Scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute off the coast of California saw a bright orange whalefish change shape , a remarkable find as only 18 have been seen during the more than three decades of exploration of the fish. researchers. The whalefish was seen half swimming, half gliding through the glare of the submarine’s lights some 2,013 meters deep off the coast of Monterey Bay, California.
The females of this species developed a more whale-like appearance and grew much larger than their male counterparts.
“Whalefish have been rarely seen alive in the deep, so many mysteries remain regarding these extraordinary fish,” tweeted the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. “With every deep-sea dive, we discover more mysteries and we solve others. “
The whale fish, first observed in 1895, has been a scientific enigma throughout the history of science due to the different body shapes it acquires during its life. These creatures take on three vastly different forms throughout their life cycles: ribbon tails: scaleless larval forms with long, streamer-like tails and mouths; then in adulthood, two other different forms: if they are male, they sprout scales along their bodies, their mouths shrink to minuscule proportions as their jaws wear out, and their noses bulge outward . Since they will never feed again, their intestines, esophagus, and stomach shrivel up and disappear; Relative to females, their bodies expand to resemble a miniature baleen whale, growing to sizes much larger than their male counterparts , and they develop lateral lines that sense water pressure along their flanks to guide them through the depths. In some species, female bodies turn a bright orange hue; and since these shades cannot penetrate the depths in which they live, it makes the fish practically invisible.
“This is an incredibly exciting find,” Smithsonian ichthyologist Dave Johnson said in a statement. The answer to the riddle was right under our noses the entire time, in the specimens. We just needed to study them more closely. ‘
