Fish possess a special body structure, which helps them to camouflage themselves, and effectively survive in the deep sea.
During a survey of the waters near the Aleutian Islands of Alaska (USA), scientists came across a strange creature, belonging to the snail fish family, scientifically known as Crystallichthys cyclospilus.
Through images recorded from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), it can be seen that the fish has a strange appearance with a transparent, firm body, with a slight red tint. This allows it to easily hide in the dark ocean floor, which rarely sees the presence of sunlight.
According to Sarah Friedman, a biologist at NOAA, this fish is extremely rare, although they only live at depths of between 100 and 200 meters. In fact, they appear so rarely that, information and images are very few in the references.
“Their transparent, reddish body is unique. It’s an adaptation of deep-sea creatures like the golden snail to camouflage themselves, based on the wavelengths of light that travel through water.” Friedman shared.
“Red light has the shortest wavelength, which means it never reaches deep water and hits these fish. This makes them virtually invisible to predators,” she reasoned. prize.
Friedman said snailfish also have another interesting property, which is possessing suction cups on the underside of the body. This makes it easier for them to cling to rocks and not be swept away by strong currents. Accordingly, snail fish is one of the few fish that possess this structure.
During their exploration of the sea, Friedman and her team also encountered many other unique creatures, such as a rather large, orange-yellow sea spider with stilt-like legs, called Colossendeis.
It is known that this creature can be up to 50 cm long and live at a depth of 2 – 4 km below sea level. The diet of sea spiders includes jelly, anemones, and other invertebrates.
