gear is really amazing. In different subspecies of Lasoignatus, the structure of the rod can vary from short (up to the middle of the body) to long (exceeds the length of the body).

Sack swallower or black eater

The sac-throat is a deep-sea representative of the perciformes from the chiasmodes suborder. This small fish grows up to 30 cm in length and is found everywhere in tropical and subtropical waters.

This fish is called a bag-swallower for its ability to swallow prey, which is several times larger than itself. The fact is that it has a very elastic stomach, and there are no ribs in the stomach that would prevent the expansion of the fish. Therefore, he can easily swallow a fish four times longer than his height and 10 times heavier!

Macropinna microstoma is a fish with a transparent head.

Macropinna microstoma is a small deep-sea fish known for its transparent head, through which it sees with eyes located inside the soft tissues of the head. It lives in the cool waters of the Arctic and Pacific Oceans, at a depth of over 500 meters.

For the first time this fish was shown to the public quite recently, only in 2004. It was then that photographs of Macropinna microstoma were obtained. Before that, only zoologists showed interest in fish, who speculated about how this fish, with such a strange visual mechanism, is able to see at great depths in almost complete darkness. And is it capable at all? As we already know, in the case of other deep-sea fish, vision at such a depth does not matter much.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=RM9o4VnfHJU

sea ​​bat

Sea bats are a family of deep-sea bottom fish that have adapted in a special way to life at high pressure. They practically do not know how to swim, moving along the bottom on their modified fins, which have become similar to the legs of land animals.

Sea bats live everywhere in the warm waters of the oceans, without swimming in the cold waters of the Arctic. As a rule, they all keep to depths of 200 - 1000 meters, but there are species of bats that prefer to stay closer to the surface, not far from the coast. A person is quite familiar with bats, which prefer surface waters.

sea ​​slug

The sea slug is a deep-sea fish species that, together with the bassogigas, are the deepest-sea fish on the planet. In 1970, sea slugs were discovered at a depth of 8 km.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=w-Kwbp4hYJE

cycloton

Cycloton is a widespread medium-sized deep-sea fish of the Gonostomidae family. It occurs everywhere at depths from 200 to 2000 m. Cycloton is the most important element the food chain various deep-sea and valuable commercial fish.

Cycloton is a fish that for most of its life drifts along with ocean currents, unable to resist them. Only occasionally do they make small vertical migrations.

Drop fish.

The blobfish is a deep-sea fish found in deep waters near Australia and Tasmania. It is extremely rare for humans and is considered critically endangered.
An adult fish grows up to 30 cm. It keeps at depths of 800 - 1,500 m. The body of the fish is a watery substance with a density less than that of water.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=SyodDVT1A40

Opisthoproct.

Opisthoproct (Barreleye) is a deep-sea fish, also known as the "ghost fish". It's not big and very interesting fish. scientific name Opisthoproctidae comes from the Greek opisthe ("for", "behind" and proktos ("anus").

Opisthoproct lives at great depths up to 2,500 m in all oceans, with the exception of the Arctic Ocean. Their appearance is peculiar and does not allow them to be confused with other deep-sea fish.

sabertooth

Sabretooth is a deep-sea fish that lives in tropical and temperate zones at a depth of 200 to 5,000 m. It grows up to 15 cm in length, reaching 120 g of body weight.

Saber teeth grow quite slowly. Scientists suggest that fish can reach 10 years of age.

Hatchet fish

Hatchet fish are deep-sea fish found in temperate and tropical waters of the world's oceans. They got their name for the characteristic appearance of the body, reminiscent of the shape of an ax - a narrow tail and a wide "body-axe"
Most often hatchets can be found at depths of 200-600 m. However, it is known that they are also found at depths of 2 km.

Ghost shark or marine chimera

Marine chimeras are deep-sea fish, the oldest inhabitants among modern cartilaginous fish. Distant relatives of modern sharks.

Chimeras grow up to 1.5 m, however, in adults, half of the body is the tail, which is a long, thin and narrow part of the body.
These fish live at very great depths, sometimes exceeding 2.5 km.

deep sea anglerfish

The deep-sea anglerfish is a deep-sea fish from the anglerfish order. They live at great depths of the World Ocean, preferring to stay up to 3 km. from the surface of the water.

The anglerfish females feed on other deep-sea inhabitants - howliods, hatchet fish and