Latest news with #Melanocetus
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Rare footage of lost anglerfish awes internet, raising questions about ocean conservation
The latest animal to go viral isn't a baby hippo or newborn tapir or anything that cute really: it's a humpback anglerfish (Melanocetus johnsonii) that was spotted in shallow waters off the coast of Spain. If you know anything about this kind of fish besides the fact that it has a lantern on its head, it's that it doesn't belong in brightly-lit waters — like blind cave salamanders and earthworms, it is a creature of the deep and dark. But seeing it floundering in a glittering blue void quickly infatuated the internet. Because anglerfish need to stay in deep waters to survive (nearly 5,000 feet or 1,500 meters), it is rare for them to reach the surface unless they are sick. Indeed the anglerfish, famous for its razor sharp teeth and bioluminescent lure used to snag prey, died only a few hours after the scientists spotted it. But it was the only documented time humans have seen this fish in this part of the sea. Captured by the underwater photographer David Jara Boguñá, the fish has since found its way all over Reddit, Bluesky and YouTube, with coverage ranging from CBS News, CNN and Oceanographic Magazine. Now the scientists — who were researching pelagic sharks at the country's Canary Islands — are going to study the anglerfish's body, hoping to learn more about its uncharacteristic behavior. Regardless of what they find, experts agree that the anglerfish's plight is a sign that people should be mindful of the health of our planet's oceans, which are heating at an unprecedented rate in human history. That begs the question: is the reason this anglerfish was a stranger in a strange land because of climate change? 'The deep open ocean is a sensitive environment and changing temperatures would essentially shift the balance of the ecosystem that anglerfishes have adapted to exploit,' Chase Brownstein, a research associate at Yale University's Ecology and Evolutionary Biology program, told Salon. 'Basically, warming oceans are bad for animals for a variety of reasons, mainly because they are used to a certain temperature range and pushing the limits of that range can put species under metabolic or physiological stress.' Even though the anglerfish's surfacing can raise awareness about ocean pollution, this does not mean we know for sure it did not rise for natural reasons. Ben Frable, the University of California San Diego's Senior Collection Manager of Marine Vertebrates, said that anglerfish surfacing events are not as uncommon as one might think. 'Just off the bat, it is not unheard of to see mesopelagic (200-1,000 m depth) in shallow waters, especially around offshore islands like the Canaries and Hawaii,' Frable said. 'Many mesopelagic organisms vertically migrate into shallower water at night to feed in the more productive shallow waters. As far as we know, anglerfish generally do not vertically migrate as adults but this fish could have come shallow for a myriad of reasons.' With that caveat aside, Frable observed a crucial difference between this particular anglerfish and others that surface — it looks sick. 'As many folks have commented, this fish doesn't seem to be in the best shape, so it could be disoriented from entering shallow, well-lit waters or sick or dying,' Frable said. 'Another type of anglerfish, the footballfishes, are known from individuals entering shallow water and being found barely alive or dead washed up on beaches.' Rafael Banon Diaz, an ichthyologist at the Universidade De Santiago De Compostela, also told Salon that the individual fish in question is 'already dead' and that although not all surfaced anglerfish are sick, 'these anomalous records are normally sick specimens.'On a deeper level, Frable is concerned about how factors like pollution and climate change are making the ocean less hospitable to aquatic life. Anglerfish are among the victims, though it's not clear if that's 100 percent the case with the viral fish. That's why research into the deepest, darkest depths of our planet is so important. 'The deep ocean is impacted by climate change similar to the shallow ocean — decreasing oxygen, increasing acidity and temperature will all have profound impacts,' Frable said. 'However, we are still learning about the implications of this. It impacts circulation and currents, which in turn changes the distribution of food and habitable space for these fish and other organisms.' If these trends continue, humans may someday enter a world where anglerfish do not exist at all. If that happens, scientists like Frable believe it would be a terrible loss. 'Anglerfishes are some of the most iconic deep-sea fish and have certainly captivated me (like many others) from an early age,' Frable said. 'I have been fortunate enough to work with them in my role as Collection Manager of the Marine Vertebrate Collection here at Scripps Institution of Oceanography (UC San Diego) as this is one of the largest deep-sea fish collections.' Brownstein thinks that, at the very least, the recent video will revive public interest in this unusual creature. 'It is very cool to see a new video of this species, though it is clear this anglerfish was on its way out,' Brownstein said. 'Pelagic deep sea anglerfishes, including the Melanocetus shown in the video, are really quite an amazing group of organisms notable for their morphological diversity and their odd mode of reproduction, wherein males temporarily attach to females or fuse such that both individuals share a bloodstream!'
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Watch this creepy deep sea creature see the light of day, a first in recorded history
A shark research organization came face to face last week with a deep sea creature who isn't known for seeing the light of day. Condrik Tenerife, a shark and stingray research and conversation organization, spotted a humpback anglerfish off the coast of Tenerife in Spain's Canary Islands last week. Commonly known as the "black sea monster," the anglerfish is typically found at depths of up to 1,500 meters (4,921 feet) below the water's surface, where there is little to no sun. "This could be the first recorded sighting in the world of an adult black devil alive, in broad daylight and on the surface," Condrik Tenerife said in an Instagram post made last week. "This surprising discovery did not leave the crew indifferent and will be remembered forever." The anglerfish was discovered as members of the Condrik Tenerife team were conducting research on pelagic sharks, the organization said in its Instagram post. Marine biologist Laia Valor, who spotted the anglerfish during the trip, said the team spent a couple of hours with the fish before it died, Oceanographic Magazine reported. After, the team took the fish to the Museum of Nature and Archeology in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, where the body will be studied. Historically, humpback anglerfish have only been spotted close to the water's surface as larvae, dead adult specimen or engravings with submarines, Condrik Tenerife added in its Instagram post. The specific humpback anglerfish spotted by Condrik Tenerife was a female Melanocetus johnsonii, known for its dorsal appendage full of bacteria that illuminates to attract prey, like crustaceans and fish. Only female anglerfish adorn the dorsal appendage, according to Oceana, an ocean conversation organization. Male anglerfish are small − only about one inch − and are not predatory. Once they hatch, male anglerfish spend their entire lives searching for mates. They bite onto larger females and fertilize their eggs via external fertilization, according to Oceana. This behavior is known as sexual parasitism. Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at gcross@ This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Video shows humpback anglerfish swim toward ocean's surface
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
WATCH: Rare ‘Black Demon' fish spotted alive for first time
(WJW) – A deep-sea anglerfish, known as the Black Demon, had a rare spotting off the coast of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. Condrik Tenerife, which specializes in shark and ray research and conservation in the Canary Islands, described the sighting as a 'surprising find.' Local school unexpectedly delays due to 'bus de-icing' Marine Wildlife Photographer David Jara Boguñá posted a video of the sighting saying, 'This could be the first recorded sighting in the world of a black demon or adult abyssal (Melanocetus johnsonii) alive, in broad daylight and on the surface!!' Condrik Tenerife said the fish was a humpback anglerfish, a type of black seadevil. The scary-looking fish is usually found in water depths of 1,500 meters, where little to no sunlight reaches and where it uses its bioluminescent light to attract its prey. 'To date, records have mostly consisted of larvae, dead adults, or specimens spotted by submarines during deep-sea scientific expeditions,' Condrik Tenerife said. Did you spot them? 2025 Super Bowl champs with ties to NE Ohio Condrik Tenerife also described the animal as, 'A legendary fish that few people will have had the privilege of observing alive.' 'Apparently, the existing records to date correspond to larvae, dead adult specimens or those recorded with submarines,' Boguñá said on Instagram. 'The motive for its presence in such shallow waters is uncertain. Maybe due to illness, an upstream, fleeing a predator, etc.' The encounter was described as a 'surprising find' that will be remembered forever. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
