Thursday, January 7, 2016

#781: Umbrella-mouth Gulper

The Umbrella-mouth Gulper is a deep sea fish, named for his enormous jaws. These are used to consume crustaceans and it is thought that he swims along, mouth agape, collecting everything in his path. Squids and smaller invertebrates also are collected, as well as gret mouthfuls of water. These are flushed out through his gills. As he matures, his jaws and teeth atrophy, to be replaced by enlarged olfactory organs. These may help him locate a mate in his almost lightless habitat. It is suspected that he will die soon after spawning. Very little else is known about this bizarre predator, as it lives at such extreme depths that it is generally only seen when inadverently captured in a fishing net.

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