Giant Oarfish

Labels: Giant, Oarfish Labels: Giant, Oarfish Labels: giant oarfish, salt water, WTF Fishes
Name: king of herrings or giant oarfish,
Scientific Name: Regalecus glesne
FAQ: The king of herrings or giant oarfish, Regalecus glesne, an oarfish of the family Regalecidae, is the world's longest bony fish. Rarely sighted, it is found in all the world's oceans at depths of between 300 and 1000 meters. Most sightings have been in the north Atlantic, with most specimens found either dead or dying in shallow waters.The king of herrings is neither a true herring, nor a close relative. According to the Great Book of Animals, its name comes from being sighted near shoals of herring, which fishermen thought were being guided by this fish.It is scaleless, ribbon-shaped and silvery with a long, red dorsal finThe king of herrings is the world's longest bony fish. Its total length can reach 17 m, and it can weigh up to 300 kg. Its length (the record is 17 m (56 ft)) and bizarre appearance are presumed to be responsible for some sea serpent sightings

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Giant Moray Eel

Labels: Giant, Moray Labels: Giant, Moray Labels: giant moray, salt water Scientific Name: Gymnothorax javanicusSIZE: The largest in terms of total mass is the giant moray which reaches almost 3 metres (9.8 ft) and can weigh over 36 kilograms (79 lb).The Morays are frequently thought of as particularly vicious or ill-tempered animals. In truth, morays hide from humans in crevices and would rather flee than fight. Morays are shy and secretive, and attack humans only in self-defense or mistaken identity. Most attacks stem from disruption of a moray's burrow (to which they do react strongly), but an increasing number also occur during hand-feeding of morays by divers, an activity often used by dive companies to attract tourists. Morays have poor vision and rely mostly on their acute sense of smell, making distinguishing between fingers and held food difficult; numerous divers have lost fingers while attempting hand feedings. For this reason the hand feeding of moray eels has been banned in some locations, including the Great Barrier Reef. The moray's rear-hooked teeth and primitive but strong bite mechanism also makes bites on humans more severe, as the eel cannot release its grip even in death and must be manually pried off. While the majority are not believed to be venomous, circumstantial evidence suggests that a few species may be.Eels that have eaten certain types of toxic algae, or more frequently that have eaten fishes that have eaten some of these algae, can cause ciguatera fish poisoning if eaten. Morays rest in crevices during the day and hunt nocturnally, although they may ensnare small fish and crustaceans that pass near them during the day.The body is generally patterned. Camouflage is also present inside the mouth. Their jaws are wide, framing a protruding snout. They possess large teeth, designed to tear flesh as opposed to holding or chewing.Moray eels' heads are too narrow to create the negative pressure that most fish use to swallow prey. Quite possibly because of this, they have a second set of jaws in their throat called pharyngeal jaws, which also possess teeth. When feeding, morays launch these jaws into the mouth, where they grasp prey and transport it into the throat and digestive system. Moray eels are the only animal that uses pharyngeal jaws to actively capture and restrain prey. Larger morays are capable of seriously wounding humans.Morays secrete a protective mucus over their smooth, scaleless skin which in some species contains a toxin. Morays have much thicker skin and high densities of goblet cells in the epidermis that allows mucus to be produced at a higher rate than in other eel species. This allows sand granules to adhere to the sides of their burrows in sand-dwelling morays, thus making the walls of the burrow more permanent due to the glycosylation of mucins in mucus. Their small circular gills, located on the flanks far posterior to the mouth, require the moray to maintain a gap in order to facilitate respiration.DIET: Morays are carnivorous and feed primarily on other fish, cephalopods, molluscs, and crustaceans. Groupers, barracudas and sea snakes are among their few predators. There is a commercial fishery for several species, but some cause ciguatera fish poisoning. Morays hide in reef crevices until their prey is close enough for capture. They then lunge out and clamp the prey in their strong jaws.

View the original article here

View the original article here

View the original article here

Giant Oarfish

Labels: Giant, Oarfish Labels: giant oarfish, salt water, WTF Fishes
Name: king of herrings or giant oarfish,
Scientific Name: Regalecus glesne
FAQ: The king of herrings or giant oarfish, Regalecus glesne, an oarfish of the family Regalecidae, is the world's longest bony fish. Rarely sighted, it is found in all the world's oceans at depths of between 300 and 1000 meters. Most sightings have been in the north Atlantic, with most specimens found either dead or dying in shallow waters.The king of herrings is neither a true herring, nor a close relative. According to the Great Book of Animals, its name comes from being sighted near shoals of herring, which fishermen thought were being guided by this fish.It is scaleless, ribbon-shaped and silvery with a long, red dorsal finThe king of herrings is the world's longest bony fish. Its total length can reach 17 m, and it can weigh up to 300 kg. Its length (the record is 17 m (56 ft)) and bizarre appearance are presumed to be responsible for some sea serpent sightings

View the original article here

View the original article here

Giant Moray Eel

Labels: Giant, Moray Labels: giant moray, salt water Scientific Name: Gymnothorax javanicusSIZE: The largest in terms of total mass is the giant moray which reaches almost 3 metres (9.8 ft) and can weigh over 36 kilograms (79 lb).The Morays are frequently thought of as particularly vicious or ill-tempered animals. In truth, morays hide from humans in crevices and would rather flee than fight. Morays are shy and secretive, and attack humans only in self-defense or mistaken identity. Most attacks stem from disruption of a moray's burrow (to which they do react strongly), but an increasing number also occur during hand-feeding of morays by divers, an activity often used by dive companies to attract tourists. Morays have poor vision and rely mostly on their acute sense of smell, making distinguishing between fingers and held food difficult; numerous divers have lost fingers while attempting hand feedings. For this reason the hand feeding of moray eels has been banned in some locations, including the Great Barrier Reef. The moray's rear-hooked teeth and primitive but strong bite mechanism also makes bites on humans more severe, as the eel cannot release its grip even in death and must be manually pried off. While the majority are not believed to be venomous, circumstantial evidence suggests that a few species may be.Eels that have eaten certain types of toxic algae, or more frequently that have eaten fishes that have eaten some of these algae, can cause ciguatera fish poisoning if eaten. Morays rest in crevices during the day and hunt nocturnally, although they may ensnare small fish and crustaceans that pass near them during the day.The body is generally patterned. Camouflage is also present inside the mouth. Their jaws are wide, framing a protruding snout. They possess large teeth, designed to tear flesh as opposed to holding or chewing.Moray eels' heads are too narrow to create the negative pressure that most fish use to swallow prey. Quite possibly because of this, they have a second set of jaws in their throat called pharyngeal jaws, which also possess teeth. When feeding, morays launch these jaws into the mouth, where they grasp prey and transport it into the throat and digestive system. Moray eels are the only animal that uses pharyngeal jaws to actively capture and restrain prey. Larger morays are capable of seriously wounding humans.Morays secrete a protective mucus over their smooth, scaleless skin which in some species contains a toxin. Morays have much thicker skin and high densities of goblet cells in the epidermis that allows mucus to be produced at a higher rate than in other eel species. This allows sand granules to adhere to the sides of their burrows in sand-dwelling morays, thus making the walls of the burrow more permanent due to the glycosylation of mucins in mucus. Their small circular gills, located on the flanks far posterior to the mouth, require the moray to maintain a gap in order to facilitate respiration.DIET: Morays are carnivorous and feed primarily on other fish, cephalopods, molluscs, and crustaceans. Groupers, barracudas and sea snakes are among their few predators. There is a commercial fishery for several species, but some cause ciguatera fish poisoning. Morays hide in reef crevices until their prey is close enough for capture. They then lunge out and clamp the prey in their strong jaws.

View the original article here

View the original article here

Giant Oarfish

Labels: giant oarfish, salt water, WTF Fishes
Name: king of herrings or giant oarfish,
Scientific Name: Regalecus glesne
FAQ: The king of herrings or giant oarfish, Regalecus glesne, an oarfish of the family Regalecidae, is the world's longest bony fish. Rarely sighted, it is found in all the world's oceans at depths of between 300 and 1000 meters. Most sightings have been in the north Atlantic, with most specimens found either dead or dying in shallow waters.The king of herrings is neither a true herring, nor a close relative. According to the Great Book of Animals, its name comes from being sighted near shoals of herring, which fishermen thought were being guided by this fish.It is scaleless, ribbon-shaped and silvery with a long, red dorsal finThe king of herrings is the world's longest bony fish. Its total length can reach 17 m, and it can weigh up to 300 kg. Its length (the record is 17 m (56 ft)) and bizarre appearance are presumed to be responsible for some sea serpent sightings

View the original article here

Giant Moray Eel

Labels: giant moray, salt water Scientific Name: Gymnothorax javanicusSIZE: The largest in terms of total mass is the giant moray which reaches almost 3 metres (9.8 ft) and can weigh over 36 kilograms (79 lb).The Morays are frequently thought of as particularly vicious or ill-tempered animals. In truth, morays hide from humans in crevices and would rather flee than fight. Morays are shy and secretive, and attack humans only in self-defense or mistaken identity. Most attacks stem from disruption of a moray's burrow (to which they do react strongly), but an increasing number also occur during hand-feeding of morays by divers, an activity often used by dive companies to attract tourists. Morays have poor vision and rely mostly on their acute sense of smell, making distinguishing between fingers and held food difficult; numerous divers have lost fingers while attempting hand feedings. For this reason the hand feeding of moray eels has been banned in some locations, including the Great Barrier Reef. The moray's rear-hooked teeth and primitive but strong bite mechanism also makes bites on humans more severe, as the eel cannot release its grip even in death and must be manually pried off. While the majority are not believed to be venomous, circumstantial evidence suggests that a few species may be.Eels that have eaten certain types of toxic algae, or more frequently that have eaten fishes that have eaten some of these algae, can cause ciguatera fish poisoning if eaten. Morays rest in crevices during the day and hunt nocturnally, although they may ensnare small fish and crustaceans that pass near them during the day.The body is generally patterned. Camouflage is also present inside the mouth. Their jaws are wide, framing a protruding snout. They possess large teeth, designed to tear flesh as opposed to holding or chewing.Moray eels' heads are too narrow to create the negative pressure that most fish use to swallow prey. Quite possibly because of this, they have a second set of jaws in their throat called pharyngeal jaws, which also possess teeth. When feeding, morays launch these jaws into the mouth, where they grasp prey and transport it into the throat and digestive system. Moray eels are the only animal that uses pharyngeal jaws to actively capture and restrain prey. Larger morays are capable of seriously wounding humans.Morays secrete a protective mucus over their smooth, scaleless skin which in some species contains a toxin. Morays have much thicker skin and high densities of goblet cells in the epidermis that allows mucus to be produced at a higher rate than in other eel species. This allows sand granules to adhere to the sides of their burrows in sand-dwelling morays, thus making the walls of the burrow more permanent due to the glycosylation of mucins in mucus. Their small circular gills, located on the flanks far posterior to the mouth, require the moray to maintain a gap in order to facilitate respiration.DIET: Morays are carnivorous and feed primarily on other fish, cephalopods, molluscs, and crustaceans. Groupers, barracudas and sea snakes are among their few predators. There is a commercial fishery for several species, but some cause ciguatera fish poisoning. Morays hide in reef crevices until their prey is close enough for capture. They then lunge out and clamp the prey in their strong jaws.

View the original article here