Blob fish

Origin of the species and description

Photo: Drop fish in water

As already mentioned, the drop fish is one of the members of the psycholute family. Its other names are psycholute or Australian bull. It is nicknamed a drop because it resembles it in its shape, moreover, it looks like a jelly substance.

Until recently, little was known about this unique fish. It was first caught by fishermen near the Australian island of Tasmania in 1926. The caught fish aroused extraordinary interest, and the fishermen decided to hand it over to scientists for more thorough research. So, the fish was classified and after some time was completely forgotten and not properly studied.

Video: Fish drop

The reason for this is the enormous depth at which it lives. At that time, it was technically impossible to study its habits and life activities in natural conditions. Only closer to the second half of the twentieth century did the use of deep-sea vessels become possible.

An unusual creature was also discovered on the shores of Australia and Indonesia, only the individuals were already dead, so they were of no interest for scientific research. Only over the years, thanks to the development of technology, fishing trawlers managed to catch a live specimen.

It is worth noting that this fish in many ways still remains a mystery; all its habits and way of life are still insufficiently studied, because it prefers an inconspicuous, secretive lifestyle, and is rarely found at great depths.

Interesting Facts

The fish does not have muscles, it simply swims with the flow, its mouth wide open in anticipation of food falling into it. Drop fish can also wait for victims, motionless “hanging” in the water. By the way, the main source of food for it is small invertebrates and plankton. Although, this fish can capture almost everything that is suitable for food and ends up in its mouth.
The blobfish was "discovered" (that is, first described and qualified) in 1926, when Australian fishermen provided a caught specimen to zoologists. The fish was considered inedible, entered into zoological annals and left alone. In addition, the drop fish itself was not very eager to catch the eye of people.
The drop fish is a very good mother and takes care of her children no worse than a hen takes care of her chickens. About her - just like a quonk of eggs, and when small “droplets” “hatch” from the eggs, she takes care of them, looking for quiet places for them to live, “kindergartens” - in the terminology of zoologists. Makes sure they grow up in peace and safety.

Video

Appearance and features

Photo: What a drop fish looks like

The appearance of this deep-sea fish is its feature, because... he is simply unforgettable. Once you see her, you cannot remain indifferent. Its shape really resembles a drop, and the consistency of the fish is quite jelly-like. From the side the fish looks almost ordinary, but in person it is simply unique. Her face resembles a human one with flabby cheeks, a dissatisfied sad mouth and a flattened nose. In front of the fish there is a process associated with a human nose. The fish looks very dejected and offended.

The color of this fish varies, depending on the color of the bottom where it lives, so it can be:

light pink;
light brown;
dark brown.

The head of the fish is of considerable size; it smoothly turns into a small body. The mouth is huge, with thick lips. The eyes are small and expressionless (if you look at it not at depth). The fish itself is about half a meter long and weighs 10–12 kg. For oceanic spaces it is considered very small. There are no scales on the body of the fish, the same can be said about muscle mass, so it looks like jelly or jelly.

The gelatinous substance is produced by the air bubble present in this miracle fish. Another important feature is that it does not have a swim bladder, like ordinary fish. The drop has all its amazing features due to its habitat at enormous depths, where there is very high water pressure. The swim bladder would not have been able to withstand it and would have cracked.

Where does the drop fish live?

Photo: Sad blob fish

The drop fish leads a bottom-dwelling lifestyle. Her entire unusual body is designed to feel great at great depths. She lives in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, or rather, in their mysterious depths. Most often it is found by fishermen along the coast of the Australian continent and near the island of Tasmania.

The depths at which it lives vary from 600 to 1200 meters. The pressure of the water masses there is 80 times greater than at shallow depths near the surface. The drop fish got used to loneliness and fell in love with it, because... Not many living creatures can be found at such great depths. It has adapted to constant darkness in the water column, so its vision is well developed, the fish moves smoothly and measuredly, without rushing anywhere.

The drop fish is quite conservative and prefers not to leave the territory of its daily habitat, which it has chosen. It extremely rarely rises to a level higher than 600 meters. This can only happen when, by an unfortunate coincidence, she ends up in fishing nets. Such a fish will never see more of its favorite depths. Unfortunately, this has begun to happen more and more often, which leads this extraordinary fish to the threat of extinction from the face of the Earth.

Related species

The Australian goby is not alone; there are 10 more species in the psycholute family to which it belongs. These are all deep-sea fish that prefer to live in cold waters. This habit gave the family its name: from Greek “psychros” is translated as “cold”. Their common features are a poorly developed pelvic fin and a bare, scaleless body. Other representatives of the psycholute family are found in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, both in the southern and northern parts, avoiding the equatorial and tropical zones. They live, depending on the species, at depths from 150 to 1000 m.

What does drop fish eat?

Photo: Blobfish (Psychrolutes marcidus)

The life of a droplet fish under a huge layer of water is very difficult and unprepossessing. It is not easy to find food at great depths. Despite its awkward appearance, the drop fish has simply excellent eyesight. This is not surprising, because at great depths there is always darkness and uncertainty. It is interesting that at great depths the eyes of this fish are strongly bulging and protrude forward; on the surface of the water they are significantly reduced, one might say that they deflate like balloons.

Thanks to its clear vision, the fish hunts small invertebrates, which it usually feeds on, although this process can be called hunting with a stretch.

The drop has no muscle mass at all, so it cannot swim quickly, and because of this, it is also unable to pursue its prey. The fish sits in one place and waits for its snack, its huge mouth wide open, like a trap. Due to the inability to move quickly and excessive slowness, these fish often remain hungry and are constantly malnourished.

It is a great success if you manage to swallow several specimens of invertebrate organisms at once. In addition, at such a considerable depth there are much fewer living creatures than at the surface. So, it is extremely rare for the amazing drop fish to get a good meal; when catching food, the circumstances are often dire.

Features of character and lifestyle

Photo: Deep sea blobfish

The drop fish remains a mystery until the end. Very little is known about her habits, character and lifestyle. Scientists have found that it is very slow, swims barely, stays afloat due to the fact that its jelly-like substance is much inferior in density to the density of water. Frozen in place and mouth open, he can wait for a long time for his lunch.

These unearthly creatures live from 5 to 14 years, and the most difficult living conditions do not particularly affect its longevity, it is only influenced by luck. If it is large, then the fish will not be caught by the fishing net, and it will safely continue to exist. It is assumed that mature specimens of these fish like to live separately, alone. They create pairs only for a while in order to produce offspring.

The fish drop does not like to leave its habitable depths and never rises close to the surface of the water of its own free will. The shallowest depth at which it can be located is about 600 meters. Judging by the way this fish moves and behaves, its character is quite calm and phlegmatic. They have a sedentary lifestyle, although little is known about this in detail.

Apparently this happens only when she has not yet acquired offspring. When a drop fish becomes a mother, she shows incredible care for her fry and protects them in every possible way. The fish has become very popular in the Internet space and the media because of its extraordinary, wonderful and unique saddened face.

Lifestyle and habitat

The drop fish lives in three oceans of the Earth - the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian. It is a specific component of the fauna of the Australian coast. According to data obtained to date, it lives at depths of 600-1500 m. It has been found off the coast of New Zealand, Tasmania and Australia.

It is still difficult to say whether it is one fish or several varieties of blob fish. Based on external signs and some distinctive qualities, we can only say that these are representatives of psychrolutes, similar to blob fish.

Unfortunately, due to its specific habitat conditions, it has not been sufficiently studied. It is possible to film at depth, but it is not yet possible to study in detail the lifestyle of this amazing creature. But it is not possible to breed it in artificial reservoirs; it is difficult to create suitable conditions, especially deep pressure.

Only a little is known for certain. They most often live alone. The young, growing up, leave their parents. She spawns directly into the sand. The process of ripening caviar and the participation of amazing fish in this is unique. But more on that later. It swims slowly, as it does not have muscles and a full set of fins.

Despite the fact that it lives in the southern seas, it still lives at great depths. From which we can conclude that this is a cold-loving fish. Scientists only recently managed to establish that it belongs to the bony fish of the ray-finned family.

But now it is on the verge of extinction due to fishing for crabs, lobsters and other valuable crustaceans. The miracle fish manages to get caught in the nets with them more and more often. Although this is not surprising, given that deep trawls are used to catch lobsters.

Bottom-dwelling marine life can only consider itself safe where this fishing method is prohibited in order to preserve coral colonies. And I wanted them to worry about her, such rare animals on earth must be protected. The population of amazing creatures is recovering very slowly.

Calculations have already been made, according to which it is clear: to double the number it takes from 4 to 14 years. Therefore, she has every reason to look unhappy in the photo. But if we manage to stop the disappearance of the drop fish, after some time it will be possible to study it in more detail. Progress does not stand still.

Social structure and reproduction

Photo: Drop fish

As mentioned earlier, adult fish live in complete solitude, leading a separate lifestyle, and pair up only to replenish the genus. Many stages of the mating season of droplet fish have not been studied at all. Scientists have not yet figured out how she attracts a partner? Do these creatures have a special marriage ceremony and what is its essence? How is the process of fertilization of a female by a male carried out? How does a drop fish prepare for spawning? All this remains a mystery to this day. Nevertheless, scientists managed to find out basic information about the breeding season of drop fish thanks to ongoing research.

The female lays her eggs in various sediments on the bottom, which are located in the territory of her permanent deployment. Then it sits on the laid eggs, like a mother hen in a nest, and incubates it, protecting it from various predators and dangers. The drop fish sits on its nest until all the offspring are born. Then the caring mother raises her fry for quite a long time, carefully looking after them. The female helps the babies get used to the mysterious and unsafe world at the bottom of the ocean.

Immediately after the fry emerge from the eggs, the entire family prefers to live in more secluded places, stays more isolated, and descends to the greatest depth, where there is less chance of becoming a victim of predators. The mother tirelessly cares for the fry until they are completely independent. Then, the young droplet fish, which have already grown up enough, go into free swimming, spreading out in different directions to find a suitable territory for themselves to inhabit.

Reproduction and how long they live

Drop fry are beige in color, which helps protect them from possible predators.

It reproduces in a completely normal way. The male releases milk into the water, fertilizing the female. After the eggs mature, the female lays them in the ground. Surprisingly, she does not leave this place, but waits for the fry to emerge from the eggs. Then the “mother” takes care of them and protects them for a long time.

Adults have no natural enemies, except humans, of course. At such great depths there are simply no potential predators that could harm this sea monster. Only fry can become victims of other inhabitants of the seabed or even their adult counterparts, who inadvertently swallow them.

The fish has been little studied, and there is no specific information about the time of mating and how this process generally occurs. According to information from various sources, they live for about 10–15 years.

At the same time, blob fish become sexually mature and capable of reproducing at 5–7 years of age. This has a serious impact on the size of the population, which, by the way, has been declining in recent years due to human activity. It is already a critically endangered species.

Natural enemies of fish drops

Photo: Drop fish

As for the natural enemies that can harm the fish, nothing is known about them either. At the enormous depths where this strange fish lives, there are not as many living creatures as there are at the surface of the water, so no special ill-wishers were found in this fish, all due to the lack of knowledge of this amazing organism.

Scientists suggest that certain predators that also live at great depths may pose some threat to these unusual fish. Here you can name large squids, deep-sea angler fish, of which there are several species. All these are just guesses and assumptions that do not have any significant evidence and are not supported by any facts.

In our modern times, it is believed that the most terrible and dangerous enemy for the drop fish is man, who can lead this species to complete destruction. In Asian countries, its meat is considered a delicacy, although Europeans consider it inedible. Drop fish are often caught in the fishing nets of fishermen, lowered to great depths and catching squid, lobsters and crabs.

Natural enemies

At those depths where the drop fish lives, it is unlikely to find many enemies and, in any case, if there are any, then science knows nothing about it. Perhaps some deep-sea predators pose a threat to these fish, such as, for example, large squid and some species of angler fish . However, this is not confirmed by any documentary facts. Therefore, it is currently believed that the drop fish has no enemies other than humans.

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