No glue and glitter needed here! The pinecone fish (Monocentris japonicus) looks like the real thing on land—covered in large scales with a dark trim. They are found lurking in caves and under ledges in the Indian and Western Pacific Oceans, and are a popular aquarium fish.
Photo Credit: Spencer Wright
Look for these beauties in our deep water tank in the Tropical Gallery!
When in Belize, we had the opportunity to work alongside @MarAlliance on monitoring sharks and rays in the barrier reef. They are a phenomenal organization working to better understand and protect the species in that ecosystem. This was taken during biodiversity surveys where we were sizing and imaging the rays in the area, like this Southern Stingray. http://ift.tt/2xi31En
Flying fish, strange as it sounds, have aerodynamic prowess comparable to hawks. The fish aren’t true fliers, but they do glide for hundreds of meters using their large pectoral and pelvic fins as wings. Wind tunnel research shows the fish have their maximum lift at an angle of attack around 30-35 degrees, matching their typical take-off angle (top). Their best gliding performance occurs when they’re roughly parallel to the water (middle). The researchers even found that the fish use ground effect to enhance their lift. Although their aerodynamics allow flying fish to get out of reach of their aquatic predators, the fish must be wary of flying too high, as this makes them a target for frigatebirds (bottom). These acrobatic seabirds can’t get wet, but they have some impressive aerodynamics of their own to help make up for it. (Image credit: BBC Earth, source; research credit: H. Park and H. Choi; see also SciAm)
The wire coral crab (Xenocarcinus tuberculatus), also known as the xeno crab, is a species of crustacean endemic to the
Indo-West Pacific.
Xeno crabs grip tenaciously to whip corals with their long legs. A master of mimicking its host, the coloration of its body and appendages matches that of the coral. It can also induce the host’s polyps to “grow” from its carapace, thereby adding to its camouflage.
Franco has home in the southern part of Switzerland, in a cosy village close to Lugano Lake.
He is one of the most appreciated photojournalist specialized in underwater subjects and stories.
Franco began to dive in the 1981, in the Lake of Lugano. At the
beginning, he dived the fresh waters nearest home, especially lakes and
rivers, where the water is clearer and he was able to improve his
photographic technique.
Then he travelled everywhere he could, documenting wildlife and human
relationship with nature in environments from the Equator to the Poles.
Franco dived in all the oceans of our Earth : Pacific Ocean, Atlantic,
Indian, Arctic, Antarctic, Mediteranean Sea, Red Sea, improving his
skill as photographer and his love for wildlife and conservation of
biodiversity, flora and fauna.
Top- Highly unique picture of Sperm Whales sleeping!
For scientists, the finds are beginning to shed light on the dramatic evolution of creatures in extreme environments. They’ve possibly identified a new fish and found animals living at lower depths than recorded.
For the rest of us, the photos of the findings offer something different: seawater-scented nightmare fuel.
The scientists pulled up more than a thousand sea creatures, which will be studied and catalogued in the months to come, then gaped at by Australian schoolchildren.
They also raised the alarm about the most disturbing thing they uncovered: pounds and pounds of trash. Humans have rarely made it to these depths, the scientists said, but our garbage has .“We have found highly concerning levels of rubbish on the sea floor,” Chief Scientist Tim O’Hara said in a news release. “We’re 100 kilometres off Australia’s coast, and have found PVC pipes, cans of paints, bottles, beer cans, wood chips, and other debris from the days when steamships plied our waters. The seafloor has 200 years of rubbish on it.”
I love them so much because they’re about as sharp as a baseball and their anatomy is ridiculous to the point of them literally being classified as plankton for years because they just sort of get blown around by the ocean and look confused, but because they lay more eggs than ANY OTHER VERTEBRATE IN EXISTENCE, evolution can’t stop them
Why is no big predator coming and gnawing on them?
Their biggest defense is that they’re massive and have super tough skin, but they do get hunted by sharks or sea lions sometimes and they just sort of float there like ‘oh bother’ as it happens
Even funnier, because they eat nothing but jellyfish they’re really low in nutritional value anyway, so they basically survive by being not worth eating because they’re like a big floating rice cracker wrapped in leather.
Perfect example of “survival of the fittest” NOT meaning being some hyper aggressive, muscular manly asshole. This creature fell upon the complete opposite combination of traits and just rolled with it and evolution was like “well, it’s working, somehow".
reminder that this is what they look like when they hatch and they are smaller than a housefly
…..But they reach up to 800 pounds in barely over ONE YEAR.
One year omfg are you fucking serious I didn’t know that
it looks like someone dropped a lentil how does it gain that much weight eating jellyfish
As an ichthyologist (someone who studies fish, I’m about to get my masters degree and move on to my PhD), I feel I need to respond to these sort of posts about Molids. I don’t want to ruin anyones fun, but it’s become a pretty common joke to talk about how ridiculous Mola mola are and how “they’re a freak of evolution that somehow works cause they lay billions of eggs” when in reality, they are actually very complex fish that are just as valid as any other. I’ll link sources below.
They belong to the order Tetraodontiformes, which contains other fishes commonly described as weird like pufferfish, triggerfish, and boxfish. When you look at the Mola mola in a phylogenetic context, its actually not that strange as its very similar to its relatives. The name “Tetraodontiformes” means four-teeth, and so like the puffers and triggers, molas have 4 fused crushing teeth, hence the small funny mouth. This group is also known for their peculiar swimming methods. Almost all the members of this order use their dorsal and anal fins for propulsion (balisthiforme locomotion) rather than their caudal fin. In the Molas case, its caudal fin has been reduced to a rudder essentially, properly called a clavus. Look up videos of this guys relatives swimming and it wont be so strange it lacks a proper caudal fin, especially look at triggerfish.
To address the jokes about them just floating around and eating only jellyfish, this may actually only be half true. Very little is known about their feeding habits, but they appear to be more likely omnivores. They feed on any floating gelatinous zooplankton, but have have also been found with squid, fish, crab, and eelgrass in their stomachs and have been found to take squid baited hooks, though we don’t know if this is because of the squid or light lures. Also remember another large animal does the same thing – leatherback sea turtles are gelantinous zooplanktivores too, and equally massive.
As for their swimming, these fish are actually powerful swimmers with many records of them breaching and jumping high into the air. See the video to see one taking off. They are also travelers, making regular forays into the ocean deep and out-swimming currents as they migrate. We only know them from when they swim up from the deep to get rid of parasites and warm themselves, which is when I’d be pretty lazy too. There is a great deal we don’t know about these fishes, but they are far from simple giant heads, they represent an interesting evolutionary turn in nature with a unique morphology that natural selection helped create.
Lastly, I’d like to address the concept that these are large, unintelligent creatures. This is partially based on my opinion and personal experience diving, but Tetraodontiforme fishes are some of the most curious and intelligent fishes I know of. Aquarists around the world have recognized this as well, especially in triggerfishes. The same is likely true for Molas, these are some of the most evolutionarily derived fishes in the world that exhibit complex behaviors like recognizing that they can bask and seagulls will pick off their parasites.
TLDR: These are complex fishes that we still barely understand, but they are actually powerful swimmers who can migrate, regularly make deep sea dives, exhibit complex behavior and may actually be omnivores. Please stop portraying them as freaks of nature because these images can negatively affect conservation efforts for animals. Being seen as useless is just as dangerous for conservation as is being thought of as dangerous. These guys are regular bycatch by fishing boats and may already be in danger.
Sources: If you can’t open the pdfs, message me and I’ll send you a copy.
TY FOR THE INFO AAAA I’m not at all a fish expert and I appreciate you taking the time, I had no idea they could actually breach the surface that’s amazing holy shit. Imagine not knowing what a sunfish is and seeing that??
It’s amazing how little we know about species like this that are so big or commonplace for some people? It’s similar for amphibians, which are what I know more about rofl. We have salamanders in Georgia that are totally undocumented, some of them we’ve had documented for years and we just have no idea how long they live or what they eat etc because it hasn’t been studied.
That being said I hope it’s clear that me saying they’re ridiculous fish is in the same way I make fun of frogs; They’re adapted very well for their environment and things like ‘freakish’ or ‘useless’ are entirely baseless judgements because it’s based entirely on our perception of what’s average/useful and not the reality. Their adaptations are very beneficial because they’ve carved out a niche in their environments that no other fish have and that’s pretty amazing. They’re extremely cool fish!
Frogs are also amazingly well adapted, sensitive, and very important, and when I’m pointing and laughing at mola molas for looking perpetually surprised or desert rain frogs for looking like ping pong balls that grew legs I hope it’s obvious that it’s because I find them endearing and love them and not because my making fun of them is serious.
how could anyone not love these mysterious sideways children
(If you have time, is it known how they grow so quickly?? I’ve been thinking about it all day, they must know something to eat that gives them the nutrients needed to grow so quickly but I can’t imagine what. Also have you gotten to see them in the wild? I always wondered if they acknowledged humans like whales or dolphins do, or if they sort of ignore us)
Urocyon's Jaunts 2.0 
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