Deep-sea fish of the Mariana Trench. Who lives at the bottom of the Mariana Trench? Existence beyond

The Mariana Trench (or Mariana Trench) is the deepest place earth's surface. It is located on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean, 200 kilometers east of the Mariana Archipelago.

It’s paradoxical, but humanity knows much more about the secrets of space or mountain peaks than about ocean depths Oh. And one of the most mysterious and unexplored places on our planet is the Mariana Trench. So what do we know about him?

Mariana Trench - the bottom of the world

In 1875, the crew of the British corvette Challenger discovered Pacific Ocean a place where there was no bottom. Kilometer after kilometer the line of the lot went overboard, but there was no bottom! And only at a depth of 8184 meters the descent of the rope stopped. This is how the deepest underwater crack on Earth was discovered. It was called the Mariana Trench, named after the nearby islands. Its shape (in the form of a crescent) and the location of the deepest section, called the “Challenger Deep,” were determined. It is located 340 km south of the island of Guam and has coordinates 11°22′ N. latitude, 142°35′ e. d.

Since then, this deep-sea trench. Oceanographers have long tried to find out its true depth. Research different years gave different meanings. The fact is that at such a colossal depth, the density of water increases as it approaches the bottom, therefore the properties of the sound from the echo sounder in it also change. Using barometers and thermometers at different levels along with echo sounders, in 2011 the depth in the Challenger Deep was determined to be 10994 ± 40 meters. This is the height of Mount Everest plus another two kilometers above.

The pressure at the bottom of the underwater chasm is almost 1100 atmospheres, or 108.6 MPa. Most deep-sea vehicles are designed for a maximum depth of 6-7 thousand meters. During the time that has passed since the discovery of the deepest canyon, it was possible to successfully reach its bottom only four times.

In 1960, the deep-sea bathyscaphe Trieste descended to the very bottom for the first time in the world. Mariana Trench in the area of ​​the Challenger Deep with two passengers on board: US Navy Lieutenant Don Walsh and Swiss oceanographer Jacques Piccard.

Their observations led to an important conclusion about the presence of life at the bottom of the canyon. The discovery of the upward flow of water also had important ecological significance: based on it, nuclear powers refused to bury radioactive waste at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.

In the 90s, the trench was explored by the Japanese unmanned probe "Kaiko", which brought samples of silt from the bottom in which bacteria, worms, shrimp were found, as well as pictures of a hitherto unknown world.

In 2009, the American robot Nereus conquered the abyss, picking up from the bottom samples of silt, minerals, samples of deep-sea fauna and photos of the inhabitants of unknown depths.

In 2012, James Cameron, the author of Titanic, Terminator and Avatar, dived alone into the abyss. He spent 6 hours at the bottom, collecting samples of soil, minerals, fauna, as well as taking photographs and 3D video filming. Based on this material, the film “Challenge the Abyss” was created.

Amazing discoveries

Located in a trench at a depth of about 4 kilometers active volcano Daikoku, spewing liquid sulfur that boils at 187 ° C in a small depression. The only lake of liquid sulfur was discovered only on Jupiter’s moon, Io.

“Black smokers” swirl 2 kilometers from the surface - sources of geothermal water with hydrogen sulfide and other substances that, upon contact with cold water transform into black sulfides. The movement of sulfide water resembles clouds of black smoke. The water temperature at the point of release reaches 450° C. The surrounding sea does not boil only because of the density of the water (150 times greater than at the surface).

In the north of the canyon there are “white smokers” - geysers spewing liquid carbon dioxide at a temperature of 70-80 ° C. Scientists suggest that it is in such geothermal “cauldrons” that one should look for the origins of life on Earth. Hot springs “heat” the icy waters, supporting life in the abyss - the temperature at the bottom of the Mariana Trench is between 1-3° C.

Life beyond life

It would seem that in an environment of complete darkness, silence, icy cold and unbearable pressure, life in the depression is simply unthinkable. But studies of the depression prove the opposite: there are living creatures almost 11 kilometers under water!

The bottom of the hole is covered with a thick layer of slime from organic sediments that have been sinking from the upper layers of the ocean for hundreds of thousands of years. Mucus is an excellent breeding ground for barrophilic bacteria, which form the basis of nutrition for protozoa and multicellular organisms. The bacteria, in turn, become food for more complex organisms.

The ecosystem of the underwater canyon is truly unique. Living beings have managed to adapt to aggressive, destructive normal conditions environment, at high pressure, absence of light, low amount of oxygen and high concentration toxic substances. Life in such unbearable conditions gave many of the inhabitants of the abyss a frightening and unattractive appearance.

Deep-sea fish have incredibly large mouths lined with sharp long teeth. High pressure made their bodies small (from 2 to 30 cm). However, there are also large specimens, such as the xenophyophora amoeba, reaching 10 cm in diameter. The frilled shark and goblin shark, which live at a depth of 2000 meters, generally reach 5-6 meters in length.

Representatives live at different depths different types living organisms. The deeper the inhabitants of the abyss, the better developed their organs of vision are, allowing them to catch the slightest reflection of light on the body of prey in complete darkness. Some individuals themselves are capable of producing directional light. Other creatures are completely devoid of organs of vision; they are replaced by organs of touch and radar. With increasing depth, underwater inhabitants increasingly lose their color; the bodies of many of them are almost transparent.

On the slopes where the “black smokers” are located, mollusks live that have learned to neutralize sulfides and hydrogen sulfide that are lethal to them. And, which still remains a mystery to scientists, under conditions of enormous pressure at the bottom, they somehow miraculously manage to keep their mineral shell intact. Other inhabitants of the Mariana Trench show similar abilities. The study of fauna samples showed many times higher levels of radiation and toxic substances.

Unfortunately, deep-sea creatures die due to changes in pressure when any attempt is made to bring them to the surface. Only thanks to modern deep-sea vehicles it became possible to study the inhabitants of the depression in their natural environment. Representatives of fauna unknown to science have already been identified.

Secrets and riddles of the “womb of Gaia”

The mysterious abyss, like any unknown phenomenon, is shrouded in a mass of secrets and mysteries. What does she hide in her depths? Japanese scientists claimed that while feeding goblin sharks, they saw a shark 25 meters long devouring goblins. A monster of this size could only be a megalodon shark, which became extinct almost 2 million years ago! This is confirmed by the findings of megalodon teeth in the vicinity of the Mariana Trench, whose age dates back to only 11 thousand years. It can be assumed that specimens of these monsters still exist in the depths of the hole.

There are many stories about corpses washed ashore giant monsters. When descending into the abyss of the German bathyscaphe "Haifish", the dive stopped 7 km from the surface. To understand the reason, the passengers of the capsule turned on the lights and were horrified: their bathyscaphe, like a nut, was trying to chew some kind of prehistoric lizard! Only a pulse of electric current through the outer skin managed to scare away the monster.

Another time, when an American submersible was diving, the grinding of metal began to be heard from under the water. The descent was stopped. Upon inspection of the raised equipment, it turned out that the titanium alloy metal cable was half sawed (or chewed), and the beams of the underwater vehicle were bent.

In 2012, a video camera unmanned vehicle"Titan" from a depth of 10 kilometers transmitted a picture of metal objects, presumably a UFO. Soon the connection with the device was interrupted.

Unfortunately, there is no documentary evidence of these interesting facts; they are all based only on eyewitness accounts. Each story has its fans and skeptics, its arguments for and against.

Before the risky dive into the trench, James Cameron said that he wanted to see with his own eyes at least part of the secrets of the Mariana Trench, about which there are so many rumors and legends. But he did not see anything that went beyond the knowable.

So what do we know about her?

To understand how the Mariana underwater gap was formed, it should be remembered that such gaps (trenches) are usually formed along the edges of the oceans under the influence of moving lithospheric plates. Oceanic plates, being older and heavier, “crawl” under continental plates, forming deep gaps at the junctions. The deepest is the junction of the Pacific and Philippine tectonic plates near the Mariana Islands (Mariana Trench). The Pacific plate is moving at a rate of 3-4 centimeters per year, resulting in increased volcanic activity along both its edges.

Along the entire length of this deepest failure, four so-called bridges—transverse mountain ridges—were discovered. The ridges were presumably formed due to the movement of the lithosphere and volcanic activity.

The gutter is V-shaped in cross-section, greatly expanding at the top and narrowing downwards. The average width of the canyon in the upper part is 69 kilometers, in the widest part - up to 80 kilometers. The average width of the bottom between the walls is 5 kilometers. The slope of the walls is almost vertical and is only 7-8°. The depression stretches from north to south for 2,500 kilometers. The trench has an average depth of about 10,000 meters.

Only three people to date have visited the very bottom of the Mariana Trench. In 2018, another manned dive to the “bottom of the world” in its deepest section is planned. This time, the famous Russian traveler Fyodor Konyukhov and polar explorer Artur Chilingarov will try to conquer the depression and find out what it hides in its depths. Currently, a deep-sea bathyscaphe is being manufactured and a research program is being drawn up.

The deepest part of the world's oceans, the Mariana Trench, is in no hurry to reveal its secrets to humanity. Research here is fraught with great risk, but what we have learned changes many scientists’ ideas about the structure of the world. Particularly impressive are the animals of the Mariana Trench, which have adapted to conditions that theoretically deny any terrestrial forms of existence.

The sight of these creatures causes fear, but most of them are completely harmless. The strange shape of the bodies, luminous organs, the absence of eyes or, conversely, their incredible size are just the result of biological adaptation to a very unfriendly environment.

Life at great depths

The Mariana Trench (trench) was formed about 100,000,000 years ago, as a result of the deformation of the Pacific and Philippine lithospheric plates during convergence. Its length is over 1500 km, and its bottom width ranges from 1 to 5 km. But the most amazing parameter can be called the depth of formation, reaching 10,994 m at its peak point - the “Challenger Deep”. This is 2 km higher than Mount Everest, if it is tipped down at the top.

"Bottom of the Earth"

For a long time it was believed that life in the Mariana Trench was impossible and there was every reason for such assumptions. The mysterious trench was called the “bottom of the Earth” both in the literal and figurative, not entirely flattering sense of the word. The conditions here are indeed far from ideal:

1. The pressure at the bottom is 108.6 MPa, which is 1000 times higher than normal. This explains the difficulty of diving into the deepest underwater canyon in the world - even with modern technologies it is difficult to create bathyscaphes that can withstand such a colossal load.

For comparison: normal Atmosphere pressure on the surface of the earth is 0.1 mPa.

1. At a depth of over 1.2 km, absolute darkness reigns, sunlight doesn't penetrate here. There is no photosynthesis, therefore there are no algae and phytoplankton, without which, as previously thought, the formation of food chains is impossible.

1. The water temperature is very low. Theoretically, it should drop to minus values, but it stays at around 1 – 4ºС, thanks to hydrothermal springs known as “black smokers”. Geysers located at a depth of 1.6 km emit jets of mineralized water, heated to 450ºC, but not boiling due to high pressure. It is this that increases the temperature of the adjacent layers, at the same time enriching them with useful substances.

“Black smokers” are dangerous because they actively emit hydrogen sulfide, which is very toxic to most organisms.

1. The water in the deeper layers is saltier and saturated with carbon dioxide, which impedes respiration. At the bottom of the depression there is a unique Champagne geyser that releases liquid carbon. The water also contains impurities of mercury, uranium and lead, which, according to scientists, accumulate at great depths.

1. The bottom is covered with viscous mucus, which is organic remains descended from upper layers.

Existence beyond

Despite complete confidence in his absence, animal world The Mariana Trench is real and varied. Fish living at a depth of 6,000 m or more, as well as other representatives of marine fauna, do not feel pressure, since the cells of their bodies are permeable and saturated with water. That is, the load from outside and inside is the same.

A person also does not feel the pressure of the “air column”, thanks to the oxygen dissolved in the blood, although on average each inhabitant of the planet has a load of 2 tons.

This is interesting: when trying to rise to the surface, animals adapted to high pressure die. So far, it has not been possible to deliver at least one inhabitant of the Mariana Trench unharmed to ground laboratories.

Instead of a swim bladder, some deep sea fish are equipped with fat pads that help redistribute the load in the body, their bones are replaced with light cartilage, and muscles are practically absent. Therefore, the inhabitants of the mysterious abyss move in a unique way and are unlike their relatives living closer to the surface of the sea.

In the deepest ocean trench, its own unique food chain. The food source for most local inhabitants is chemosynthetic bacteria, which form colonies near “black” and “white smokers”. Other simple organisms - single-celled foramanifera, living at the very bottom of the trench, process sludge, creating a nutrient medium for mollusks and crustaceans.

The fish pick up pieces of food, which seem to be drawn into a funnel from the upper layers. To do this, they are equipped with a huge mouth, making up more than half of the body, with articulated jaws and sharp, curved teeth. Smaller fish serve as food for large predators and so on.

The inhabitants of the depths adapt to the complete absence of daylight in different ways. Some of them are equipped with photophores - special organs that emit light. Thus, you can protect yourself from predators, lure prey and distinguish representatives of your species in the dark.

Other fish react to pressure, electrical impulses emitted by other organisms, and odors. Their body is dotted with thin processes with nerve endings that record the slightest changes in the environment.

And now more about the deep-sea inhabitants of the Mariana Trench.

Beauties and Beasts

In 1960, American military officer Don Walsh and oceanographer Jacques Piccard from Switzerland became the first explorers to reach the “bottom of the Earth.” In the armored bathyscaphe "Trieste" they stayed in the "Challenger Abyss" for no more than 20 minutes, but managed to notice a school of flat fish, about 30 cm long. The discovery of "Trieste" became an important scientific confirmation of the habitability of great depths.

Today it is known that the following live in the bottom part:

• giant tube worms, up to 1.5 m long, without a mouth or anus;

• mutated sea ​​stars, including brittle stars or darters;

• crabs;

• octopuses;

• sea ​​cucumbers;

• giant poisonous amoebas, about 10 cm in size, while usually these creatures do not exceed 5 mm;

• mollusks that have managed to adapt to water saturated with hydrogen sulfide and high pressure;

• jellyfish;

• fish, including sharks.

With some of these incredible creatures It's worth getting to know each other better.

This beautiful jellyfish of the Hydroid class (order Trachymedusa) lives only at great depths - at least 700 m, and belongs to the nektonic marine fauna. She spends her entire life actively moving, covering long distances in search of zooplankton, which she mainly feeds on.

Bentocodon is small, approximately 2 - 3 cm in diameter, but it has a record number of the thinnest tentacles - up to 1500, which allow it to move very quickly through the water column. Its umbrella, unlike other types of jellyfish, is opaque and reddish in color. Scientists suggest that, in this way, bentocodon “hides” the bioluminescent glow of the planktonic crustaceans it eats, so as not to attract the attention of predators.

Small - only 9 cm in length transparent octopus, resembling an alien angel, has telescopic vision. A unique feature allows him to see in almost impenetrable darkness, noticing prey in time and moving away from danger.

This is interesting: no other species of octopus has telescopic eyes..

From the name it is clear that Amphitretus prefers the pelagic zone of the ocean - that is, unlike other species of octopuses, it rarely swims to the bottom areas. However, it is capable of descending to a depth of 2000 m, moving not horizontally, but vertically.

The tentacles of the fragile beauty are connected not by a continuous membrane, like other mollusks of its order, but by thin transparent threads, reminiscent of a cobweb.

The deepest-sea octopus - some individuals of this species descend below 7000 m. The mantle of Grimpovthetis is decorated with two processes resembling elephant ears, for which it received the nickname Dumbo, named after the hero of the Disney cartoon of the same name.

The average size of the mollusk is 20–30 cm, but an individual is known that reached a length of 180 cm and weighed about 6 kg.

Despite its extensive habitat, Grimpoteuthys is considered one of the rarest and least studied species of octopus. It was not possible to observe him in natural conditions. It is only known that this baby swallows prey whole, while others cephalopods They first tear it apart with their beak.

Grimpoteuthys looks very unusual, especially when, with its “ears” spread out, it soars in the ocean depths, looking for snails, worms and small crustaceans. Despite the “cosmic” appearance, the octopus Dumbo cannot be called a terrible monster from the Mariana Trench - he is charming in his own way.

Deep sea anglerfish (sea devil)

The fish, as if swimming out of a nightmare, is in fact simply well adapted to life in a 3-kilometer layer of water with a pressure of up to 30 MPa. The “sea devil” is distinguished by pronounced sexual dimorphism. Females are much larger than males: from 5 to 100 cm versus 4 cm, respectively. Representatives of both sexes are colored in camouflage dark brown shades and are covered not with scales, but with growths in the form of plaques and spines.

The predator, reminiscent of an eel or sea snake, belongs to relict species. Its length rarely exceeds 2 m, its body is elongated, and its movements are writhing, like those of reptiles.

The shark feeds on squid and fish, sometimes “diluting” the diet with stingrays and smaller relatives. It hunts around the clock, hiding at the bottom and, like a snake, guarding its prey. Due to the fact that the “living fossil” rarely rises to the surface, preferring to remain at around 1,500 km, the species has managed to survive.

In its sector, where other sharks rarely swim, the “cloaked fish” is considered a formidable predator, however, when rising to the surface, the fish weakens and often dies from pressure drops.

Even among the bizarre animals that live in the Mariana Trench, this fish has an amazing structure. Her head is completely transparent, and her telescopic eyes see through her skin. Elastic sheath covering top part The torso is filled with fluid in which the organs of vision “float”, and between them there is a bone membrane where the brain is placed.

The small fish, up to 15 cm in length, feeds mainly on settling zooplankton. This is probably why her green, phosphorescent eyes are directed upward. Some prey, for example, the poisonous stinging cells of jellyfish - cnidocytes or siphonophores, can deprive the macropine of vision; it is not surprising that the fish, in the process of evolution, has developed such an original method of protection.

The fish resembles in shape a simple carpentry tool, from which it gets its name. Unlike others deep sea inhabitants, has a beautiful silver-blue color, allowing you to seem to dissolve in the light when the hatchet rises closer to the surface of the ocean.

In the lower part of the abdomen there are photophores that give a greenish glow. However, the most remarkable part of the animal is its huge telescopic eyes, giving it a terrifying and “otherworldly” appearance.

Invisible giants

It seems that creatures of gigantic size must live in the mysterious 11-kilometer abyss in order to withstand incredible pressure from the outside. Hence the information that periodically arises about giant lizards, 20-meter prehistoric megalodon sharks allegedly preserved at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, no less terrible octopuses, and so on.

So far, the deepest-sea fish (lives 8000 m below sea level) – bassogigas – does not even reach 1 m in length.

None of the expeditions that visited the Pacific Trench provided indisputable evidence that monsters unknown to science live at its bottom. Although the German researchers who launched the Haifish bathyscaphe claim that the apparatus was attacked by a huge lizard. And even earlier, in 1996, an American deep-sea robot belonging to the Glomar Challenger tried to explore the depression and was half destroyed unknown creature. The monster gnawed through steel ropes and damaged the strong structures of the platform, while emitting unimaginable sounds recorded by instruments.

What secrets does the Mariana Trench keep and who lives there can be seen in the video:

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On May 31, 2009, the automatic underwater vehicle Nereus sank to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. According to measurements, it fell 10,902 meters below sea level. At the bottom, Nereus filmed a video, took some photographs, and even collected sediment samples at the bottom. Thanks to modern technologies, researchers managed to capture a few representatives of the Mariana Trench, I suggest you get to know them too.

The snout of this terrifying shark ends in a long beak-like outgrowth, and its long jaws can extend far. The color is also unusual: close to pink

Male and female monkfish differ in size by a thousand times. The female spends most of her life in the coastal zone and can grow up to two meters in length. The mouth is very large, with a protruding lower jaw and a retractable upper jaw, armed with a palisade of strong sharp teeth.

Dark-colored, the luminescent organ is absent in photophores. There is a barbel on the chin associated with the hypoid apparatus. True gill rakers are absent. Predators that eat small fish and planktonic crustaceans. They usually live at depths from 300 to 500 m (but can be found at depths of up to 2000 m).

Length from 3 to 26 cm. They live in the deep waters of all oceans. Representatives of the genus Pseudoscopelus have luminous organs - photophores.

A ferocious predator despite small size. This is one of many species inhabiting the depths of the world's oceans. This fish grows about 16 cm, has a long appendage directed towards its chin. This luminous appendage is used as a decoy, blinking and deflecting back and forth. As soon as the unsuspecting fish swims close enough close quarters, she will immediately find herself in powerful jaws.

Grows up to three meters in diameter. The red color helps them camouflage on the ocean floor. The stinging tentacles typical of jellyfish are missing.

This fish has a long and narrow body. Outwardly, it resembles an eel, for which it received another name - pelican eel. Its mouth has a giant, stretchable pharynx, reminiscent of a pelican's beak pouch. Like many deep-sea inhabitants, largemouths have areas of the body with photophores - along the dorsal fin and in the tail. Thanks to its huge mouth, this fish is capable of swallowing prey that is larger than itself.

A spotted, dark fish with huge glowing eyes and a fanged mouth lures its prey with the help of a bioluminescent appendage on its chin.

It is believed that viperfish can live at depth for 30 to 40 years. In captivity, she has a shorter lifespan - only a few hours.

These are incredibly fragile creatures, with large fins like wings and a head that looks like a cartoon dog.

jellyfish of the family Rhopalonematidae

sea ​​snail from the order Naked pteropods (Gymnosomata), class Gastropods(Gastropoda).

order of protozoa of the rhizopod subclass with a cytoplasmic body covered with a shell

giant amoebas, which scientists have assigned sonorous name xenophyophores reach 10 centimeters in size.

benthic scavenger Scotoplanes Globosa is a marine invertebrate animal from the genus of deep-sea holothurians. They live at a depth of a kilometer or more. The skin is colorless, almost transparent, since the animal lives in a world without light. Depending on the species, the animal has six or more pairs of legs, which are tubular growths on the abdomen. To move, the porpoise does not move these processes themselves, but the cavity on which they grow. The mouth is equipped with a dozen tentacles, with which the porpoise collects small organisms from the bottom. Scotoplanes Globosa are extremely common animals. Its share among all deep-sea inhabitants reaches 95%, which makes the porpoise the main “dish” in the diet of deep-sea fish. Scotoplanes Globosa, in addition to benthic organisms, feed on carrion. They have an excellent sense of smell, allowing them to detect a decomposing carcass in complete darkness.

lead a planktonic lifestyle, moving from the murky depths of a thousand or more meters to the very surface, constantly striving upward.

For its dark, almost black color it is called monkfish.

An underwater version of the Venus flytrap. In the waiting state, their hunting apparatus is straightened, but if a small animal swims there, the “lips” are compressed like a trap, sending the prey to the stomach. To lure prey, they use bioluminescence as bait.

The most amazing representatives from polychaete worms. Worms are distinguished by the presence of small formations glowing with a greenish light, resembling drops in shape. These tiny bombs can be thrown away, distracting the enemy in case of danger for several seconds, giving the worms a chance to escape.

Representatives of this order are small, their body is enclosed in a bicuspid, chitinous, transparent shell. Swim easily with the help of antennae or crawl with the help of antennae and legs

Our Earth is 70% water and most of These vast expanses of water (including underwater) all remain poorly explored. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that the most amazing and strange representatives of the animal world live in the depths of the sea. Today in our article we will talk about the most incredible deep-sea fish of the Mariana Trench and other ocean depths. Many of these fish were discovered to the human eye relatively recently, and many of them amaze us people with their incredible and even fantastic appearance, structural features, habits and way of life.

Bassogigas - the deepest sea fish in the world

So, meet bassogigas - a fish that is the absolute record holder for deep-sea habitat. Bassogigas was first caught at the bottom of a trench near Puerto Rico at a depth of 8 km (!) from the research ship John Eliot.

Bassogigas.

As you can see, by appearance our deep-sea record holder differs little from ordinary fish, although in fact, despite its relatively typical appearance, its habits and way of life have still been little studied by scientific zoologists, because conducting research at such a great depth is a very difficult task.

Blob fish

But it’s hard to blame our next hero for being “ordinary”; meet the drop fish, which in our opinion has the strangest and most fantastic appearance.

Like an alien from outer space, isn't it? The drop fish lives on the deep ocean floor near Australia and Tasmania. The size of an adult representative of the species is no more than 30 cm. In front of it there is a process reminiscent of our nose, and on the sides there are, respectively, two eyes. The blob fish does not have developed muscles and is somewhat similar in its way of life - it swims slowly with its mouth open, waiting for its prey, which is usually small invertebrates, to be nearby. After this, the drop fish swallows the prey. She herself is inedible and, moreover, is on the verge of extinction.

And here is our next hero - a sea bat, which in appearance does not even look like a fish.

But, nevertheless, he is still a fish, although he cannot swim. The batfish moves along the seabed, pushing off with its fins, which are so similar to legs. The pipistrelle bat lives in the warm, deep waters of the world's oceans. The largest representatives of the species reach 50 cm in length. Bats are predators and feed on various small fish, but since they cannot swim, they lure their prey with a special bulb growing directly from their heads. This bulb has a specific smell that attracts small fish, as well as worms and crustaceans (they also go to food for our hero), while the bat itself sits patiently in ambush and as soon as potential prey is nearby, it suddenly grabs it.

Anglerfish - deep sea fish with a flashlight

The deep-sea angler fish, which lives, including in the depths of the famous Mariana Trench, is especially notable for its appearance, thanks to the presence of a real flashlight fishing rod on its head (hence its name).

The angler's flashlight rod is not only for beauty, but also serves the most practical purposes; with its help, our hero also lures prey - various small fish, although due to its considerable appetite and the presence of sharp teeth, the anglerfish does not hesitate to attack more major representatives fish kingdom. Interesting fact: anglerfish themselves often become victims of their particular gluttony, since, having grabbed big fish due to the structural features of its teeth, it can no longer release its prey, as a result of which it chokes and dies.

But back to his amazing biological flashlight, why does it glow? In fact, the light is provided by special luminous bacteria that live with the anglerfish in close symbiosis.

In addition to its main name, the deep-sea angler fish has others: “ sea ​​Devil», « angler“, because in its appearance and habits, it can easily be classified as a deep-sea monster fish.

The barrel eye has perhaps the most unusual structure among deep-sea fish: a transparent head through which it can see with its tubular eyes.

Although the fish was first discovered by scientists back in 1939, it still remains poorly studied. Lives in the Bering Sea, near west coast USA and Canada, as well as off the coast of northern Japan.

Giant amoebas

American oceanographers 6 years ago discovered living creatures at a record depth of 10 km. - gigantic. True, they no longer belong to fish, so among fish the primacy is still occupied by bassogigas, but these giant amoebas are the absolute record holders among living creatures living at the greatest depth - the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest known on Earth. These amoebas were discovered using a special deep-sea camera, and research into their life continues to this day.

Deep sea fish video

And in addition to our article, we invite you to watch an interesting video about 10 incredible creatures of the Mariana Trench.