Wake Up Babe New Fish Dropped

Glasshead Grenadier

Hymenocephalus italicus

The  Glasshead Grenadier is a small deep sea fish named due to a transparent memberane that covers its head. It has fragile head bones, and it feeds on surface copepods and crustaceans. This fish is located between 100 m to 2000 m in the ocean. 

Photo credit: https://www.fishbase.se/summary/1720

https://www.futura-sciences.com/planete/photos/oceanographie-abysses-ces-merveilles-profondeurs-40-photos-686/ocean-grenadier-vitrier-hymenocephalus-italicus-poisson-abysses-4541/

Pacific Viperfish

Chauliodus macouni

The Pacific Viperfish looks intimidating with its sharp, pointy teeth and large jaws. However, its body is small and elongated. It can be found at depths ranging from 250m to 4390m. The Pacific Viperfish long teeth are an unique adaptation designed to keep prey trapped, but it is dangerously close to its eyes. There have been instances when they have caught prey that are too large to swallow and it dies along with its last meal. The Pacific Viper also has photophores along its body and a light organ near its dorsal fin. These organs exhibit bioluminescence and help with attracting pray: as well as, communicating with mates and confuse predators. It is one of the most ferocious predators of the deep ocean. 

Photo credit: https://www.science-rumors.com/top-20-pacific-viperfish-facts-to-know-what-this-creature-is/

 https://goldfisho.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-viperfish/

Pink Helmet

Aglantha digitale

The Pink Helmet is a mini hydromedusa that comes in a variety of vibrant colors. The tiny jelly is only 4 cm in size and is found towards the surface of the ocean. The purple and blue hues we see in its bell are caused by a phenomenon known as iridescence, when light strikes the jelly’s thin tissue at different angles  (similar to what we see in a soap bubbles). It also has orange pigmentation near its mouth; this pigmentation helps attract prey and mask luminescence. Furthermore, females tend to be more colorful than males.

Photo  credit:    https://biolum.eemb.ucsb.edu/organism/pictures/aglantha.html

 https://www.pinterest.com/pin/186899453255850798/

Wolftrap Angler

Thaumatichthys binghami

The Wolftrap Angler is slightly different from many other species of anglers. It has its bioluminescent lure located inside of its mouth instead of connected  to its body. Even though it is intimidating up close, it is only nine centimeters in size. It is found in the deep ocean at 2432m. 

Photo credit

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thaumatichthys_binghami

https://igniteyourcuriosity.wordpress.com/2016/10/22/anglerfish/

Cigar Comb Jelly

beroe forskalii

The Cigar Comb Jelly is a gelatinous ctenophore that is marveled by many due to its sparkling bioluminescence. It tends to elegantly float around 120 m in the ocean. It uses unique, hair-like structures called ctens to move horizontally in the ocean. It also swims in a spiral pattern before consuming zooplankton in the ocean.

Photo credit: https://www.wrobelphoto.com/gelatinouszooplankton/h25347306

https://www.flickr.com/photos/a_migotto/27227530815

Deep Sea Arrow Worm

Eukrohnia hamata

Arrow worms are small, predatory marine worms that consume copepods, ostracods, and larvae. They resembles a clear, ink pen whizzing through the dark sea. Furthermore, they are found primarily in the Artic Ocean between 700m to 1200m. The picture on the bottom is its head. They have 8 hooks, which are used to grab prey and 25 posterior teeth. Even though the arrow worms are terrifying up close, they are only 4.5 cm in size.

Photo credit:   http://www.arcodiv.org/watercolumn/chaetognaths/Eukrohnia_hamata.html

Black- eyed squid

Gonatus onyx

The Black-eyed Squid is roughly over one foot (35 am) and is found at depths as deep as 2500m. The female Black-eyed Squid works fiercely to protect her babies, by carrying around a patch of egg for six to nine months. When the eggs hatch, 2000 to 3000 babies are released into the ocean. However, this makes her vulnerable to predators. 

Photocredit: http://tolweb.org/Gonatus+onyx/19769

Physonect Siphonophore

Nanomia cara

The Physonect siphonophore has tiny, bubble shaped sacs that are filled with gas. The sacs are called pneumatophores and help this creature move through the deep ocean. It also has venomous tentacles that stun prey and over eighty stomachs. There are numerous amounts of these strange creatures along the east coast, and they have cause some fisheries to collapse. Furthermore, they can be found at depth between 400m to 1000m.  

Photo credit: http://www.seawater.no/fauna/cnidaria/cara.html

https://www.mindenpictures.com/stock-photo-siphonophore-hydrozoan-cnidarian-nanomia-cara-atlantic-nectophores-naturephotography-image90194961.html

Football Fish

Himantolophus paucifilosus

The Football fish is a deep sea angular fish located between 1000 to 4000 meters in the ocean. The glowing dots on its body are sensory organs called neuromast that help the fish detect changes in the water.

Photo credit: https://alchetron.com/Footballfish

https://www.amazon.com/Creatures-Deep-Search-Monsters-World/dp/1770852816

Giant Bell Jelly

Scrippsia pacifica

The Giant Belly Jelly has 256 tentacles attached to a gelatinous bell-shaped base. Like most cnidarians, the Giant Belly Jelly uses specialized stinging cells called nematocysts to catch its prey. When fish and other prey swim into its tentacles, the sensory projection on the cnidocyte (cell that holds the nematocysts) is activated. Then the nematocysts and barb are released, hitting the vulnerable prey and releasing a toxin into the prey’s body. The Giant Bell Jelly is found at 400 m in the ocean. It is related to the jellyfish, but it is categorized as a Hydrozoa (similar to the Portuguese- man-o-war)

https://vimeo.com/42551565

Photo Credit: https://www.pinterest.cl/pin/467107792572034837/

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/ivytech-bio1-1/chapter/phylum-cnidaria/