Rare deep sea creatures. Deep sea animals

In the depths of the seas and oceans, a completely different world reigns: special flora and fauna, represented by many varieties, have not yet revealed half of their secrets to humanity. Every year, thanks to developing technologies, scientists are able to explore new areas and discover unique species deep sea animals.

The creatures that live in little-explored waters often amaze with their appearance - not always cute, but certainly entertaining and mysterious. We invite you to immerse yourself in the strange and wonderful underwater kingdom with its extravagant inhabitants.

1. Moonfish (Mola-mola)

The sunfish (sunfish, headfish) is the world's largest bony fish. The laterally flattened and somewhat elongated body shape, combined with its impressive size, makes a strong impression; in addition, many individuals of this species reach three meters, if you calculate the distance between the fins. This huge fish is found in all oceans located in tropical and temperate climate. The giant feeds on zooplankton, and also, most likely, small fish and algae.

2. Giant isopod

The giant isopod, without a doubt, can be called one of the strangest creatures encountered by man in the world. underwater world. Known to science as Bathynomus giganteus, it belongs to the crustacean group, being the largest member of the Bathynomus family, related to shrimp and crabs.

3. Pelagic megamouth shark

It is difficult to describe the largemouth shark better than its name does - a shark with a huge mouth. Its streamlined head is somewhat lost behind the scale of its protruding jaws. The shark's body is decorated with white spots covering the tips of the fins, as well as a dark triangle at the throat. The average length of this strange sea creature is 4.5 m, although scientists have discovered specimens larger than five meters. The largemouth shark weighs about 750 kg.

4. Long-horned sabertooth

Known to the scientific world as Anoplogaster Cornuta, this fearsome creature lives in the deep waters of many of the world's oceans. Sabertooth got its eloquent name because of the very impressive appearance of its fanged mouth. The teeth of this fish are considered to be the longest in proportion to body size among all sea inhabitants. For its grotesque appearance, the saber tooth earned the nickname “ogre fish.”

5. Hauliod (viperfish)

One of the most violent underwater predators is the hauliod. His teeth are so large that they do not fit into his mouth, curving down to his eyes. It is believed that such a formidable weapon helps the fish inflict critical wounds on its victims while chasing them at high speeds. This creepy-looking creature has a long dorsal fin topped with a photophore, a light-producing organ.

6. Grenadier fish

This species lives just above the seabed. Slowly swimming along its surface, the fish looks for live prey for food, although it turns out that it is not at all averse to tasting underwater carrion. In addition to its rather impressive appearance, the grenadier has the ability to secrete a specific chemical compound with an extremely pungent odor. So to this little underwater monster It's really hard to get close.

7. Deep Sea Glass Squid

Extremely interesting species can be found in the middle ocean depths, where rays of light reaching through the water in combination with the translucent bodies of underwater inhabitants create a spectacular camouflage for the latter. For even better camouflage, some creatures, such as the glass squid, have acquired bioluminescent organs located under their eyes.

8. Monkfish (football fish)

In addition to its interesting appearance, the monkfish has other interesting features. For example, the males of this fish attach themselves to the body of a much larger female and spend most of their lives in this position. While the lady takes care of her harem, gets food and builds a nest, the task of her many husbands is only to fertilize.

9. Pacific Black Dragon

Female Pacific black dragons grow up to 61 cm in length and have rather menacing-looking fangs, as well as a small beard. In comparison with their impressive female friends, males cannot boast of their size (about 8 cm), teeth, mustaches or beards. They don’t even have a stomach, so they are not destined to eat in their short lives. The only mission of the brownish male Pacific black dragon is to have time to mate with the female, who then also uses the body of her former friend as bait for prey.

10. Largemouth (pelican fish)

The long body of the pelican fish turns into an equally long tail with a light-producing organ at the end. On average, this ancient inhabitant of the seas can grow up to 80 cm. Its habitat is the waters of tropical and temperate climates.

These amazing deep sea fish

These amazing deep sea fish

Strange appearance

The deeper we go, the fewer fish there will be, the fewer good swimmers, and the smaller their size. But their appearance will become more and more surprising - their bodies will become more and more loose and gelatinous, flickering in the dark with luminous organs - photophores.

What fish live in deep-sea depressions?
To date, only 7 species of fish have been found in deep-sea trenches: three species of bugs and four species of sea slugs. The record for depth of capture belongs to abyssobrotule, caught in the Puerto Rico Trench at a depth of 8370 meters, and pseudoliparis - Pseudoliparis, caught 7800 meters from the surface. There is virtually no data on the life of these fish, but as far as one can judge from their appearance, these small, sluggish creatures feed on bottom crustaceans and possibly the remains of other animals. This is what it looks like paraliparis - Paraliparis, living at a depth of 200 - 2,000 m.

It is likely that fish can be found at the bottom of deeper depressions. Thus, during the dive of the Trieste bathysphere into the Mariana Trench at a depth of about 10,000 meters, scientists managed to photograph some kind of flounder-like creature, but further analysis of the images did not clearly confirm that this object was a fish. In any case, there are few fish at these depths. Scientists have not yet discovered giant octopuses or squids capable of swallowing an entire ship.

Giant extinct armored fish

Armored fish that lived in the Jurassic period reached a length of more than 5 m, they lived in fresh water.

Coelacanths appeared 60 million years ago

Famous view deep sea fish coelacanths ( lobe-finned fish) have existed for 60 million years.

Side lights

The “flashlights” themselves can be small or large, single or located 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 long antennae - fishing rods. Many deep-sea fish, such as anglerfish, glowing anchovies, hatchetfish, photostom, there are luminous organs - photofluoride, which serve to attract victims or to camouflage themselves from predators. In females melanocete, like other females deep sea anglerfish(and there are 120 known species), a “fishing rod” grows on its head. It ends with a shiny esque. By waving a “fishing rod”, the melanocetus lures fish towards itself and directs them directly into its mouth.

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

The hatchet photophores are found along the abdomen on both sides and on the underside of the body and also emit a greenish light downward. Their lateral photophores resemble portholes.

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

The deepest sea fish
It is believed that of all vertebrates, the most great depth fish belonging to the genus live Bassogigas (family Brotulidae). From the research vessel John Eliot managed to catch bassogigasa at a depth of 8000 m.

Armored fish lived in the Jurassic period

More than 5 m long, which lived in fresh water.

One-legged crawling
Norwegian scientists from the Institute of Marine Research in Bergen reported the discovery of an unknown creature living at a depth of about 2000 meters. This is a very brightly colored creature crawling along the bottom. Its length is no more than 30 centimeters. The creature has only one front "paw" (or something very similar to a paw) and a tail, and at the same time does not look like any of the sea ​​creatures known to scientists. They failed to catch the creature, but scientists were able to get a good look at it and photograph it many times.

Why do fish need flashlights?

In conditions of constant darkness, the ability to glow plays a huge role. For predators, this is the luring of prey by fishing fish. In anglerfish, the first ray of the spiny dorsal fin is moved onto the head and turned into a fishing rod, at the end of which there is a bait that serves to attract prey. In some fish, only the lower part of the body glows, making them less noticeable against the background of diffused overhead light. Perhaps this is how one becomes invisible iron fish, which has a fantastic appearance with a completely flat silvery bottom part that reflects light. But the main task of photophores is, of course, to designate individuals of one species.

Telescopic eyes

It is clear that with such developed luminescent organs, vision should be no worse. Indeed, many of these fish have very complex telescopic eyes. So, close to the iron fish Bathylychnops- a unique four-eyed fish, in which two main eyes are directed obliquely upward, and two additional ones are directed forward and downward, which allows it to obtain an almost circular image.

Many fish, especially giganturas and bathylepts, have telescopic eyes mounted on stalks, which allows them to perceive very weak light sources, such as radiation from other fish.

Blind deep sea fish

With a further increase in depth and the complete disappearance of signs of light, vision ceases to play an important role and the eyes gradually atrophy. Completely blind species appear. Many of these deep-sea creatures are passive, have flabby, gelatinous bodies, often lacking caudal fins. Having descended four kilometers into the water, you will see rattail grenadiers with “armored” heads and sensitive antennae, typhlonus, which most resemble a small airship, they do not have a tail fin, they are completely blind and hunt only at the expense of the lateral line, galateataum, which lures prey straight into your mouth... And, of course, the most amazing Lasiognathus anglerfish, or Lasiognathus saccostoma(which, by the way, means “the ugliest among the uglies”). Fishes called Bombay ducks, - scaleless, large-mouthed, characterized by flabby consistency fat body and brown-brown color. Ateleopus – gelatinous, covered with smooth slippery skin, it most closely resembles a huge half-meter tadpole. His head makes a great impression - not at all fishy, ​​soft and translucent, covered with delicate slippery skin, it resembled something jelly-like. The small funnel-shaped and completely toothless mouth raised strong doubts about the ability of its owner to feed on fish and crustaceans.

Fish that can't swim

Sea bats (Ogcocephalidae) They only crawl along the bottom “on their bells” with the help of “arms and legs” - pectoral and ventral fins. They spend their entire lives lying on the bottom, passively waiting for prey. The family contains 7–8 genera and about 35 bottom species living in tropical and subtropical waters of the World Ocean. They are characterized by a huge disc-shaped flattened head and a short narrow body covered with bony tubercles or spines. They have a small mouth with small teeth and tiny gill openings. A short “rod” (illicium), which is crowned with a bait (eska), is pulled into a special vagina - a tube located just above the mouth. A hungry fish throws out illicium and lures prey by rotating the handle. The largest sea bats do not exceed 35 cm in length.

In the countries of Southeast Asia from disc bats (Halieutaea) make baby rattles. The abdominal cavity of the dried fish is cut out, the entrails are completely scraped out, and small stones are placed in their place; the incision is carefully sutured and the spines covering the body are ground off.

Only females have fishing rods

Lasiognathus males Lasiognathus saccostoma The larvae also differ from females in the absence of an “illicia” rod. During metamorphosis in males, the head and jaws are greatly reduced, the eyes remain large, and the olfactory organs are greatly enlarged. In females, the opposite is true: the head and jaws become greatly enlarged, and the olfactory and visual organs become smaller; in adulthood, “ladies” reach 7.5 cm. In addition, males have special teeth in the front of their mouths, merging at their bases and serving to capture microprey and attach to females.

When the male is ten times smaller than the female and grows together with her

Ability to self-fertilize
Alepisaurus potentially capable of self-fertilization: each individual produces eggs and sperm simultaneously. And during spawning, some individuals function as females, while others function as males. Alepisaurs are large, up to 2 m long, predatory fish that live in the pelagic zone of the open ocean. Translated from Latin it means “scaleless beast”, a characteristic inhabitant of open ocean waters.

Spawning of deep sea fish

...occurs at great depths. The developing eggs gradually rise upward, and the larvae, 2–3 mm long, hatch in the surface layer of 30–200 m, where they feed mainly on copepods and planktonic chaetognatha. By the beginning of metamorphosis, the juveniles manage to descend to a depth of over 1000 m. Apparently, their immersion occurs quickly, since females at the metamorphosis stage are found in a layer of 2 - 2.5 thousand m, and males at the same stage - at a depth of 2 thousand m. In the layer of 1500 - 2000 m, both sexes live, having undergone metamorphosis and reached maturity, but sometimes adult individuals are found at shallower depths.

Adult females feed mainly on deep-sea bathypelagic fish, crustaceans and, less commonly, cephalopods, while adult males, like larvae, feed on copepods and chaetognaths. The vertical migrations of deep-sea anglerfish associated with individual development are explained by the fact that only in the near-surface layer can their sedentary and numerous larvae find enough food to accumulate reserves for the upcoming metamorphosis. Huge losses due to the consumption of eggs and larvae by predators are compensated by angler fish by very high fertility. Their eggs are small (with a diameter of no more than 0.5 - 0.7 mm), their transparent larvae resemble tiny balloons, due to the fact that they are dressed in a skin cover inflated with gelatinous tissue. This fabric increases the buoyancy and size of the larvae, which, along with transparency, protects them from small predators.

Hunting with a vacuum

Interesting to hunt sticktail(Stylophorus chordatus)- a bizarre fish with telescopic eyes and two long tail rays that form an elastic rod that is longer than the fish itself. Waiting for the appearance of prey (small crustaceans), the sticktail slowly drifts in a vertical position. When the crustacean is nearby, the fish sharply pushes its tubular mouth forward, increasing its volume oral cavity almost 40 times, and the crustacean is instantly drawn into this vacuum trap.

Deep sea predators

In the water column of medium depths there are many fast swimmers, especially among predators. They pierce the water column, rising to the surface, and there, while chasing flies, they sometimes jump into the air. This daggerteeth(For example, Anotopterus nikparini), alepisaurs, godwit, rexia. All of them have powerful teeth and a long, slender body, which allows them to chase prey and easily escape from their pursuers. But all the same, when you see these swift hunters, their “deepness” is easily guessed by the same characteristic flabbiness of their bodies. However, this does not stop them from attacking such strong fish, like salmon, and leave characteristic cut wounds with powerful jaws. Rexias seem to sometimes hunt cooperatively. They tear prey into pieces, and then parts of one victim are found in the stomachs of different predators caught by the same trawl.

Many of these deep-sea hunters have a very striking, memorable appearance. Thus, alepisaurs are “decorated” with a huge flag-shaped fin and, with a length of one and a half meters, weigh only about 5 kilograms, their body is so thin.

Scary teeth of the underwater world

The large-headed daggertooth (Anotopterus nikparini) is a large (up to 1.5 m long), not numerous inhabitant of medium depths of 500-2200 m, presumably found at depths of up to 4100 m, although its juveniles rise to a depth of 20 m. It is widespread in its subtropical and temperate areas of the Pacific Ocean, in the summer months it penetrates north to the Bering Sea.

The elongated, serpentine body and large head with huge beak-shaped jaws make the appearance of this fish so unique that it is difficult to confuse it with anyone else. Characteristic feature external structure The daggertooth is its huge mouth - the length of the jaws is about three-quarters of the length of the head. Moreover, the size and shape of the teeth on different jaws of the daggertooth differ significantly: on the upper ones they are powerful, saber-shaped, reaching 16 mm in large specimens; on the bottom - small, subulate, directed backward and not exceeding 5–6 mm.

Research carried out in the last decade by scientists different countries, showed that the daggertooth is an active predator. As a rule, he hunts schooling pelagic fish such as saury, herring and Pacific salmon - pink salmon, sockeye salmon and masu salmon. Based on data on the shape, location and direction of cuts on the victims' bodies (mainly from the back to the lower part of the body), scientists believe that the daggertooth attacks primarily from below. Most likely, it waits for its prey, hanging head up in the water. In this case, better camouflage is provided and the predator can get as close to the prey as possible. When attacking, two options are possible: a direct throw vertically upward and a throw with a short pursuit of the victim. It is unlikely that the daggertooth, with its not very muscular body and poorly developed tail, could pursue such good swimmers as salmon for a long time.

Of particular interest is the question of how the daggertooth manages to cause such serious damage to such large fish as Pacific salmon. Having studied the structure of the daggertooth’s teeth, scientists came to the conclusion that the salmon themselves “help” it make cut wounds. An attacked fish actively tries to escape after the predator has managed to grab it. But the backward-directed awl-shaped teeth of the lower jaw firmly hold the prey. However, if she makes a turn around the grip axis, freeing her body from the mandibular teeth of the predator, she immediately manages to escape, but at the same time the body is cut by the saber-shaped teeth of the daggertooth.

There's a refrigerator in the stomach
Alepisaurs, fast predators, have an interesting feature: food is digested in their intestines, and their stomach contains completely intact prey, captured at various depths. And thanks to this toothy fishing gear, scientists have described many new species.

Angler swallows whole

Real deep-sea hunters resemble monstrous creatures frozen in the darkness of the bottom layers with huge teeth and weak muscles. They are passively drawn by slow deep-sea currents, or they simply lie on the bottom. With their weak muscles, they cannot tear pieces out of their prey, so they do it easier - swallow it whole... even if it is larger than the hunter in size. This is how anglers hunt - fish with a lonely mouth to which they forgot to attach a body. And this waterfowl head, baring its palisade of teeth, waves in front of itself a tendril with a luminous light at the end.

Anglerfish are small in size, reaching only 20 centimeters in length. The largest species of anglerfish, for example ceraria, reach almost half a meter, others - melanocete or Borofrin have outstanding appearance .

Sometimes anglerfish attack such large fish that an attempt to swallow them sometimes leads to the death of the hunter himself. So, once a 10-centimeter anglerfish was caught, choking on a 40-centimeter longtail.

While sorting out the catch from a deep-sea trawling in the western Pacific, scientists noticed the tightly stuffed belly of a tiny 6-centimeter anglerfish, from which seven freshly swallowed victims were extracted, including a 16-centimeter fish! Perhaps the gluttony was a consequence of his short association with the trawl captives.

Like a mitten, it stretches over the prey

Crookshanks(Pseudoscopelus) has an amazing ability to frequently swallow living creatures larger than its own size. This is a scaleless fish, about 30 cm long, with flaccid muscles and a huge mouth armed with huge teeth. Its jaws, body and stomach can stretch greatly, allowing it to swallow large prey. Some crabbills have the ability to glow. Previously they were considered quite rare species, and only recently it was discovered that they are readily eaten by marlin and tuna, which descend to these depths to feed.

However, many of them can swallow whole a victim larger than themselves. For example, a 14-centimeter haulilod is placed in the stomach of an 8-centimeter gigantura.

New discoveries of deep-sea fish

Last year, the Tangaroa explored the Tasman Sea for four weeks, catching 500 species of fish and 1,300 species of invertebrates.

Among other things, the discovery included a fossilized tooth from a megalodon, an extinct shark that was twice the size of a modern great white shark.

The expedition discovered strange and wonderful sea creatures, such as fish with a tongue covered with teeth, or teeth that rotate on hinges to devour prey. large sizes. Or, say, a fish has been caught whose elongated head, like a metal detector, serves to detect electrical impulses produced by prey hiding at the bottom of the sea.

The researchers were greatly impressed by sabertooths - fish with two sharp teeth that protrude from the lower jaw and go into special cavities located on the head.

Among the new open views There is also a sea mouse that walks along the seabed. Her fins have almost turned into legs, and her head is like a unicorn.

Deep sea chimera

An unknown species of fish, which can be considered a living fossil, has been discovered in the deep-sea depressions of the Atlantic Ocean near Rio de Janeiro. Named Hydrolagus by Brazilian scientists matallanasi, this fish belonging to subspecies of chimeras, has remained virtually unchanged over the past 150 million years.

Along with sharks and rays, chimeras belong to the cartilaginous order, but they are the most primitive and can well be considered living fossils, since their ancestors appeared on Earth 350 million years ago. They were living witnesses to all the cataclysms on the planet and roamed the ocean a hundred million years before the first dinosaurs appeared on Earth."

Fish up to 40 centimeters long live at great depths, in giant depressions up to 700-800 meters deep, so until now they could not be discovered. Her skin is equipped with sensitive nerve endings, with which she detects the slightest movement in absolute darkness. Despite its deep-sea habitat, the chimera is not blind; it has huge eyes.

What are tactile hairs for?

Some deep-sea fish have tactile hairs growing on their chins or near their mouths. As soon as a careless victim touches them, he finds himself in the jaws of a predator.

When lifting deep-sea fish to the top
Deep-sea fish withstand enormous water pressure at the bottom of the ocean, and it is such that fish living in the upper layers of water would be crushed. When relatively deep-sea perciformes are lifted, their swim bladder turns outward due to a drop in pressure. First of all, the swim bladder helps them remain at a constant depth and adapt to the pressure of water on the body. Deep-sea fish constantly pump gas into it to prevent the bubble from collapsing from external pressure. To float, the gas from the swim bladder must be released, otherwise, when the water pressure decreases, it will expand greatly. However, gas is released slowly from the swim bladder.

One of the features of real deep-sea fish is precisely its absence. When they rise up, they die, but without visible changes.

Epipelagic zone (0-200 m) is a photic zone into which sunlight penetrates and photosynthesis occurs 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 the pressure fluctuates between 20 -1000 atmospheres.

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Environment

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

Beneath the epipelagic zone there is a vast water column in which a variety of organisms live, adapted to living conditions 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 ru en.

About 40% of the ocean floor consists of abyssal plains, but these flat, desert regions are covered with marine sediments and generally lack benthic life. 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-sea currents, which causes upwelling, which supports life bottom fish. Mountain ranges can divide underwater regions into different ecosystems.

In the depths of the ocean there is continuous “sea snow” ru detritus of the euphotic zone of protozoa (diatoms), feces, sand, soot and other inorganic dust. Along the way, the “snowflakes” grow and within 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 Marine snow is used as an energy source.

Some groups of organisms, such as representatives of the families Myctophaceae, Melamphaidae, Photichthyaceae and Hatchetaceae, are sometimes called pseudo-oceanic because they live in the open sea around structural oases, underwater peaks or above the continental slope. Such structures also attract numerous predators.

Characteristics

Deep sea fish are some of the strangest and most elusive creatures on Earth. Many unusual and unstudied animals live in the depths. They live in complete darkness, so when avoiding danger and in search of food and a partner for reproduction, they cannot rely only on vision. At great depths, light in the blue spectrum 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 (myctophaceae, nansenia, pollipnus axes), while in others they are reduced or absent altogether (idiacantaceae, ipnopoaceae). In addition to vision, fish are guided by smell, electroreception and changes in pressure. The sensitivity to light of the eyes of some species is 100 times greater than that of humans.

As depth increases, pressure increases by 1 atmosphere every 10 m, while food concentration, oxygen content and water circulation decrease. Adapted to enormous pressure, deep-sea fish have poorly developed skeletons and muscles. Due to the permeability of tissues inside the fish’s body, the pressure is equal to the pressure external environment. Therefore, when quickly rising to the surface, their body swells, their insides come out of their mouths, and their eyes come out of their sockets. Permeability cell membranes increases efficiency biological functions, among which the most important is the production of proteins; The body’s adaptation to environmental conditions is also an increase in the proportion of unsaturated fatty acids in the lipids of the cell membrane. Deep-sea fish have a different balance of metabolic reactions from pelagic fish. Biochemical reactions are accompanied by changes 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 must reduce the body's volume to some extent.

More than 50% of deep-sea fish, along with some species of shrimp and squid, exhibit biolumescence. About 80% of these organisms have photophores, cells that contain bacteria that produce light using carbohydrates and oxygen from the blood of fish. Some photophores have lenses, similar to those found in human eyes, that 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 anglerfish; designate the territory during patrol; communicate and find a partner for mating, and also distract and temporarily blind predators. In the mesopelagic zone, where it does not penetrate a large number of sunlight, photophores on the belly of some fish camouflage them against the background of the water surface, making them invisible to predators swimming below.

Some deep-sea fish spend part of their life cycle in shallow water: juveniles are born there and move to the depths as they mature. Regardless of where the eggs and larvae are found, these 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 to maintain their position in the water column. In general, water pushes out, so organisms float. To counteract the buoyant force, their density must be greater than that of the environment. Most animal tissue is denser than water, so a balancing act is necessary. 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 is not connected to the intestine by a duct. In deep-sea fish, the binding and storage of oxygen inside the swim bladder is possibly carried out by lipids. For example, in gonostomids the bladder is filled with fat. Without a swim bladder, fish have adapted to environment. It is known that the deeper the habitat, the more jelly-like the body of the fish and the smaller the proportion of bone structure. In addition, body density is reduced due to increased fat content and decreased skeletal weight (smaller size, thickness, mineral content and increased water accumulation). Such characteristics make the inhabitants of the deep slow and less mobile compared to pelagic fish that live near the surface of the water.

The lack of sunlight at depth makes photosynthesis impossible, so the source of energy for deep-sea fish is organic matter that descends from above and, less commonly,. The deep sea zone is less rich in nutrients compared to shallower layers. Long, sensitive barbels on the lower jaw, such as those found in longtails and cod, help search for food. First rays dorsal fins The anglers turned into illicium with a glowing bait. A huge mouth, articulated jaws and sharp teeth, like those of a sacrum, allow it to catch and swallow large prey whole.

Fishes of various 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 way, such as small vertically migrating mesopelagic filter feeders, bathypelagic anglerfish, and deep-sea bottom-dwelling longtails.

Among the species living at depth, spiny-finned species are rare. ?! . Probably, deep-sea fish are quite ancient and so well adapted to the environment that the appearance modern fish was not successful. Several deep-sea representatives of spinyfins belong to the ancient orders Berixiformes and Opaciformes. Most pelagic fish found at depth belong to their own orders, which suggests long-term evolution in such conditions. In contrast, deep-sea bottom-dwelling species belong to orders that include many shallow-water fishes.

Mesopelagic fish

Bottom and demersal fish

Deep-sea bottom fishes are called bathidemersals. They live beyond the edge of coastal benthic zones, mainly on the continental slope and at the continental foot, which turns into the abyssal plain, and are found near underwater peaks and islands. These fish have a dense body and negative buoyancy. They spend their entire 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.

Examples of fish that can burrow into the ground are flounder and stingrays. Flounders are a detachment of ray-finned fish that lead a bottom-dwelling lifestyle, lie and swim on their sides. 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 they develop, their body transforms, adapting to life on the bottom. In some species, both eyes are located on the left side of the body (arnoglossa), while in others - on the right (halibut).

  • The hard-bodied benthopelagic fish are active swimmers that vigorously search for prey on the bottom. They sometimes live around underwater peaks with strong currents. Examples of this type are the Patagonian toothfish and the Atlantic roughyfish. Previously, these fish were found in abundance and were a valuable commercial object; they were caught for their tasty, dense meat.

    Bony benthopelagic fish have a swim bladder. Typical representatives, erroneous and long-tailed, are quite massive, their length reaches 2 meters (small-eyed grenadier) and weight 20 kg (black congrio). Among the benthic fish there are many cod-like fish, in particular moraformes, spiny fishes and halosaurs.

    Benthopelagic sharks, similar to deep-sea dogfish, achieve neutral buoyancy due to the liver, rich in fat. Sharks are well adapted to fairly high pressure at depth. They are found on the continental slope at depths of up to 2000 m, where they feed on carrion, in particular the remains of dead whales. However, for constant movement and preservation 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 lifestyle; like sharks, they have a large liver that keeps them afloat.

    Deep sea benthic fish

    Deep-sea bottom fish live beyond the edge of the continental shelf. Compared to coastal species, they are more diverse because they are present in their habitat. various conditions. Benthic fish are more common and more diverse on the continental slope, where habitat varies and food is more plentiful.

    Typical representatives of deep-sea bottom fish are bugs, long-tailed eels, eelpouts, hagfishes, green-eyes, pipistrelids and lumpfish.

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

    At great depths, food is scarce and extremely high pressure limits fish survival. The most deep point The ocean is located 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 muscular bodies and well-developed organs. In structure they are closer to mesopelagic than to bathypelagic fish, but they are more diverse. They generally do not have photophores, with some species having developed eyes and swim bladders and others lacking them. The size also varies, but the length rarely exceeds 1 m. The body is often elongated and narrow, eel-like. This is probably due to the elongated lateral line, which detects low-frequency sounds, with the help of which some fish attract sexual partners. Judging by the speed with which deep-sea bottom fishes detect bait, the sense of smell also plays an important role in orientation, along with touch and lateral line.

    The diet of deep-sea benthic fish mainly consists of invertebrates and carrion.

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

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

    First, organic matter moves from continental land masses through streams 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 continuous “sea snow” ru en, spontaneous deposition 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), feces, sand, soot and other inorganic dust. The third source of energy is provided by mesopelagic fish that perform vertical migrations. A feature of these mechanisms is that the amount of nutrients that reach bottom-dwelling fish and invertebrates gradually decreases with distance from continental coastlines.

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

    • 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. Physiology of fish / Ed. S. N. Shestakh. - M.: Mir, 2003. - 284 p. - (Textbooks and teaching aids for higher education students educational institutions). - 5000 copies. - ISBN 5-03-003564-8.

The waters of the World Ocean occupy more than 70% of the entire surface of planet Earth, however, today the inhabitants of the depths of the ocean remain the least studied by ichthyologists due to difficult access to their habitat. IN lower layers The seas and oceans contain many of the deepest-sea fish and creatures, surprising and sometimes simply shocking with their appearance or way of life. 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 World Ocean. About 2000 of these are known, and there are about 10-15 species of those that live below 6000 m, which is 2% of the total number of the deepest sea 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-sea - they do not have such manifestations, they are located on the slopes of continents.

According to the nature of nutrition, the division takes place into 3 groups:

  1. Planktivores - the diet is based on plankton.
  2. Benthophages - feed on carrion and invertebrates.
  3. Predators – attack and attack others sea ​​inhabitants for further consumption.

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

Description

Among the creatures that live on the ocean floor, there are those that are completely blind or, conversely, have sharp eyesight to track prey, which is due to the constant darkness in these layers of water. Since the seabed is mostly muddy, 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 (processes, fins, tails). This method of adaptation to the environment provides some opportunities for successful life activities, for example, it can serve as bait for prey, as illumination in dark waters. It is often used for camouflage seabed or to scare away predators.

The closer to the bottom of the ocean, the stronger the pressure becomes and the temperature of the water decreases, and there is significantly less food for food. All these factors significantly influenced the structural features of some fish species. In these places you can find the most unusual inhabitants ocean, which have huge mouths and heads, the size 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 they resemble aliens from other planets. However, this list is much wider and can be supplemented with other equally interesting specimens due to great variety who live in the depths of the World Ocean.

Another name - goblin shark - is derived from unusual shape heads: there is a beak-shaped outgrowth and long jaws extending forward. Also has an unusual pink color due to its proximity blood vessels to the surface of the skin.

Lives deeper than 200 m in almost all oceans, maximum depth diving is 1300 m, food consists of crabs, fry and squid. Catching prey is carried out by extending its 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 specialists dates back to 1979.

Most often caught in nets off the coast of Japan, they have large eyes and are distinguished by a large head, small fins and tail.

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

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

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

In the works of many ichthyologists, Bathysaurus is considered the most deep-sea species of all those thoroughly studied to date.

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

It is also called pelican fish (Eurypharynxs pelecanoides), sac-eater, black eater, black crab-eater, belongs to the order of sac-mouths. 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. Crookshanks have no 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 probably one of most interesting fish deep water. And only in 2004 the world saw photographs depicting macropinna, which surprised many, 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.

The body length is about 15 cm, covered with large scales, and the fins are massive. The head is protected by a transparent dome-shaped shell; inside there are cylindrical eyes in a separate chamber. green. Well-developed ocular 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 due to terrifying appearance. Live in eastern region Atlantic Ocean at a depth of up to 550 m, it is considered commercial, because of its white dense 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 tubercles. Angler It is interesting in that it has a rod-like growth on its head with a luminous bait at the end to attract prey; its luminescence 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 relatively small dimensions - weight 120 g and length up to 15-18 cm. It looks terrifying - a powerful head with 4 sharp fangs. The teeth are located on both jaws, resemble construction 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 a sheath on either side of the brain.

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

It lives at a depth of 200-1000 m and 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 turtle and serves as protection against sea predators.

Almost does not swim, moves along the bottom on fins adapted to environmental conditions, which over time have become similar to the limbs of land animals.

Soft-bodied whalefish (Flabby Whalefish)

Considered one of the deepest living species, its habitat is at 3500 m and below. The length reaches 40 cm, and in appearance 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 was obtained due to 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 leap forward towards the victim. Strong, long jaws allow you to reliably squeeze prey, as several rows of sharp teeth help hold it.

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

It is approximately 3.7 km. The ocean is divided into many layers or zones depending on the amount of light reaching a certain depth.

The first layer is the euphotic zone (from the ocean surface to a depth of 200 meters), below which is the mesopelagic zone (from 200 meters to more than 1000 meters). The betypelagic zone is located at depths of up to 4,000 meters below the ocean surface.

Some oceans contain the deepest trenches, estimated to be three times the average depth. For example, Mariana Trench, the deepest point of which is approximately 11 km.

There is no doubt that marine represents the bulk of biomass on Earth. The typical life forms (microorganisms, plants and fish) present in each layer of the ocean vary greatly. To be precise, the deepest layers are inhabited by organisms that require minimal sunlight.

Deep sea fish - any species ( Osteichthyes), which live at extreme ocean depths, typically greater than 600 m and even up to 8,370 m. These species, representing more than a dozen families of marine fish, are characterized by huge mouths, enlarged eyes, and the presence of luminous organs (photophores) on some or more parts of the body. Light-producing organs serve to attract prey or potential mates. These and others character traits deep-sea fish represent adaptation to extreme pressure, cold and especially their darkness. The life of fish in the deep sea environment is one of the most specialized than any other habitat on the planet.

Most famous groups deep-sea marine fish are:

  • deep-sea anglerfish (belonging to the suborder Ceratiformes - Ceratioidei), which lure prey within reach using a special “fishing rod” with a luminous “bait”;
  • Stomiaceae (family Chauliodontidae), whose numerous fanged teeth make them amazing predators;
  • gonomostaceae (family Gonostomatidae) are one of the most common deep-sea fish in the World Ocean.

In contrast, bottom-dwelling (benthal) fish have smaller eyes and small, often drooping mouths, and usually lack luminous organs. These include macrourids (family Macrouridae), pipistrelle (family Ogcocephalidae) and erroneous (family Ophidiidae).

Below are some types of deep-sea fish with photos and brief descriptions:

Hauliods

The common howloid is a deep-sea species predatory fish, which are common at depths from 200 to 1000 m. Its size can vary from 2.2 cm to 22 cm, and its color is silver-blue. Fish have two rows of photophores. The species is found in tropical and temperate waters of the Atlantic, as well as the Indian and Pacific oceans.

Big Mouth

This is another species that is adapted to life in the depths of the ocean. Largemouths live at depths from 500 to 3000 m. One of the characteristic features This species has a huge mouth and a stomach that can stretch greatly to swallow large prey. Largemouths can swallow prey as large as their own body. A luminous photophore is located in the tail section.

Abyssobrotula

Abyssobrotula galatheae still holds the record for the deepest ocean fish in the world. She was found in the Puerto Rico Trench at a depth of about 8,370 m. However, by the time she reached the ocean surface, she was already dead. Consequently, more extensive research regarding the adaptive characteristics of this fish remains to be carried out.

Pseudoliparis amblystomopsis

This species, from the family Liparidae (sea slugs), was previously considered the deepest-sea species ever discovered by scientists. It was spotted in 2008 at a depth of 7.7 km in the Japan Trench, in Pacific Ocean. However, in 2014, another species of sea slug was photographed at a depth of more than 8 km.

Pseudoliparis amblystomopsis is about 30 cm long and uses vibration receptors (present on its head) to locate food and navigate the ocean.



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