The nether fish

Throughout the history of our planet there have been many species of animals that have passed through it. However, not all continue today, either for disastrous causes or simply because they have not reached the evolutionary mechanisms necessary to survive the passage of time and evolution itself. This is not the case with one of the most unique fish out there. I tell you about abyssal fish.

The nether fish is one of the creatures that has best adapted to life in the water, going one step further. This animal has made the most remote aquatic places its most comfortable home.

Surely, many of you may not have heard of him at first or only vaguely know his name. That is why in this article we are going to discover this peculiar and striking fish, showing you its characteristics, habitats and behaviors, as well as the different varieties of abyssal fish that exist.

Habitat

As we mentioned at the beginning, abyssal fish have turned the ability to adapt to the environment into an art. Such has been the case, that these fish live in areas of seas and oceans where life is practically scarce.

As a general rule, the abyssal fish develops on the seabed whose depth is greater than 1000 meters. In fact, in these areas sunlight is minimal, if not zero, and the pressure is very high. Many of the different varieties de peces abyssals have managed to settle in marine areas of between 6000 and 9000 meters deep.

Among the places that we have highlighted as abyssal fish habitats, we must point out that they manifest a predilection for the warm waters of the Pacific and Indian oceans.

Characteristics of the abyssal fish

Living in low light and high pressure conditions has greatly influenced the appearance and characteristics of the abyssal fish, which if they stand out for something is for his macabre countenance that make us see it as a creature from another world. The organs and tissues of your body house large amounts of water to equalize the external pressure to which they are subjected, and not perceiving light stimuli makes smell one of the most developed senses.

Roughly, the most striking thing about the abyssal fish is its huge head that is based mainly on a wide and gigantic mouth, coupled with very long teeth. All this contrasts with the rest of his body which is usually rather small. As a general rule, the different species of abyssal fish they do not usually exceed 20 centimeters in length.

The eyes are very small, and they are of little use to you. Their skin pigmentation is very poor, and there are even abyssal fish capable of reflecting light or being to some extent almost transparent.

Food

The diet carried out by the abyssal fish can be classified as varied in a certain way, since in these inhospitable areas of the planet the abundance of food is not a virtue.

Zooplankton and various microscopic animals have become the star dish on the abyssal fish menu.. However, these fish are also predators and have shown certain hunting techniques (such as luminous organs that attract prey, called photophore) that allow you to catch small fish that in addition to some mollusks and crustaceans. They can also swallow other larger fish due to the elasticity of their skin and their extensible stomachs.

Since not many times they do not have the possibility to eat every day, they have a very slow metabolism.

Reproduction of the abyssal fish

On many occasions, something that is difficult and a lot to distinguish in fish is the difference between the male and the female specimen. In the case of the nether fish, sexual dimorphism is very significant.

The male is tremendously smaller than the female, about ten fewer exactly, so the reproductive habit is very striking and surprising. The males bite the female's belly and literally become a kind of extension of her body. Once this happens, the female transmits food to the male, while he reciprocates by providing sperm in a continuous way. A kind of curious symbiosis is thus achieved at least.

The act of reproduction does not occur very regularly, this being one of the causes that the life of these fish is rather long.

Abyssal fish species

As we have been pointing out throughout the article, deep-sea fish are a group de peces that encompass different species that have similar characteristics, behavior and lifestyle.

Among all of them we highlight the Pelican fish (Euryphaynx pelecanoides), which inhabits 8000 meters deep and has a large mouth; the Dragon Fish (Stomias boa) that inhabits 4500 meters deep and is characterized by its powerful teeth; and the Spiny Fish (Himantolophus appelii) which has a size of only 4 centimeters in length.