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Spitting fish
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Why do these fish look like they’re spouting puffs of magic dust out of their mouths? The tiny crustaceans (1 millimetre-long crustacean called an ostracod) that these transparent fish try to eat light them up, causing the fish to be at risk of predation themselves, so they spit them out! ...
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3751 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Some fish celebrate Halloween everyday
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While we're talking about Halloween, this is the Atlantic wolffish ( Anarhichas lupus), very appropriately and otherwise known as the ‘devil fish’. The hefty fish grows up to 1.5 metres long and over 20kg, and they’re named for those unmistakable fangs. If they're not scary enough, their throats are also lined with a spattering of small, serrated teeth.
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4586 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Piranhas, meet your match
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Shown above are vampire fish caught in Corona Falls, Guyana. Also called payara by locals, these Amazon Basin predators feed on other fish, especially piranhas, which they impale on their long fangs.
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6546 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
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4685 |
duddy |
9 years ago |
Parrotfish make a cocoon of mucus and wrap themselves like a sleeping bag each night
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Gnathiids are a family of isopod crustaceans whose larvae feed on the blood of fish. During the day, infected parrotfish seek out cleaner fish to consume the parasites; however, at night they are relatively vulnerable to attack. Parrotfish overcome this vulnerability by secreting a mucus cocoon before sleeping which envelopes their bodies with a protective biopolymer that functions similar to a mosquito net. The mucus is secreted from large glands in the gill cavity and is composed of small glycoproteins which are extensively cross-linked through pyrosulfate bonds. This exopolymer net allows small molecules to permeate but prevents the parasitic gnathiids from entering. The process is thought to involve a combination of blocking odorants ...
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4962 |
duddy |
8 years ago |
One ugly fish
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The coelacanth is known as a “living fossil” because it looks very much like its ancestors from 300 million years ago. Its genome has been sequenced, and it, in fact, has been found to be evolving at a very slow rate. The genetic sequence also might help give some insight into the transition from fins to limbs.
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2797 |
duddy |
11 years ago |
One hairy situation
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The hairy frogfish ( Antennarius striatus) is a marine fish with spines resembling strands of hair - and it can change color. This small fish grows up to 22 cm (8.7 in) long, and has a rounded, extensible body. Its large mouth is forwardly extensible, allowing it to swallow prey as large as itself! The coloring of its body is extremely variable because individual fish tend to match their living environments. Frogfishes have the capacity to change coloration and pigment pattern, taking only a few weeks to adapt. The dominant coloration varies from yellow to brownish-orange, passing through a range of shades, but it can also be green, gray, brown, almost white, or even completely black without any pattern. Body and fins can be marked with roug ...
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7179 |
duddy |
7 years ago |
My new favourite animal
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Meet the guineafowl puffer ( Arothron meleagris), all puffed-up and poisonous to deter any would-be predators. Found throughout the Indo-Pacific and Eastern Pacific Oceans, this spotty species loves feeding on tiny marine invertebrates and the tips of coral.
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7568 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Memory-enhancing foods to help you study
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There's more to studying than simply memorization and practice. It turns out that your diet also plays a pivotal role in recalling key bits of information, while keeping you energized and focused in the process. We're not talking about those scam-ridden supplements that promise a boost in brain power, but simple natural foods such as milk, nuts, seeds, rice, and oats. The nutrients found in these items help your study efforts by releasing natural memory enhancers called CCKs ( cholecystokinin). When CCK crosses the blood-brain barrier, it acts as a neurotransmitter associated with memory. Studies have shown that learning and memory processes are severely damaged (in rats) that genetically do not respond to the presence of CCK. And in people ...
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20859 |
bio_man |
4 years ago |
Meet the black swallower
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This is the aptly-named "black swallower" ( Chiasmodon niger), a fish known for eating bony fish up to 10x its mass and 2x its length. It's found worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters at a depth of 700-2,745 meters. Most specimens of this fish have been collected after one attempted to swallow prey too large for it to handle, and the prey could not be digested before decomposition set it. The release of gases forces the black swallower to the surface. This particular specimen was found washed up on the shore in 2007. The black swallower measures 19 cm long. The fish in its stomach is a snake mackerel measuring 86 cm. ...
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2885 |
savio |
10 years ago |
How to withstand a piranha attack
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The arapaima ( Arapaima gigas) is one of the biggest freshwater fish on the planet and has evolved a multi-layer defence against the piranha. Its scales have an ultra-tough outer shell, which promotes tooth fracture at the point of penetration. The scales are also a corrugated shape, which deflect pressure to overlapping layers of collagen underneath.
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5041 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
How does our vision compare to some animals?
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Do animals see the same way we do? Do some animals have better vision than humans? The senses of animals have evolved to give members of the species an optimum chance for survival. Here are a few examples: Some animals, such as cats, have a reflective surface ( tapetum) on the back of the eye behind the sensory receptors (left image above). When light first enters the eye, some light is detected by the sensory receptors. The light not detected by the sensory receptors continues onto the reflective surface at the back of the eye. This light is then reflected outward toward the sensory receptors, providing a second opportunity for detection. This feature produces two results. First, the outward reflection results in the shining of the cat's ey ...
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14940 |
Biology Forums |
A year ago |
How do fish see in the dark?
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The angry-looking deep sea angler fish has a right to be cranky. It is quite possibly the ugliest animal on the planet, and it lives in what is easily Earth's most inhospitable habitat: the lonely, lightless bottom of the sea. There are more than 200 species of anglerfish, most of which live in the murky depths of the Atlantic and Antarctic oceans, up to a mile below the surface, although some live in shallow, tropical environments. Generally dark gray to dark brown in color, 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 mouths are so big and their bo ...
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4477 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
How apes go fishing
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This is the first photograph taken of an orangutan using a tool to fish in Borneo. The photo captures a moment when this male was using the pole to catch fish trapped in the locals’ fishing lines.
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3130 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
How a heron bird catches fish - hilarious
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Herons also have surprising intellectual abilities; they can use bread to catch fish! It is thought that the birds learn the technique from watching fisherman throw baited hooks and tourists tossing bread to attract fish.
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2659 |
duddy |
9 years ago |