Odd - Blog Posts
Spookfish
Winteria telescopa
The Spookfish’s eyes act as a telescope and are designed to maximize light in the deep ocean. Its eyes contain rod cells that help distinguish between ambient light and bioluminescent light. This adaptation helps avoid predators and catch prey.
Picture Credit: https://www.natureplprints.com/deep-sea/deep-sea-fish-winteria-telescopa-15230734.html
Pacific Viperfish
Chauliodus macouni
The Pacific Viperfish looks intimidating with its sharp, pointy teeth and large jaws. However, its body is small and elongated. It can be found at depths ranging from 250m to 4390m. The Pacific Viperfish long teeth are an unique adaptation designed to keep prey trapped, but it is dangerously close to its eyes. There have been instances when they have caught prey that are too large to swallow and it dies along with its last meal. The Pacific Viper also has photophores along its body and a light organ near its dorsal fin. These organs exhibit bioluminescence and help with attracting pray: as well as, communicating with mates and confuse predators. It is one of the most ferocious predators of the deep ocean.
Photo credit: https://www.science-rumors.com/top-20-pacific-viperfish-facts-to-know-what-this-creature-is/
https://goldfisho.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-viperfish/
Predatory Copepod
Paraeuchaeta barbata
Copepods are a type of zooplankton or tiny creature that feeds larger animals in the ocean such as, fish. They are crustaceans that have two long antennas and a sensory eye called an ocelli, which can only sense light. This copepod is located between 200m to 1500 m in the deep ocean. You may notice the copepod is red in color. The color is an adaptation that makes it difficult for predators to see the copepod because red wave lengths do not penetrate this depth (mostly blue and indigo light). Even though this creature tiny, it is a vital food source for many animals in the abyssal zone of the ocean.
Photo credit: http://www.arcodiv.org/watercolumn/copepod/Paraeuchaeta_barbata_large.html
Glowing sucker octopus
Stauroteuthis syrtensis
The Glowing Sucker Octopus can be found at 2500 m in the deep ocean. This unique creature has two fins that look similar to elephant ears. They move elegantly through the water by moving these fins and contracting their mantle. Evidence of this creature has only been spotted in the Atlantic Ocean.
Photo credit: https://octolab.tv/species/glowing-sucker-octopus/
https://ferrebeekeeper.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/glowing-sucker-octopus/
I sit in the lap of my owners as they stroke my golden fur. Though, I am on edge. My shackles raised and pupils dilated, I look up at my owners. The small family looks down at me with empty eyes and smiles on their faces as they continue to stroke me, starting again at the top of my head every three seconds. Their hands feel cold. Void of any comfort, I scramble away from my owners and try to find a place to be alone but the son of the family picks me back up and brings me back to the couch they were sitting on. He placed you on the mother's lap and once again strokes me. I am void of any and all feelings. I have no fear, I have no anger, I have no sort of purr in my throat. I just stare. The family stares back, still stroking, until a bell sounds off. It's 9 o'clock. The mother takes me off of her lap and the family of four prepares to go to bed without a second thought. They do not talk to each other, nor say sorry if they bump into each other through the hall way. I stay on the ground, shackles still raised and back arched, tail ruffled and ears back. I quietly hiss. Somehow, the mother of the family heard me and approached me. I stepped back and hissed again. The mother leaves a small treat in front of me and goes about her business. The treat is no bigger than a penny, yet no smaller than a pinhead. I sniff the treat and eat it. Weirdly, I feel calmer. I feel tired. I want to stay awake, but the tiredness overtakes me and I saunter off to my shoebox. The odd feelings go away in a matter of minutes and oddly leave me wanting them to come back.
I sleep. 💛
Benetton F1 from 80s
