Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
Home Science Biology

Scientists discover new abyssal angler fish

For all we know about other planets and even other galaxies, there's still much to learn about our very own planet - especially its oceans. The oceans are teeming with life of which we know nothing or very little about; now, Florida researchers have discovered a new species of angler fish that dwells 1 km below sea level (3200 ft).

Mihai Andrei by Mihai Andrei
August 6, 2015
in Biology, News
Reading Time: 2 mins read
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

For all we know about other planets and even other galaxies, there’s still much to learn about our very own planet – especially its oceans. The oceans are teeming with life of which we know nothing or very little about; now, Florida researchers have discovered a new species of angler fish that dwells 1 km below sea level (3200 ft).

anglerfish
Please welcome the new anglerfish, Lasiognathus regan. (Photo courtesy of Theodore Pietsch, University of Washington)

“Every time we go out on a deep-sea research excursion there’s a good chance we’ll see something we’ve never seen before — the life at these depths is really amazing,” said Tracey Sutton, a deep-sea life expert who was involved in the study.

Indeed, it seems like every deep sea expedition comes up with something new.

“As a researcher, the one thing I know is that there’s so much more we can learn about our oceans,” said Tracey Sutton, an oceanographer at NSU . “Every time we go out on a deep-sea research excursion there’s a good chance we’ll see something we’ve never seen before — the life at these depths is really amazing.”

Anglerfish are spectacular, dangerously-looking abyssal fish. Their distinctive characteristic is a fleshy growth from their heads which acts as a lure for their prey. This latest discovery looks a bit like a hunchback, with a large, strange looking mouth and an even stranger zig-zagging fishing pole coming out of its head.

ADVERTISEMENT

“This fish dangles the appendage until an unsuspecting fish swims up thinking they found a meal, only to quickly learn that they are, in fact, a meal themselves,” the marine researchers from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, said in a statement.

Three female fish were discovered – they were named Lasiognathus regan and will reside at the University of Washington.

Sorry to interrupt, but you should really...

...Join the ZME newsletter for amazing science news, features, and exclusive scoops. More than 40,000 subscribers can't be wrong.

   

Also Read: Remarkably bizarre deep sea creatures

The findings are published in the journal Copeia.

ADVERTISEMENT

Tags: anglerfishdeep seauniversity of washington
ShareTweetShare
Mihai Andrei

Mihai Andrei

Andrei's background is in geophysics, and he's been fascinated by it ever since he was a child. Feeling that there is a gap between scientists and the general audience, he started ZME Science -- and the results are what you see today.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • More
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Our stance on climate change
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2019 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.