Deep-sea fish are considered one of the most amazing creatures on the planet. Their uniqueness is explained primarily by the harsh conditions of existence. That is why the depths of the oceans, and especially deep-sea troughs and trenches, are not densely populated.
Deep-sea fish and their adaptations to living conditions
As already mentioned, the depths of the oceans are not populated as densely as, say, the upper layers of water. And there are reasons for this. The fact is that the conditions of existence change with depth, and, therefore, organisms must have some adaptations.
- Life in the dark. With depth, the amount of light decreases sharply. It is believed that the maximum distance that a ray of sunlight travels in water is 1,000 meters. No traces of light were found below this level. Therefore, deep-sea fish are adapted to life in complete darkness. Some fish species do not have functioning eyes at all. The eyes of other representatives, on the contrary, are very strongly developed, which makes it possible to pick up even the weakest light waves. Another interesting device is the luminescent organs, which can glow using the energy of chemical reactions. Such light not only facilitates movement, but also attracts potential prey.
- High pressure. Another feature of deep-sea existence. That is why the internal pressure of such fish is much higher than that of their shallow relatives.
- Low temperature. With depth, the water temperature drops significantly, so the fish are adapted to life in such an environment.
- Lack of food. Since the diversity of species and the number of organisms decreases with depth, food, respectively, remains very small. Therefore, deep-sea fish have hypersensitive organs of hearing and touch. This gives them the opportunity to detect potential prey at a great distance, which in some cases is measured in kilometers. By the way, such a device makes it possible to quickly hide from a larger predator.
You can see that fish living in the depths of the ocean are truly unique organisms. In fact, the vast area of the world's oceans is still unexplored. That is why the exact number of species of deep-sea fish is unknown.
A variety of fish living in the water depths
Although modern scientists know only a small part of the population of the depths, there is information about some very exotic inhabitants of the ocean.
Batizaurus are the most deep-sea predator fish that live at a depth of 600 to 3,500 m. They live in tropical and subtropical water spaces. This fish has almost transparent skin, large, well-developed sensory organs, and its oral cavity is dotted with sharp teeth (even the tissues of the palate and tongue). Representatives of this species are hermaphrodites.
Viper fish is another unique representative of the underwater depths. It lives at a depth of 2800 meters. It is these species that populate the depths of the Pacific Ocean. The main feature of the animal is its huge fangs, which in some way resemble the poisonous teeth of snakes. This species is adapted to exist without constant nutrition - the stomachs of fish are so stretched that they can completely swallow a living creature much larger than themselves. And on the tail of the fish there is a specific luminous organ, with the help of which they lure prey.
Monkfish is a rather unpleasant-looking creature with huge jaws, a small body and poorly developed muscles. It lives on the seabed. Since this fish cannot actively hunt, it has developed special devices. Monkfish has a special luminous organ that secretes certain chemicals. Potential prey reacts to light, swims up, after which the predator swallows it completely.
In fact, there are many more inhabitants of the deep sea , but not so much is known about their lifestyle. The fact is that most of them can exist only under certain conditions, in particular, at high pressure. Therefore, it is not possible to extract and study them - when they rise to the upper layers of water, they simply die.