The ocean is one of the most fascinating places on Earth, and it is full of weird and interesting creatures that amaze us at first glance. For instance, take a look at this very strange deep-sea dragonfish. Researchers in California recently found this creature about 1,000 feet below the surface of the ocean.
Bathophilus flemingi, often known as a highfin dragonfish, is the scientific name for this creature. According to a tweet from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, researchers onboard the Western Flyer discovered the finding. Despite the fact that they had previously seen this dragonfish, they felt this was a unique discovery.
In the course of more than three decades of research on the deep sea and more than 27,600 hours of video, they had only seen this particular species a total of four times, according to the post.
These fish have long, thin bodies and small fins, making them appear like they’re from a science-fiction movie.
At most, this deep-sea species may reach a length of slightly about 7 inches. However, some of its cousins may reach a length of up to 20 inches.
According to Fishbase, the highfin dragonfish may be found in the eastern Pacific Ocean at depths ranging from 740 to 4,500 feet off the west coast of North America.
Despite the fact that the dragonfish identified by the researchers was a gorgeous shade of orange usually, they are black in color. A study conducted by MBARI has indicated that their skin color is among the deepest natural blacks in nature.
Some species of dragonfish attract prey to themselves using a glowing lure. They keep the lure in front of their mouths until a prey passes by without seeing it and then they swallow it.
