(credit: Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego) "And so the anglerfish can kind of move this around in front of its head with all these attachments that also have little glowing tips and use them to kind of attract prey into its mouth."Īnd while such fish are usually found at very deep ocean depths, Frable said "Finding Nemo" made anglerfish famous to children and fish aficionados alike. "And it's modified up near the front of their head, and then the tip is this little ball and inside of this is bacteria that produces bioluminescence, that glows," Frable said in a video. Frable said anglerfish get their name for their modified fin spin. He has since X-rayed the fish and collected tissue samples for genetic analysis, and it will be preserved for the institute's scientific archive. “I think it’s a beautiful fish,” he said.The fish was recovered by Ben Frable, the institute's collection manager of Marine Vertebrates. Jay Beiler, who recently chanced upon one on Black’s Beach, told news outlets, “It’s the stuff of nightmares.” Some find the fish’s appearance off-putting. They also have sharp teeth that angle inward in their mouth - ensuring that what goes in doesn’t come out. “They’re pretty much these spheres …covered in little spines,” which help ward off attacks from would-be predators. “They’re so much stockier” than other anglerfish, which come in many shapes and sizes, Frable said. (Anglerfish exhibit what’s known as extreme sexual dimorphism: The males are much smaller than their female counterparts.) It’s also one of the biggest species of anglerfish, with large females measuring about 12 to 15 inches. □ /0uykGvpy9a- Scripps Institution of Oceanography December 15, 2021 “Each one of those accessory appendages has these bright silver tips that light up as well.”Įxperts don’t have any evidence to theorize why several deep-sea fish have washed ashore recently, but are interested in learning more about the specimens that have been collected, as well as any new ones that might wash up. “It has all these accessory appendages coming off of it,” he said. One of about 160 to 170 species of anglerfish, the Pacific footballfish is readily identifiable by its especially elaborate bioluminescent lure protruding from its head - a striking physical adaptation used to attract prey in the pitch-black depths, Ludt said. Ludt surmised that if there were a massive catastrophe or die-off, more would be found. The pair of recently collected specimens were remarkably well preserved and don’t appear to bear marks of trauma from an attack or poisoning from something like an oil spill. “That’s the million-dollar question right now,” Ludt said. Scientists don’t know exactly what it eats, how it reproduces - or what might be driving the cluster of sightings. With less than three dozen dead specimens available to study, very little is known about the fish that lives in depths of roughly 1,000 to 3,000 feet. They have discussed the curious occurrence, “but it’s hard to jump to any conclusions about why this is happening,” he said. The museum has four of the species in its collection, including one found by a beachgoer in Newport Beach in May.Įvery time one washes ashore, Ludt said, he’s inundated with calls from friends and colleagues. “It is very strange, and it’s the talk of the town among us California ichthyologists,” or zoologists who study fish, said Bill Ludt, assistant curator of ichthyology at the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum. One was photographed last month near Black’s Beach in La Jolla but disappeared - potentially carried back to sea - before scientists were notified. But in only the last year, three of the creatures have washed up on California beaches, doubling the number of sightings on record in the state. Only 31 collected specimens are known to exist in the world, and the fish has never been observed in the wild, Frable said. nP76zzwBa4- Scripps Institution of Oceanography December 14, 2021 Lifeguards notified scientists about the unique #deepsea creature, and Scripps scientist Ben was able to collect it for research and preservation. Rare find‼️ A Pacific #footballfish, one of the largest species of #anglerfish, washed ashore near Encinitas last Friday.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |