Unusual inhabitants of the deep sea. Deep-sea fish - amazing representatives of the world fauna What is the name of the fish that swims along the bottom

The deeper we go down, the smaller the number of fish, the fewer good swimmers, the smaller their size. But more and more surprising will become their appearance, less and less dense, gelatinous will be their bodies, shimmering in the dark. luminous organs photophores.

side lights

The lanterns themselves are small and large, single or arranged in constellations over the entire surface of the body. They can be round or oblong, like luminous stripes. Some fish resemble ships with rows of luminous portholes, and in predators they are often located at the ends of the long antennae of the rods. Many deep sea fish, such as anglerfish, glowing anchovies, hatchets, photostome. there are luminous organs of photofluora, which serve to attract prey or to camouflage from predators. In females melanocet. like other females deep sea anglers(and there are 120 known species), a fishing rod grows on the head. It ends with a brilliant esque. By waving a fishing rod, the melanocet lures the fish to itself and directs them directly into the mouth.

In luminous anchovies, photofluors are located on the tail, trunk around the eyes. The light of the abdominal photophores directed downward blurs the outlines of these small fish against the background of weak light coming from above and makes them invisible from below.

Hatchet photophores are located along the abdomen on both sides and on the lower part of the body and also emit a greenish light downwards. Their lateral photophores resemble portholes.

The most famous deep sea fish this is an angler. Anglerfishes originate from Perciformes. Almost 120 species of deep-sea anglerfish are known, about 10 of which are found in the northern part of Pacific Ocean. Found in the Black Sea European anglerfish(Lophius piscatorius).

Fish in the sea

Imagine that we are on the deck of the marine research vessel Vityaz. A deep-sea net with a catch was raised on board. What are not in it strange creatures! And many of them - deep sea fish. black, gray, without scales, covered only thin skin. These fish are small in size, and some are just dwarfs.

What surprises us most is that they are all predators, as evidenced by their toothy mouths. We take out from the network of a deep-sea big mouth, or a pelican eel. It almost entirely consists of a huge open mouth, and its narrow body seems to be only a miserable appendage. Nearby, a slightly lively saber-toothed viperfish, or hauliod, wriggles in the net. She has a huge mouth with numerous long teeth protruding from her mouth. Howliod can take down prey equal in size to itself.

And the predatory deep-sea sack-swallower fish, or, as it is called, the black eater, having a body up to 30 cm long, manages to swallow prey almost twice as large as itself. How do fish deal with such exorbitant prey? It turns out that the torso of the bag-swallower does not have ribs and its walls, together with the stomach, are able to move apart in breadth.

We continue to watch closely. Of all the deep-sea monsters, the most interesting are anglerfish - linofrina, galateatauma and others. In the linophrine angler, an outgrowth rises in the upper part of the head - a fishing rod with a flashlight at the end. Attracted by a flickering light, the fish swim to it and immediately become the prey of a predator. In the Galateataum anglerfish, the adaptation to lure prey is even more cunning: the luminous organs are located in the mouth. Enchanted by the light, the fish swims into the trap itself. The angler can only close his mouth and swallow the prey.

Organs of glow in the semi-darkness of the depths, like beacons, help the fish to navigate and not fight off the flock. But most often, the luminous organs are a kind of device for baiting prey. The structure of the luminous organs of fish is different. In some, mucus glows, in others, the glow is caused by microorganisms that have settled on the fish. Luminous organs are a kind of headlights. In some fish, they are located near the eyes, in others - at the tip of the long processes of the head, in others - in the mouth. Some fish have eyes that emit light. They have the properties of both illuminating and seeing. There are fish emitting light body surface.

Any deep-sea fish has an amazing fantastic appearance: toothy mouths, luminous lanterns, unusual, strange eyes, sometimes like binoculars. Some fish have no eyes at all: in the darkness of the depths they are not needed.

deep sea fish well adapted to live in eternal darkness and at high pressure, when the water temperature does not rise above 1-2 C. With huge mouths they grab prey, hold it securely and immediately swallow it whole. Well, since prey is not so common at great depths, deep-sea fish have adapted to grab everything that comes their way, be it crustaceans, worms, fish or other animals. even if they are taller than the predator itself.

According to data obtained by Soviet scientists who conducted ocean research on the Vityaz vessel, the deepest depth at which it was possible to catch fish was 7579 m.

Types of deep sea fish

Adaptation to life at great depths causes other very serious changes in fish that are not directly caused by water pressure. These peculiar adaptations are associated with the lack of natural light at depths.

At the same time, the time of transition to a deep-sea way of life in different groups of these species is very different. The first group includes species belonging to such families, and sometimes suborders and orders, all of whose representatives have adapted to living in the depths. Adaptations to the deep-sea way of life in these fish are very significant. Due to the fact that the conditions of life in the water column at depths are almost the same throughout the world's oceans, fish belonging to the group of ancient deep-sea fish are often very widespread. This group includes anglers - Ceratioidei, luminous anchovies - Scopeliformes, largemouths - Saccopharyngiformes, etc.

The second group, secondary deep-sea fishes, includes forms whose deep water is historically later. Usually, the families to which the species of this group belong include mainly fish distributed within the continental stage or in the pelagic zone. Adaptations to life at depths in secondary deep-sea fishes are less specific than in representatives of the first group, and the area of ​​distribution is much narrower; none of them are widely distributed worldwide. We find deep-sea representatives in the families Cottidae, Liparidae, Zoarcidae, Blenniidaei.

deep sea fish live on or near the bottom of the sea or lakes. They occupy the sea floors and lake beds, which are usually made up of mud, sand, gravel or rocks. AT coastal waters they are found on or near the continental shelf. and in deep waters they are found on or near the continental slope or along the continental rise. They are generally not found in the deepest waters, such as the abyssal depths or on the abyssal plain. but they can be found around nautical miles and islands. deep sea word comes from latin demergere. which means to go down.

Deep sea fish can be divided into two main types: benthic fish, which rest on the sea floor, and benthopelagic fish, which swim in the water column just above the sea floor.

Benthopelagic fish have neutral buoyancy. thus, they can swim in depth without much effort, while benthic fish are denser, with negative buoyancy, so they can lie on the ground without any effort. Most deep sea fish are benthopelagic.

As with other bottom feeders, gear to deal with the bottom is often needed. With deep sea fish, the sand is usually pumped out of the mouth through the cut of the gorge. Most deep sea fish show a flat ventral region to more easily lay their body on the ground. An exception may be flatfish, which are suppressed from the side but lie on their sides. In addition, many show what is called the lower mouth, which means that the mouth points down; this is beneficial as their food is often going to be below them at the bottom. Those bottom feeders with their mouths pointing up, like astronomers. tend to capture floating prey.

Sources: andrei-stoliar.ru, www.zoodrug.ru, portaleco.ru, ru.encydia.com

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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.

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. 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 ocean floor with an open mouth into which food is stuffed, or lies motionless on the ground, hoping that rare invertebrates themselves will swim into its mouth.

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 fish increased in recent times 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 was born is under the protection of an adult for some time, until it acquires sufficient independence for a lonely life.

Amazing creatures live on great depth 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 remarkable feature of the monkfish is a fishing rod that grows out of the dorsal fin and hangs 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 small tail, with the almost complete absence of the 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 the strong teeth of a 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 due to 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. It is not possible to observe the animal in its natural habitat, therefore very little is known about its life. They are known to be egg-laying fish. Most often it is possible to find clutches of eggs in the 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 view the 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 body length, these teeth are the longest among known to science fish. 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-toothed fish 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. The 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 those making their way to the depths. sun rays. 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 hatchets gather in huge flocks, forming a wide dense "carpet". Sometimes it becomes difficult for watercraft to break through this formation with their echo sounders, for example, to accurately determine the depth. Such a “double” ocean bottom has been observed by scientists and navigators since the middle of the 20th century. A large accumulation 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 of 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, the common ancestors of modern sharks and chimeras split into two "orders". 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. The memorable appearance of 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 of the diet is 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 shellfish.

according to inokean.ru

A representative of deep-sea fish is a drop fish that lives at a depth of 600 meters. The blobfish is a deep sea dweller that is active in Australia and Tasmania. Very rarely, a person himself can meet her, since she is on the verge of extinction.

drop fish

The features of the appearance of a deep-sea creature are very unusual and strange. In the anterior region of the muzzle, a process can be seen, which some compare to a large nose. The eyes of the individual are small and are located next to the so-called nose so that it seems that the fish has a human face. Her mouth is quite large, the corners of her mouth are directed downward, which is why her face always seems sad and tired. It is thanks to its unusual and strange face that the drop fish occupies one of the first places in the ratings of unusual and strange sea creatures.

Peculiarities

Such a slow process reproduction is associated with another interesting fact about the drop fish. Usually she lays eggs directly on the bottom surface and does not leave her clutch, lies down on her eggs and sits on them until the first young growth appears from them. This type of reproduction is common in deep-sea fish, which lay their eggs that rise to the surface of the water and mix with plankton. The rest of the deep-sea species usually descend to greater depths only at the time of reaching puberty and reside there for the rest of their lives.

At the same time, the drop fish never leaves its habitat. The young, brought into the world, stay with their parent for some time and are actively guarded by them until the moment comes when the individual becomes quite independent for later life.

These unusual fish live at a fairly deep level in the ocean. Of all deep-sea individuals, only sea devils, in other words anglers, live the strangest and most unusual life.

These fish are very unpleasant in appearance, covered with special spikes and plaques, located at a depth of 1.5–3 kilometers in the ocean. The most unusual feature of the monkfish- this is his fishing rod, which grows from the dorsal fin and hangs over his ferocious muzzle. At the end of this fishing rod there is a luminous gland that includes luminescent bacteria. Sea devils use this device as bait.

Usually the victim swims into this world on her own, while the angler slowly moves the fishing rod towards his mouth and into certain time very quickly grabs the approaching prey. Some types of anglerfish have a pole with a flashlight right next to their mouths, and the fish do not even have to try hard to swallow their prey.

sea ​​bat

Fish dried well in the sun, leaves behind a fairly durable shell, which is similar in appearance to a tortoise. If you add stones inside it, you can get a real rattle, which has been used by the inhabitants of the Eastern Hemisphere living on the coast of the ocean since ancient times.

As one might expect, the bat shell acts as a defense against larger deep-sea creatures. Only very powerful teeth of a large predator are able to break such a shell in order to get to the very meat of the fish. At the same time, it is very difficult to find a bat in complete darkness. In addition to being rather flat and easily merges with the surrounding space, so also its shell color is similar to the color of the seabed.

Fish - lancets, otherwise lancetfish - are large creatures of a predatory type, which are considered the only surviving representative of the Alepisaurus genus, which means lizard scales in translation. She received her name from the medical term lancet, a synonym for a scalpel.

In addition to the polar seas, lancetfish can be found in any area. At the same time, despite the high prevalence and ubiquity, there is very little information about this fish. Scientists are only able to compile a description of an individual with the help of a small number of specimens caught along with tuna. Her external data is very remembered by others. The fish has a high fin on its back, this fin is the entire length of the individual. In height, it exceeds the individual several times, and in appearance it is similar to the fin of a sailfish.

The body is elongated and rather thin, decreases in the region of the tail and ends with a caudal peduncle. The mouth is quite large. The section of the mouth of an individual is behind its eyes. Inside the mouth, in addition to a large number of small teeth, there are two or three large sharp fangs. These fangs can give an individual a dangerous and insidious appearance of a prehistoric creature. One species of lancetfish has even been named ferocious alepisaurus, which suggests that people do not trust this fish. This can be justified, because if you look at the mouth of a fish, it is difficult to imagine that any creature can survive if it catches its eye.

Long lancet fish reaches two meters, which can be compared with the size of a barracuda, which is considered very dangerous for humans.

Food

The autopsy of the captured individuals gave some information about their diet. So, in the stomach of an individual, crustaceans were found, which make up the bulk of plankton, which cannot be associated with such a ferocious predator. Probably, the creature prefers to eat plankton, as it is not able to move quickly and it simply cannot keep up with a quick prey . It is for this reason that squid and salps are the basis of the individual's diet. But in some individuals, the remains of tuna, other lancets were found.

Most likely, the creature ambushes faster and more agile fish, using the structure of its body and the silver color of the body as a disguise. It happens like this that the fish gets on the hook of the fisherman in the process of sea hunting.

Lancents are not of particular commercial interest. And although their meat is considered edible, it is not eaten due to its watery and jelly-like texture.

Black Devourer

1. The sac-throat is a deep-sea fish, a representative of the perch-like fish from the suborder of the chiasmodes. This small individual is able to reach a length of 30 centimeters and is found mainly in tropical and subtropical climatic regions.
2. The name bag-eater was given to an individual for its ability to swallow soybean prey, which is several times larger than itself. The thing is that she has a very elastic stomach, and in her stomach there are no ribs that would prevent the fish from expanding. That is why the bag-eater is quickly and easily able to eat any fish, even one that is four times longer than its height and 10 times heavier.
3. So, for example, near the Cayman Islands, the corpse of a sack-swallower was found, in the tummy of which the remains of a mackerel 86 centimeters long were found. The length of the bag-swallower itself reached only 19 centimeters. So, this individual was able to swallow prey, which was as much as four times larger than it. With all this, this was mackerel, which is known as mackerel fish, which has a rather aggressive character. It is difficult to fully determine how such a small fish was able to cope with a large and strong opponent.

In foreign countries, the bag-swallower gave another name - the black devourer. The creature's body is represented by a uniform dark brown color. The head is medium, the jaws are very large. The lower jaw does not have a bone connection with the head, so the mouth of the sack-swallower is able to accommodate prey much larger than its head. On each jaw, the front three teeth form sharp fangs. With the help of them, the black devourer holds its prey, in the process of pushing it into the stomach.

Nutrition

Swallowed prey can be so big that cannot be immediately digested in the stomach of a predator. As a result of decomposition inside the stomach, a large amount of gas pulls the bagworm to the surface. The most popular species of black eater have been recorded precisely on the surface of the water with swollen bellies that prevented the fish from going to depth. The bagworms live mainly at a depth of 700–3000 meters.

Follow the fish in her natural environment living is very difficult, so there are extremely few details about her life. For example, scientists report that these fish are egg-laying. Very often you can find clutches of fish in winter time on the territory of South Africa. Young growth from April to August often lives near Bermuda, has lighter shades that occur when an individual grows up. Also, young and juveniles have small spines that adult bagworms do not have.

Epipelagic (0-200 m) - photic zone into which sunlight penetrates, photosynthesis takes place here. However, 90% of the volume of the World Ocean is immersed in darkness, the water temperature here does not exceed 3 ° C and drops to −1.8 ° C (with the exception of hydrothermal ecosystems, where the temperature exceeds 350 ° C), there is little oxygen, and pressure fluctuates within 20 -1000 atmospheres.

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Environment

Beyond the edge of the continental shelf, abyssal depths gradually begin. This is the boundary between coastal, rather shallow benthic habitats and deep-sea benthic habitats. The area of ​​this border territory is about 28% of the area of ​​the World Ocean.

Under the epipelagic zone there is a vast water column, in which a variety of organisms live, adapted to the conditions of life at depth. At a depth between 200 and 1000 m, the illumination weakens until complete darkness sets in. Through the thermocline, the temperature drops to 4-8 °C. Is it twilight or mesopelagic zone en en.

About 40% of the ocean floor is made up of abyssal plains, but these flat, desert regions are covered with marine sediments and generally lack benthic life (benthos). Deep-sea bottom fish are more common in canyons or on rocks in the middle of the plains, where communities of invertebrate organisms are concentrated. Seamounts are washed by deep currents, this causes upwelling, which supports the life of bottom fish. Mountain ranges can divide underwater regions into different ecosystems.

In the depths of the ocean there is a continuous "sea snow" en detritus of the euphotic zone of protozoa (diatoms), feces, sand, soot and other inorganic dust. Along the way, "snowflakes" grow and in a few weeks, until they sink to the bottom of the ocean, they can reach several centimeters in diameter. However, most of the organic components of marine snow are consumed by microbes, zooplankton and other filter-feeding animals during the first 1000 meters of their journey, that is, in the epipelagic zone. Thus, marine snow can be considered the basis of deep-sea mesopelagic and benthic ecosystems: since sunlight cannot penetrate the water column, deep-sea organisms use marine snow as an energy source.

Some groups of organisms, for example, representatives of the families of myctophaceae, melamfaevy, fotihtiy and hatchet, are sometimes called pseudo-oceanic, because they live in the open sea, keep around structural oases, underwater peaks or above the continental slope. Similar structures also attract numerous predators.

Characteristics

Deep sea fish are some of the strangest and most elusive creatures on Earth. Many unusual and unexplored animals live in the depths. They live in total darkness, so they cannot rely on sight alone to avoid danger and find food and a breeding partner. At great depths, blue spectrum light predominates. Therefore, in deep-sea fish, the range of the perceived spectrum is narrowed to 410-650 nm. In some species, the eyes are gigantic in size and make up 30-50% of the length of the head (myctophic, nansenii, pollinous hatchets), while in others they are reduced or absent altogether (idiacanthic, ipnopic). In addition to vision, fish are guided by smell, electroreception and pressure changes. Some species' eyes are 100 times more sensitive to light than humans.

As depth increases, pressure increases by 1 atmosphere every 10 m, while food concentration, oxygen content, and water circulation decrease. In deep-sea fish adapted to enormous pressure, the skeleton and muscles are poorly developed. Due to the permeability of tissues inside the body of the fish, the pressure is equal to the pressure external environment. Therefore, when they quickly rise to the surface, their body swells, the insides crawl out of their mouths, and their eyes come out of their sockets. Permeability cell membranes increases the efficiency of biological functions, among which the most important is the production of proteins; adaptation of the body to environmental conditions is also an increase in the proportion of unsaturated fatty acids in the lipids of the cell membrane. Deep-sea fishes have a different balance of metabolic reactions than pelagic ones. Biochemical reactions are accompanied by a change in volume. If the reaction leads to an increase in volume, it will be inhibited by pressure, and if it leads to a decrease, then it will be enhanced. This means that metabolic reactions, to one degree or another, must reduce the volume of the organism.

More than 50% of deep sea fish, along with some species of shrimp and squid, are bioluminescent. About 80% of these organisms have photophores, cells that contain bacteria that produce light from carbohydrates and oxygen from the blood of fish. Some photophores have lenses, similar to those found in human eyes, which regulate the intensity of the light. Fish spend only 1% of the body's energy on emitting light, while it performs several functions: with the help of light, they search for food and attract prey, like anglers; designate the territory during patrol; communicate and find a mating partner, as well as distract and temporarily blind predators. In the mesopelagic zone, where a small amount of sunlight penetrates, the photophores on the belly of some fish mask them against the background of the water surface, making them invisible to predators swimming below.

Some deep sea fish life cycle flows in shallow water: juveniles are born there, which go to the depths as they grow older. Regardless of where the eggs and larvae are located, they are all typically pelagic species. This planktonic, drifting lifestyle requires neutral buoyancy, so fat droplets are present in the eggs and plasma of the larvae. Adults have other adaptations for maintaining position in the water column. In general, water pushes out, so organisms float. To counteract the buoyancy force, their density must be greater than that of the environment. Most of animal tissue is denser than water, so a balancing balance is needed. The hydrostatic function in many fish is performed by the swim bladder, but in many deep-sea fish it is absent, and in most of those with a bladder it does not connect to the intestine with the help of a duct. In deep-sea fishes, the binding and reservation of oxygen within the swimbladder is possibly carried out by lipids. For example, in gonostomas, the bladder is filled with fat. Without a swim bladder, fish have adapted to their environment. It is known that the deeper the habitat, the more jelly-like body in fish and the smaller the proportion of bone structure. In addition, body density is reduced due to increased fat content, and reduced skeletal weight (smaller size, thickness, mineral content and increased water storage). Such characteristics make the inhabitants of the depths slower and less mobile compared to pelagic fish living near the surface of the water.

The lack of sunlight at depth makes photosynthesis impossible, so the energy source for deep-sea fish is organic matter descending from above and, less often,. deep water zone less rich in nutrients compared to smaller layers. Long, sensitive barbels on the lower jaw, such as those found in long-tailed and cod, aid in searching for food. first rays dorsal fins anglers turned into illicium with a luminous lure. Huge mouth, articulated jaws and sharp teeth, as in sacs, allow you to catch and swallow whole big booty.

Fish from different deep-sea pelagic and bottom zones differ markedly from each other in behavior and structure. Groups of coexisting species within each zone function in a similar manner, such as small vertical migratory mesopelagic filter feeders, bathypelagic anglerfish, and deep sea bottom longtails.

Among the species that live at depth, spiny-finned ones are rare. ?! . Probably, deep-sea fishes are ancient enough and so well adapted to the environment that the appearance modern fish was not successful. Some deep sea representatives prickly-finned ones belong to the ancient orders of beryx-like and opah-like. Most pelagic fish found at depth belong to their own orders, which suggests a long evolution in such conditions. Conversely, deep-sea bottom species belong to orders that include many shallow-water fish.

mesopelagic fish

Bottom and demersal fish

Deep-sea bottom fish are called bathydemersal. They live beyond the edge of the coastal benthic zones, mainly on the continental slope and at the continental foot, which turns into the abyssal plain, they are found near underwater peaks and islands. These fish have a dense body and negative buoyancy. They spend their whole lives at the bottom. Some species hunt from ambush and are able to burrow into the ground, while others actively patrol the bottom in search of food.

An example of fish that can burrow into the ground are flounders and rays. Flounder - a detachment of ray-finned fish that lead a bottom lifestyle, lie and swim on their side. They do not have a swim bladder. The eyes are shifted to one side of the body. Flounder larvae initially swim in the water column, as their body develops, it transforms, adapting to life on the bottom. In some species, both eyes are located on the left side of the body (arnogloss), while in others, on the right (halibut).

• Solid-bodied benthopelagic fish are active swimmers that vigorously search for prey at the bottom. They sometimes live around underwater peaks with strong currents. An example of this type are the Patagonian toothfish and the Atlantic bighead. Previously, these fish were found in abundance and were a valuable object of fishing, they were harvested for tasty dense meat.

  The bony benthopelagic fishes have a swim bladder. Typical representatives, mistaken and long-tailed, are quite massive, their length reaches 2 meters (small-eyed grenadier) and weighs 20 kg (black congrio). Among the benthic-bottom dwellers there are many cod-like fish, in particular pestilence, back-thorn and halosaurs.

  Benthopelagic sharks, like the deep-sea katran sharks, achieve neutral buoyancy with a fat-rich liver. Sharks are well adapted to fairly high pressure at depth. They are caught on the continental slope at a depth of up to 2000 m, where they feed on carrion, in particular the remains of dead whales. However, for constant movement and maintenance of fat reserves, they need a lot of energy, which is not enough in the oligotrophic conditions of deep water.

  Deep-sea stingrays lead a benthopelagic way of life, they, like sharks, have a large liver that keeps them afloat.

  deep sea benthic fish

  Deep-sea bottom fish live beyond the border of the continental shelf. Compared to coastal species, they are more diverse as they have different conditions in their habitat. Benthic fish are more common and more diverse on the continental slope, where habitats vary and food is more abundant.

  Typical representatives of deep-sea bottom fish are mistaken, long-tailed, eels, eelpouts, hagfish, green-eyed, batfish and lumpfish.

  The deepest-sea species known today - Abyssobrotula galatheae ?! , outwardly similar to eels and completely blind bottom fish that feed on invertebrates.

  At great depths, food shortages and extremely high pressure limit the survival of fish. The deepest point of the ocean is at a depth of about 11,000 meters. Bathypelagic fish are not usually found below 3000 meters. The greatest depth of habitat for bottom fish is 8.370 m. It is possible that extreme pressure suppresses critical enzyme functions.

  Deep-sea benthic fish tend to have a muscular body and well-developed organs. In structure, they are closer to mesopelagic than to bathypelagic fish, but they are more diverse. They usually do not have photophores, with some species having developed eyes and a swim bladder, while others do not. The size is also different, but the length rarely exceeds 1 m. The body is often elongated and narrow, eel-shaped. This is probably due to an elongated lateral line that captures low-frequency sounds, with the help of which some fish attract sexual partners. Judging by the speed with which deep-sea bottom fish detect bait, the sense of smell also plays an important role in orientation, along with touch and lateral line.

  The basis of the diet of deep-sea benthic fish is invertebrates and carrion.

  As in the coastal zone, deep-sea bottom fish are divided into benthic with a negative and benthopelagic with a neutral body buoyancy.

  As depth increases, the amount of available food decreases. At a depth of 1000 m, the plankton biomass is 1% of the biomass at the water surface, and at a depth of 5000 m, only 0.01%. Since sunlight no longer penetrates through the water column, the only source of energy is organic matter. They fall into deep zones in three ways.

  First, organic matter moves from the continental landmass through streams of river water, which then enter the sea and descend along the continental shelf and continental slope. Secondly, in the depths of the ocean there is a continuous “sea snow” en en , spontaneous sedimentation of detritus from the upper layers of the water column. It is a derivative of the vital activity of organisms in the productive euphotic zone. Marine snow includes dead or dying plankton, protozoa (diatoms algae), feces, sand, soot, and other inorganic dust. The third source of energy is provided by vertically migrating mesopelagic fish. A feature of these mechanisms is that the amount of nutrients that get to bottom fish and invertebrates gradually decreases with distance from continental coastlines.

  Despite the scarcity of the food supply, there is a certain food specialization among deep-sea bottom fish. For example, they differ in the size of the mouth, which determines the size of the possible prey. Some species feed on benthopelagic organisms. Others eat animals that live on the bottom (epifauna) or burrow into the ground (infauna). In the latter, a large amount of soil is observed in the stomachs. The infauna serves as a secondary food source for scavengers like Sinaphobranchs and Hagfish.

  • Notes

    1. Ilmast N.V. Introduction to ichthyology. - Petrozavodsk: Karelian Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 2005. - ISBN 5-9274-0196-1.
    2. , pp. 594.
    3. , pp. 587.
    4. , pp. 354.
    5. , pp. 365.
    6. , pp. 457, 460.
    7. P. J. Cook, Chris Carleton. Continental Shelf Limits: The Scientific and Legal Interface. - 2000. - ISBN 0-19-511782-4.
    8. , pp. 585.
    9. , pp. 591.
    10. A. A. Ivanov. Fish Physiology / Ed. S. N. Shestakh. - M.: Mir, 2003. - 284 p. - (Textbooks and teaching aids for students of higher educational institutions). - 5000 copies. -

The waters of the World Ocean occupy more than 70% of the entire surface of the planet Earth, however, today the inhabitants of the deep ocean remain the least studied by ichthyologists because of the difficult access to their habitat. In the lower layers of the seas and oceans, there are many of the deepest-sea fish and creatures that surprise, and sometimes simply shock with their appearance or lifestyle. A significant part of them was discovered relatively recently, and many have yet to come to the attention of researchers of the deep sea.

general characteristics

Deep-sea fish live on the slopes and in the ocean floor, within 200-6000 m of the depth of the oceans. About 2000 of them are known, and those that live below 6000 m, there are about 10-15 varieties, which is 2% of the total number of the deepest creatures.

Categories

All of them can be classified according to the presence of specific organs:

• truly deep-sea - characterized by luminous organs, telescope eyes, and other adaptive elements;
• shelf deep-water - they do not have such manifestations, they are located on the slopes of the continents.

According to the nature of nutrition, the division is divided into 3 groups:

1. Planktophages - the basis of the diet is plankton.
2. Benthophages - feed on carrion and invertebrates.
3. Predators - attack and attack other marine inhabitants in order to further eat.

An interesting fact is that such categories do not inhabit any of the major lakes in the world, except for Baikal, which is considered the deepest on the planet.

Description

Among the creatures that live at the bottom of the ocean, there are completely blind or, conversely, different sharp eyesight to track prey, which is due to the constant darkness in these layers of water. Since the seabed is mostly silty, many living organisms are characterized by a specific body structure for convenient and fast movement - a flat body, long legs, the presence of needles or huge claws.

Some creatures may be distinguished by the presence of bioluminescence as illuminated body parts (outgrowths, fins, tails). This way of adapting to the environment provides some opportunities for successful life, for example, it can serve as a bait for prey, as lighting in dark waters. Often used for camouflage seabed Or to scare off predators.

The closer to the bottom of the ocean, the stronger the pressure becomes and the temperature of the water decreases, there is much less food for food. All these factors significantly influenced the structural features of some fish species. These places meet the most unusual inhabitants ocean, which have huge mouths and heads, the dimensions of which can be several times greater than the length of their own body.

Rating of the most common types

The list of TOP-10 deep-sea fish includes the most incredible and unusual representatives of the deep sea. The appearance of many of them is so unusual that it resembles aliens from other planets. However, this list is much wider and can be supplemented with other equally interesting specimens due to the great diversity that live in the abyss of the oceans.

Another name - goblin shark - received due to unusual shape heads: there is a beak-shaped outgrowth and long jaws retracting forward. It also has an unusual pink color due to the proximity of blood vessels to the surface of the skin.

It lives deeper than 200 m in almost all oceans, the maximum diving depth is 1300 m, the diet consists of crabs, fry and squid. Catching prey is carried out by extending the jaws and swallowing it along with water.

There are several rows of teeth - separately for hunting prey and splitting the strong shells of various crustaceans.

The length of males is 2.4-3.7 m, females - 3.1-3.5 m. The maximum parameters known to researchers were 3.8 m in length and 210 kg in weight.

This is a representative of the ghostly black cat sharks that live in the north of the Atlantic Ocean, can be found at a depth of 600-1900 m. The first description by experts dates back to 1979.

Most often they fall into nets off the coast of Japan, they have large eyes, differ big head, small fins and tail.

The average length of the female is 76 cm, the largest known value the size, which is documented, is 85 cm.

According to the versions of some researchers, it is considered the deepest-sea fish in the world, since the case of catching a specimen of this genus of the mistaken family from the John Eliot vessel is officially known.

Research work was carried out on the ship, during which fish was taken on board from a depth of 8370 m. This happened near a trough in Puerto Rico.

In the works of many ichthyologists, the bathysaurus is regarded as the most deep sea view of all that have been thoroughly studied to date.

Its habitat is located at the level of 3500 m, the body is elongated (almost 65 cm). There is also the name "fierce head", which was given to him for his unattractiveness and menacing appearance.

It is also called the pelican fish (Eurypharynxs pelecanoides), sack-eater, black devourer, black live-swallower, belongs to the order of sack-like fish. The closest relatives are eels.

The specific structure of the body - a huge mouth and a short body - makes it possible to swallow prey many times larger than the size of the predator itself. Zhivoglotov completely lacks scales, no ribs and no air bladder.

The length of individuals varies from 4.8 cm (the smallest representative of the suborder) to 161 cm, the maximum recorded specimen reached 2 m.

In 1939, Wilbert Chapman made the discovery and description of what is probably one of the interesting fish deep water. And only in 2004 the world saw photographs depicting a macropinna, which surprised many people, since the fish has a transparent head.

Distributed in the waters of the Pacific Ocean near the coasts of Canada, the USA and Japan at a depth of 500-800 m, the largest individuals live much lower.

Body length is about 15 cm, covered with large scales, massive fins. The head is protected by a transparent shell in the form of a dome; inside, cylindrical green eyes are located in a separate chamber. Well-developed eye muscles ensure the movement of the eyes from a vertical to a horizontal position, which makes it possible to productively monitor and capture prey.

Another name sounds like "monkfish", obtained because of the terrifying appearance. They live in the eastern region of the Atlantic Ocean at a depth of up to 550 m, it is considered commercial, because of the dense white meat, dishes with it are widely popular in national cuisine France.

Individual specimens up to 2 m and weighing 57.7 kg can be found, the average length is 1-1.5 m. The body is without scales, everything is covered with skin growths and bumps. The monkfish is interesting in that it has an outgrowth-fishing rod on its head with a luminous bait at the end to attract prey, its glow is provided by specific bacteria that live with this monster in symbiosis.

It is found in almost all areas of the oceans in deep layers at a level of 500-5000 m. It has a relatively small size - weight 120 g and length up to 15-18 cm. It looks intimidating - a powerful head with 4 sharp fangs. The teeth are located on both jaws, resemble building nails, and protrude forward.

The sabertooth is a predator that, when catching a prey, copes with it in almost a matter of seconds, biting it several times in a row with its needle-teeth. When the jaw is closed, the lower teeth fit into the "sheath" on both sides of the brain.

It is interesting to know that environmentalists in 2008 put the sabertooth in first place in the list of the 10 most terrible animals on the planet.

It keeps at a depth of 200-1000 m, has some resemblance to a stingray, as it has a large head and a small tail. Their shell is similar in strength to that of a tortoise and serves as protection against marine predators.

Almost does not swim, moves along the bottom on fins adapted to environmental conditions, which eventually became similar to the limbs of land animals.

Soft-bodied whale fish (Flabby Whalefish)

Considered one of the deepest living species, the habitat is at 3500 m and below. The length reaches 40 cm, outwardly they resemble the cetacean family.

Habitat - the lower layers of the waters of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans up to 1450-1570 m. It has a snake-like body of dark brown color up to 2 m long.

The name is derived from the presence of 6 skin folds - gill slits. The hunt is almost like that of snakes - the shark bends its body and makes a lightning-fast jump-throw forward to the victim. Strong long jaws allow you to securely squeeze the prey, as several rows of sharp teeth help to hold it.

It is probably true that it is considered the most bizarre of deep-sea specimens, as it has an unusual body shape.