The most terrible fish of our planet

Fish are considered the largest group.vertebrate animals. The exact number of species of fish is very difficult to determine, but on average there are about 34 thousand species on our planet. Most of them look quite ordinary: flattened bodies located on different sides of the body of the eye, fins - all in their places. Many of them are edible or so beautiful that they decorate large aquariums. But in the world there are several dozen fish that are not so much to eat, you don’t even want to see. Some of them are very slippery, someone has strange growths on the body, and some - in general, it is not clear what. Let's look at some of the most terrible fish on our planet and find out where they live and in what places they live?

In the photo - monkfish (Caulophryne polynema)

Most of the scary fish live on largedepth where the sun does not reach. They were discovered by researchers during scuba diving. And their unusual appearance helps them to go unnoticed - for example, growths on the body help some species to disguise themselves as algae and remain invisible to predators. Also, camouflage helps them hunt effectively - they quietly wait for prey and suddenly attack them from shelter.

Content

• 1 Sea rag
• 2 Monkfish
• 3 drop fish
• 4 moon fish
• 5 Chimera fish

Sea rag

Fish that are effectively disguised asalgae are called rag (Phycodurus eques). The length of their bodies reaches 35 centimeters, and their bodies are covered with processes that look like heaps of marine plants. These processes are similar to fins, but they are not used at all in movement - for this they have pectoral and dorsal fins. They are almost invisible, because they are not painted green as processes, but are translucent and stir with a frequency of up to 10 times per second. Despite the frequent mobility of the fins, rags are very slow and their speed is about 150 meters per hour.

Would you eat rags? Hardly

Rag beetles can be found in the waters of Australia but,unlike many scary fish, they prefer a depth of no more than 30 meters. They feed on plankton and algae, and due to the complete absence of teeth, swallow whole food. During mating games, females and males seem to dance and gain bright colors. Because of their unusual appearance, they were often interested in amateur divers, so they were taken under protection by the Australian authorities. That is, they are on the verge of extinction.

This is a monkfish. Horror, isn't it?

Anglers can be found in a variety ofcorners of the oceans, but only at great depths. Due to the harsh conditions of their habitats, they breed in an extremely unusual way. Males are ten times smaller than females and firmly attached to their bodies to transmit sperm through the blood. It is noteworthy that reproduction occurs exclusively in tropical waters, where it is warm.

This is interesting: How do fish sleep and why can city lighting kill them?

Drop fish

And you’re probably many times this sad fishseen on the internet. Drop fish (Psychrolutes marcidus) were discovered in 1926 and are considered the most bizarre organisms on our planet. They live in the waters of Australia at a depth of 1200 meters. Sometimes they are accidentally caught by fishermen and, probably, each time they are surprised at their unusual prey. These fish began to be actively studied only in the second half of the 20th century, but scientists still do not know much about them.

You must have seen this photo many times on the Internet. So this is a drop fish

The length of the jelly-like fish is about 30centimeters, and the mass reaches 2 kilograms. On the front of the head there are similar to human eyes, and between them is a process that resembles a saggy nose. The body shape in the form of jelly makes the fish lighter than water and it does not spend much energy on movement. But, in general, the fish does not particularly like to move and usually sits with its mouth open, until the prey flies into it.

Moon fish

Moon fish (Mola mola) - a real fat amongmodern bone fish. The length of their flattened body, which resembles a disk, reaches three meters. The body mass of the largest of the caught individuals reached 2235 kilograms. You can meet this unusual fish in the tropical waters of almost all the oceans of our planet. They are unusual not only for their huge size, but also for the lack of scales and the presence of a "beak" instead of a regular mouth.

Moonfish and Scuba Diver

Despite its massiveness, the moon fishdefenseless and often fall prey to sea lions and sharks. Yes, surely any predator wants to enjoy such fish. People would not mind eating this fish at all - in Japan and Korea, dishes from it are considered delicacies and are very expensive. But in the EU countries, the sale of dishes from these fish is prohibited at the legislative level.

Pugu fish dishes are also considered delicacies. Only you need to cook it with skill - otherwise a restaurant visitor may die

Chimera fish

The broad-nosed chimera (Rhinochimaera atlantica) wasdiscovered by scientists in 1909. Fishermen who have ever dealt with them describe them as completely disgusting creatures, covered with unpleasant mucus. Like many fish from this list, it lives at great depths, mainly in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It feeds on shellfish.

Chimera fish caught by fishermen

For inexplicable reasons, researchers are stilluntil then, it was not possible to study these creatures well. Even in the English-language Wikipedia, only a couple of sentences are written about it. From interesting things about them, we can say that they are threatened with extinction due to the loss of their natural habitat. The reason for this is global warming caused by human actions.

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I recommend reading about unusual fishmaterial about acne. Recently, scientists found that when eaten, some individuals survive and gnaw holes in the stomachs of predators through which they try to get out. These are real monster fish, which, although not terrible in appearance, are very aggressive and can cause unbearable torment!