animals, animals, animals

Paying homage to the wonderful, unusual and diverse world of animals. I make no claim to content ownership. Sources are credited (with links) whenever possible — on both unique posts & re-blogs. Any post will be removed upon request (please provide URL link to the post/page). Enjoy! Email: animalworldtumblrblog@gmail.com Twitter: @animalworldtoo


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ANGLER FISH (Lophius piscatorius) Photograph by Bruce Robison/Corbis Arguably the ugliest animal on the planet There are more than 200 species of anglerfish, most of which live up to a mile below the surface, although some live in shallow, tropical environments They have huge heads and enormous crescent-shaped mouths filled with sharp, translucent teeth. Some angler fish can be quite large, reaching 3.3 feet (1 meter) in length. Most however are significantly smaller, often less than a foot. Their most distinctive feature, worn only by females, is a piece of dorsal spine that protrudes above their mouths like a fishing pole—hence their name. Tipped with a lure of luminous flesh this built-in “rod” baits prey close enough to be snatched. Their mouths are so big and their bodies so pliable, they can actually swallow prey up to twice their own size. The male, is significantly smaller than the female (40x smaller) In lieu of continually seeking a female, the male is a permanent parasitic mate When he finds a female, he bites into her skin, and releases an enzyme that fuses the pair down to the blood-vessel level The male then slowly atrophies, first losing his digestive organs, then his brain, heart, and eyes, and ends as nothing more than a pair of gonads These gonads release sperm in response to hormones in the female’s bloodstream indicating egg release This extreme sexual dimorphism ensures that, when the female is ready to spawn, she has a mate immediately available A female will carry six or more males on her body Fact Source: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/anglerfish/

ANGLER FISH (Lophius piscatorius)

Photograph by Bruce Robison/Corbis

  • Arguably the ugliest animal on the planet
  • There are more than 200 species of anglerfish, most of which live up to a mile below the surface, although some live in shallow, tropical environments
  • They have huge heads and enormous crescent-shaped mouths filled with sharp, translucent teeth.
  • Some angler fish can be quite large, reaching 3.3 feet (1 meter) in length. Most however are significantly smaller, often less than a foot.
  • Their most distinctive feature, worn only by females, is a piece of dorsal spine that protrudes above their mouths like a fishing pole—hence their name.
  • Tipped with a lure of luminous flesh this built-in “rod” baits prey close enough to be snatched.
  • Their mouths are so big and their bodies so pliable, they can actually swallow prey up to twice their own size.
  • The male, is significantly smaller than the female (40x smaller)
  • In lieu of continually seeking a female, the male is a permanent parasitic mate
  • When he finds a female, he bites into her skin, and releases an enzyme that fuses the pair down to the blood-vessel level
  • The male then slowly atrophies, first losing his digestive organs, then his brain, heart, and eyes, and ends as nothing more than a pair of gonads
  • These gonads release sperm in response to hormones in the female’s bloodstream indicating egg release
  • This extreme sexual dimorphism ensures that, when the female is ready to spawn, she has a mate immediately available
  • A female will carry six or more males on her body
Fact Source: http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/fish/anglerfish/

Notes

  1. rookthefish reblogged this from animalworld
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