Fish use their fins as feet below the ocean in Mexico

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22-12-2019, 19:26

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INA – SOURCES

A group of scientists on a year-long research trip have captured footage of a rare deep sea fish that can use its fins as if they were feet.

Called Schaefer’s anglerfish (Sladenia shaefersi), the long flat creature can grow to almost five feet and weigh as much as 110 pounds.

It has thick and gummy skin with a distinctively mottled pattern that allows it to blend into its murky deep sea surroundings, where it subsists on a diet of other fish and can consume animals almost twice its own size.

The fish was discovered around 3,000 feet below the ocean surface near Dry Tortugas, a small island in the Gulf of Mexico.

It was one of the final stops on a year-long expedition conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Ocean Exploration and Research office.

‘This region has extensive, yet poorly known deep seafloor and midwater habitats, as well as unique geological features,’ NOAA wrote in a description of the mission.