If you have ever seen a report about the animals that live in the depths of the oceans, you may have realized that, with almost total security, they are the protagonists of your worst nightmares . They are strange creatures that seem to be taken from a horror movie and that inhabit the seabed. Among this dantesca fauna, we can find the snail fish of the marianas , whose appearance sure does not leave you indifferent.
The first impression, at least to pronounce his name, is that we are in front of an adorable animal, sure that more than one has remembered Gary, the beloved pet of SpongeBob. Nevertheless, this oceanic creature does not look exactly adorable . The snail fish of the Marianas ( Pseudoliparis swirei ) looks more like a chicken breast raw Find out more about him!
How is the snail fish of the marianas?
The size of two cigars, the snail fish of the Marianas, has a colorless and translucent skin on a tail that looks like mucus.
As a rather exceptional fact, their eggs are unusually large, are almost 1 centimeter wide and are black.
Not long ago we know the existence of this peculiar creature of the deep, in fact, the first time a specimen was captured was in 2014 and again in 2017 . The place where this snail fish of the Marianas could be captured was almost 8 kilometers deep in the Mariana Trench , in the western Pacific, near Guam. In order to get an idea of the depth, its location is as deep as the Mount Everest High.
As we mentioned before, it is a recently discovered species, in fact it was not until 2017 when the researchers finally made an exhaustive description of the animal in a scientific journal.
Nor should we think that this snail fish of the Marianas is the ugliest fish in the place. Actually,
"When you get to these depths, the fish take a really different form from other species closer to the surface. They do not have scales or big teeth and they are not bioluminescent, as far as we know "
commented Mackenzie Gerringer, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Washington.
At what depth can you go down to investigate it?
There is a large expanse of unexplored territory in the depths of the oceans. It is really believed that it is the most unknown area of our planet and that surely we still have many species to discover , both fauna and flora.
The animal we are talking about in this article, the snail fish of the Marianas, is not yet on what we call seabed, in fact, the ocean still extends another 3 kilometers below where it is located. so curious animal , but scientists think it is very unlikely that we can find any other fish inhabiting deeper waters. The reason is that the pressure increases as it goes down and no fish could support it.
As NatGeo explains, "Fish may be chemically unable to withstand the destabilizing effects of pressure on proteins below 8,200 meters" . So this snail fish of the Marianas can be a special animal after all.
As Thomas Linley of the University of Newcastle, co-author of the research, said in a statement: "The snail fish of the Marianas have adapted to reach deeper than other fish and survive in the depths. In that area they are more safe from predators and, therefore, they also have much more food at their fingertips. There are a lot of invertebrate prey and these snail fish are the main predators. They are very active and seem to be very well fed. "
The study maintains that this small snailfish is capable of withstanding pressures equivalent to the weight of 1600 elephants . A barbarity, right? The truth is that with these data, rather than fear these strange creatures, we should applaud them and become fans, since their existence is a real feat.
Really the marine depths are an impregnable territory. Its millions of kilometers and its depths make it - for the moment - completely impossible to discover all the treasures and all the wonders it hides. Not in vain is it believed that only 5% of all oceans have been explored and, therefore, 95% of the seabed is a territory that has not yet been "mapped". If we realize that 71% of the surface of the Earth is covered by oceans, how little information we have of our own planet!
What do you think? It's something incredible, is not it? We think of dizzying figures that escape us even from our own imagination. What do you think? Do you think we still have great marine discoveries? Leave us your comments. We will be happy to read you!