Almost the entire surface of the Earth has been studied by humans. But the depths of the sea hold mysteries that are revealed gradually. With the advent of opportunities to dive deeper into the abyss, we find unusual deep-sea creatures there. We would like to present some of them to you. Not all of them are beautiful to look at, but they cannot be denied their originality.

Jellyfish Atoll- a rather predatory creature that lives at depths where the sun’s rays do not penetrate, not to mention underwater swimmers. Its peculiarity is the ability to glow bright red. This happens when the jellyfish senses danger is approaching.

Blue Angel- Very small creature, which easily fits in the palm of a person. It has an amazing shape and color: it looks like a soaring angel, or a miniature dragon, blue on top and silver underneath. This camouflage helps him protect himself from predators, both in water and in the air. An angel can easily float to the surface of the sea by swallowing an air bubble.

Another sea ​​creature- Sponge-harp. As the name suggests, it is shaped like a harp, which clings to sea mud and uses its upper sticky tips to catch small prey.

Funny octopus Dumbo got its name due to its resemblance to the baby elephant from the Disney cartoon, although it is much smaller in size than an earthly mammal. When an octopus swims, it waves its fins, which are exactly like elephant ears. There is very little information about it, since its habitat is very deep.

In the cold depths of the sea oh lives the hairy Yeti crab. Its claws are covered with fur, making it look like a crab. Bigfoot. Living at great depths, where there is no light, made the yeti completely blind.

Strange fashionable fish The pipistrelle bat lives at a depth of 200 meters. She does not know how to swim, but only moves her shell-covered body along the bottom, using her fin legs to move. She is called a fashionista for the bright red color of her slightly protruding lips, making her look quite funny.

Handsome slug Felimare Picta lives among. What makes it extravagant is the coloring and shape of the body: the rich blue-yellow color of the body, framed by a frill. It does not have its own house (like an ordinary mollusk), because it uses a special remedy for protection - acidic sweat secreted throughout the body. It is unlikely that anyone would want to get involved with such prey.

A mollusk lives in the Atlantic Ocean, which was nicknamed "Flamingo Tongue". He is inseparable from his shell, which he carefully protects with his own body and into which he hides in case of danger.

Seahorses whose bodies are “seated” with many leaves, they are called deciduous dragons. They are one of the best masters of mimicry. The leaves do not interfere at all and do not help it swim; the dragon moves with the help of two small fins.

Despite the fact that water occupies 70% of the surface of our planet, the oceans remain a mystery to humans. No more than 5% of the world's oceans have been explored, the rest of it is beyond human knowledge. But several interesting information nevertheless, it was possible to obtain, for example, what creatures live deep under water, where it does not penetrate sunlight.
1 place. Bathysaurus

This lizard-headed creature is very reminiscent of long-extinct dinosaurs in a reduced form. This similarity is probably why it got its name. Bathisaurus lives in the seas of tropical and subtropical climate at a depth of 600 to 3500 meters and reaches a length of 50-65 cm. It is considered the deepest predator, a mini-machine killer that devours everything that gets in its way. Bathysaurus even has teeth on its tongue. By the way, this monster is a hermaphrodite, i.e., it has both male and female sexual characteristics.

2nd place. Angler

This is probably the most ugly creature in the world, when you see him, you can’t help but be scared. There are about 200 species of deep-sea monkfish, most of of which lives in the Atlantic Ocean. Some of these creatures grow up to a meter, and they lure prey with a glowing tail. Their mouth is so large and their body is so flexible that they can swallow prey twice their size.

3rd place. frilled shark

This prehistoric creature lived and hunted well back in the days when dinosaurs roamed the earth. People very rarely have the opportunity to see this formidable predator, since the frilled shark prefers to stay at a depth of 1500 meters, where it hunts mainly cephalopods.

4th place. Fish - drop

This fish somewhat resembles a person with an unhappy expression on his face, upset by his ugliness. It lives mainly off the coast of Tasmania at a depth of 800 meters and feeds on mollusks and sea ​​urchins. The blob fish does not have an air bubble, and its body consists of a jelly-like substance, slightly denser than water, which allows it to easily move along the seabed.

5th place. Pisces - Leo

According to some reports, the lion fish appeared in the Caribbean Sea relatively recently, and became a real disaster for the local inhabitants. Unfamiliar with this type of fish, many try to taste it, and as a result they themselves become prey. These fish have poisonous spines, so the only one who can eat a lion fish is another lion fish, since they are not only predators, but also cannibals.

6th place. Fish - viper

This deep-sea fish is known as one of the most ruthless predators of the seabed. She is easily recognized by her large mouth with huge sharp fangs. In fact, the teeth are so long that they don't fit in her mouth and reach her eyes. Like the monkfish, the viperfish lures its prey with its glowing tail and pierces it with its terrible teeth. Her body is so flexible that she is able to swallow victims larger than herself.

7th place. Woodlice eating tongue

8th place. Sac-eater, or black eater

This fish, up to 30 cm long, lives in the seas of a subtropical climate. It got its name because of its elastic stomach, which can accommodate fish four times the size of the bagworm. The lower jaw has no bony connection to the skull, and there are no ribs on the stomach. All this helps the fish swallow food.

9th place. Macropinna Microstoma

This small fish is known for its transparent head, inside of which there are green eyes. It lives in the cool waters of the Pacific and Northern Arctic Ocean at a depth of 200 to 600 meters.

10th place. Sea bat

This bottom fish, very reminiscent of a stingray, lives mainly in warm waters seas and oceans at depths from 200 to 1000 meters. It has a large head and a small tail, the body itself is practically absent. The bat does not know how to swim, and crawls along the bottom with reluctance. Basically, he just lies there and waits for the food to swim up to him.

The depths of the sea have now remained the most inaccessible and mysterious part of our planet. It is there that researchers and tourists have not yet been able to penetrate; it is there that marine animals can feel safe from curious people. At the same time, the depths of the ocean hide their inhabitants quite reliably, although we were able to meet some of the most terrible ones.

1. European anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius)


If you ask someone to describe an anglerfish, the easiest way to do it is to call it a “mouth with a tail.” It seems that his mouth smoothly turns into a tail, and his body is basically absent. Moreover, all the fish are covered with various outgrowths and growths, which help it camouflage among the sand and thickets of aquatic vegetation. They are distributed in the Atlantic Ocean from the Black Sea to the North Sea at depths of 18-550 m.
The dimensions of the anglerfish are impressive - up to two meters long and weighing more than 20 kg. But his method of obtaining food is striking. First rays dorsal fin Angler fish have changed in the process of evolution, turning into a kind of bait, fluorescent in the darkness of the depths. Now he lies quietly in ambush, waving the bait in front of his nose. The naive fish swims up and then the terrible jaws instantly open, drawing water with all the living creatures into the bottomless stomach of the anglerfish. Angler fish eggs are spawned in real layers almost a meter wide and up to nine meters long. The eggs are light and rise to the surface, where the fry gradually eat off and sink, reaching the bottom and the required dimensions by 5-6 years.
Interestingly, in France, monkfish is a popular dish, but for Jews, due to the lack of scales, it is not kosher.

2. Viperfish (Chauliodus sloani)


There are 6 species of howloids that live in warm tropical waters. The fish are small, only up to 35 cm, but their appearance can drive even the most persistent (including) into hysterics. Viper fish are found at depths of up to four kilometers, although more often from 500 to 1000 meters. At night they rise almost to the very surface, and during the day they sink deep to the bottom. The body of the fish is covered with large scales and luminous areas, which are used for communication. In addition, one of the rays of the dorsal fin, like that of the anglerfish, is turned into bait.
But the main feature of the fish is its disproportionately large head in relation to the body, equipped with long sharp teeth. She is able to lean far back, and her jaw, like a snake’s, can move forward and down. As a result, marine life three times larger becomes its victims. Howloids also have a specific structure of the esophagus; the entire body is focused on holding any prey that comes along! Indeed, in the habitats of the viper fish, hunting is not abundant, and the howloid can live 12 days on one victim.

3. Alepisaurus


The species was first described in 1741 by Steller during the Kamchatka expedition. And then the researchers got a fish carcass that washed up on the shore. Later, with the expansion of fishing, fish began to be caught more often, and more material became available for research. It was possible to establish that the size of the fish reaches 2 meters and 8 kilograms, they have huge teeth and a high dorsal fin. All fish seem to be fast and strong, thanks to the flattened slim body and a narrow, elongated head. Like many deep-sea predators, Alepisaurus makes large vertical movements behind its victims.

4. Long-horned sabertooth (Anoplogaster cornuta)


For almost 50 years, scientists believed and mistook the juveniles of these fish for separate species. Young and adult saber-tooths are radically different from each other – in color, body shape, and arsenal of teeth. With age, light, triangular fish with a spiky head become black, large-headed, toothy predators with the longest teeth in relation to the body among fish. And these fish are considered the deepest, found at a depth of five kilometers and at the same time easily carrying normal pressure, surviving in ordinary aquariums. Yes, but long scary predators only 15 cm.

5. Dragonfish (Grammatostomias flagellibarba)


Another tropical deep-sea predator. It is helped to cope with the problem of obtaining food at kilometer depths by a luminous decoy appendage, large sharp teeth and the ability to literally put itself on the victim. Moreover, the size of the fish does not exceed 15 centimeters.

6. Largemouth (Eurypharynx pelecanoides)


At a kilometer depth you can find, perhaps, the most strange fish- largemouths. Their skull bones were almost completely reduced, and the entire skeleton underwent significant changes. The lower jaw took on the appearance of a large bag, reminiscent of a pelican, and the body itself most closely resembles a long whip up to 2 meters long. Just like other marine inhabitants of these depths, largemouths are aggressive and capable of swallowing quite large prey.

7. Atlantic giant squid / Architeuthis dux

In 1887, the largest specimen of a giant squid was caught off the coast of New Zealand - 17.5 meters long, of which the tentacles alone accounted for 5 meters. Sometimes these squids are called record holders among mollusks in terms of size, but their other relatives are in the lead here - colossal squids. Many legends are associated with both species; they are credited with violent battles with sperm whales, dragging ships under water and submarines, it is these squids that are called krakens.

8. Giant isopod crayfish (Bathynomus giganteus)


This creature was discovered by chance by oil workers in the Gulf of Mexico at a depth of 2.6 km. It simply stuck to one of the geological sensors and was then brought to the surface. Giant sea woodlice reach 0.45 m in length and 2 kg in weight. The first of its 7 pairs of legs evolved into jaws, and a strong chitinous cover provides reliable protection for the body. The appearance of the isopod crayfish is truly prehistoric.

9. Frogfish (Brachionichthyidae melanostomus)


This kind sea ​​anglers differs in that it has practically lost the ability to swim, but deftly moves along the bottom with the help of modified pectoral fins. It has a small body, up to 12 cm, covered with poisonous shoots and spines, capable of swelling and absorbing very large prey. Which, like all fish of this family, is lured by a luminous “fishing rod”.

10. Hell Vampire (Vampyroteuthis infernalis)


This cephalopod has features of both squid and octopus. This is one of the most amazing animals. The hellish vampire holds several records at once. Its eyes, 2.5 cm, are the largest in the animal world relative to the body (30 cm). He lives on the most great depth(400-1000 m) among all cephalopods, where there is no light and a disappearing low concentration of oxygen.
Thanks to the copper content in the blood, it is possible to supply the body with those crumbs of oxygen that are in the water. Due to the high ammonia content in the tissues, an ideal body density comparable to that of sea ​​water, which provides excellent buoyancy and does not require additional energy. The mollusk is completely covered with photoreceptors and uses light for complex communication, to disorient the victim and the attacker. Unlike its shallower-water counterparts, the hellish vampire does not use ink for protection; it releases a mucous suspension with luminous balls into the attackers' face, and itself hides nearby in the darkness.

11. Long-nosed chimera (Harriotta raleighana)

All chimeras have very distinctive noses to some degree, but the long-nosed chimera has a particularly intricate nose. This benthic deep-sea predator lives at depths of 200-2600 m and, thanks to the aerodynamic shape of its nose and body, is capable of developing enormous speeds. In addition, they have a large poisonous thorn, which is usually folded into a recess on the back, and in case of danger rises up.

12. Frilled shark (Chlamydoselachus anguineus)


The rare relict shark reaches 2 meters in length and lives in near-bottom areas at depths of 400-1200 meters. The shark got its name from the folds of skin covering the gill slits. The body of the fish is elongated, serpentine, like other sharks there are a huge number of curved teeth and a brutal appetite. Another feature is ovoviviparity, and “pregnancy” can last up to 2 years.

And one more sea creature, a real live-swallower:

These are 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 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

The famous species of 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 downwards. 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 northern part of Pacific Ocean. Found in the Black Sea European anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius).

The deepest sea fish
It is believed that of all vertebrates, fish belonging to the genus live at the greatest depths 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 resemble any of the sea inhabitants 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 stops playing 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 South East 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 open ocean. Translated from Latin it means “scaleless beast”, a characteristic inhabitant of open ocean waters.

Spawning of deep sea fish

...happens on 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. Connected with individual development vertical migrations of deep-sea anglerfish 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 prey to appear ( small crustaceans), the sticktail drifts slowly in an upright 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 last decade 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. close quarters. 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 interesting feature: food is digested in their intestines, and the 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 absorb large prey. 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 sea ​​mouse, which 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.

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 quick 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 way of adapting to environment provides some opportunities for successful life activities, for example, it can serve as bait for prey, as lighting in dark waters. It is often used for camouflage on the 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 - was obtained due to the unusual shape of the head: there is a beak-like 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.

They most often end up in nets off the coast of Japan, have large eyes, and are different big head, small fins and tail.

The average length of a female is 76 cm, the largest known size value that 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 colour. 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 The Atlantic Ocean at a depth of up to 550 m is considered commercial, because of its white dense meat, dishes with it are widely popular in the national cuisine of 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 fair that it is considered the most bizarre of the deep-sea specimens, since it has unusual shape bodies.