Friday, December 12, 2014

Scientists Film Rare & Not So Pretty Deepwater Fish



Anglerfish photo by MBARI




YIKES! That made me jump.  But, the beauty of this rarely seen deep-sea creature with its own headlamp, is the rarity of seeing it! 

So, while it doesn't have the face of a beauty queen, this rare female anglerfish, recently played for the cameras of a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) at about 1,900 feet (580 meters) deep off the California coast. 

When scientists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute found the. 3.5 inches long (9 centimeters) anglerfish, they brought her back up with the ROV—something that has never been done before.




Now she lives “in a special darkroom that looks more like a walk-in freezer than a sterile laboratory,” reports National Geographic News. 

Like the anglerfish in Finding Nemo, with its lighted lure at the top of its head, scientists want to find out if they keep the light on all the time or if they use it at certain times.




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