We know even less about the seafloor of our deepest oceans than we know about the surface of the Moon or Mars. Thousands of meters deep, that's what we just discovered Some deep-sea fish don't use their sleep upwards, as assumed. Actually, they swim belly upand the bait hangs down, like a fishing rod.
Until a few years ago, the only deep-sea fish we knew of were dead specimens caught in fishing nets.
When fishing for fish in the Gigantactis genus, it was assumed that they aimed their bait upwards, as other smaller species do. But we were wrong.
The deep-sea fish that swims belly up
The Underwater robots remote control have revolutionized underwater research. There are already small, affordable models equipped with cameras that can dive thousands of meters deep. Thanks to them, we learn more every day about the creatures that live there.
International scientists associated with the Museum of New Zealand have recorded up to eight different deep-sea fish of the genus Gigantactis Swim face upin seas as diverse as the Caribbean, the Atlantic or the Pacific.
Here you can see one of these videos, showing a specimen of Gigantactis at the deepest depth ever recorded. 5,866 meters:
This angler's symmetrical body is deceptive as he appears to be swimming normally with his lure pointing downwards. But in some shots you can clearly see that he is lying belly up.
So these fish species live in complete darkness They use this bait for hunting. At the end of the long “horn” there is a bioluminescent ball that emits light in the dark. This attracts crustaceans and fish. When they're around, he eats them in one bite.
It is not known why this species hunts openly.as other smaller ones do it the traditional way, with the bait pointing upwards.
According to Andrew Stewart, one of the study's authors, in National Geographic, they swim backwards They avoid biting their own bait when they attack prey. Also due to the position of the jaws You have a better chance of catching it.. But at the moment it's all speculation.
Thanks to underwater robots, we found out Some deep-sea fish swim belly up, to have a better chance of catching their prey. In one of the most extreme places on earth, anything can survive.