#opisthoproctus

[a-book-of-creatures]

Amazing how we keep discovering new things. Back in my day barreleyes like Opisthoproctus soleatus looked like this

because they were only ever known from dead specimens dredged up from the deep.

Except when a barreleye (Macropinna microstoma) was actually filmed alive in 2008, turns out it actually has a transparent dome over its head that collapses at the surface.

The dome helps it gather even more light into those big upward-facing eyes! It’s like it’s wearing a deep sea helmet!!

And then you look at the old illustrations and realize the deflated membrane was there all along, you just didn’t realize it!

I know the blobfish is the gold standard for “fish that looks completely different at the surface” but this is one of the ones that I knew of as a kid and blew my mind when I saw the live footage.

Next time we’ll talk about gulper eels

#opisthoproctus #opisthoproctus soleatus #barreleye #kids these days have got it so good #fishes #marine biology #macropinna #macropinna microstoma

[myzaza]

™

#fish #barreleye #Opisthoproctus soleatus

[just-a-little-anxious]

What do you think is the coolest deep sea creature?

:O omg somebody asked me about the deep sea!! hell yeah!! uh okay so I can't choose so imma name a few. I hope that's okay!

So first we have the Riftia Pachyptila, also known as the Giant Tube Worm. (here's a picture:)

They are extremists and live close to volcanoes and they live in symbiosis with a bacteria that transform sulfur into energy for them! (Also despite loving them, they kinda gross me out the more I learn about them) Also this is probably the animal I know most about, hence why it is first on the list.

Next is the Chlamydoselachus Anguineus, or the Frilled Shark:

They're about 2 metres long and though they can live at the bottom of the sea, they can also live close to the surface (like you can see in the picture!). They can swallow their preys whole and they have needle-like teeth.

And now, the Vampyroteuthis Infernalis! (or the Vampire Squid):

Fun fact! It's name actually translates to "Vampire squid from hell"! I love it. It's beautiful. Also it's neither a squid nor an octopus. I don't know anything else about it.

Next up, the Opisthoproctus Soleatus, the spook fish (or barreleye):

It's got an transparent head!! Cool right?? (First time I saw it I nearly threw up cuz I was grossed out by it but now it's just cool!) Also their eyes are like- tubes or something.

And lastly, the Melanocetus Johnsonii, or the humpback anglerfish:

I hate it. I've seen different pictures of this one and I hate it. But it's cool. But I hate it. They got a light at the top to lure prey and then eat and swallow them whole. Did you know that most of the males of the anglerfish are parasitic? They latch onto the female and then just stay there to reproduce (cuz they're a lot smaller). This one doesn't do that though. They detach.

anyways that was it! There's a lot more interesting ones but these are the ones I came up with from the top of my head. And I actually did some research because I forgot most of the details about these animals, but I like doing research so that was fun.

Also I actually dislike the deep sea. Well- I don't. It's just I kinda have a fear of it? Like, I have a fear of deep water itself already, but the thought of these absolutely fucked up creatues just living there too? It's just... no.

#despite my fear i still love the deep sea though!! #deep sea #fish #sharks #worms #creature #creatures #sea #i really hope none of the words in these tags are banned #idk. 'fear' seems like a word that could be banned #i hope not #i feel like I should put a tw of some kind because the animals can look scary #but i don't know what

[infini-tree]

🌹? 🌹?? 🌹???

for every “🌹” received in my inbox i’ll post one random sentence of a random WIP i’m currently writing

🌹! 🌹!! 🌹!!! have three (3) w melvin in it bc like. i’ve written him three separate times already! neat!

_____

Here were the things Melvin Sneedly noted as he was being hauled into his cell by aliens:

Hypothesis on what niche they had evolved from and how can only go so far. Somehow these aliens have evolved into something that resembled octopi. Though, between the humanoid stance and sharp teeth, the similarities start and end with the tentacles.

The most interesting structure, by far, was their ocular structures bore some resemblance to opisthoproctus soleatus, with telescoping eyes and a soft tissue that surrounded the aforementioned.

He wasn’t the only one that was taken.

_____

“Erasure,” Melvin enunciated. “Not destruction. Destruction implies that there will be a trace of us afterward. No, what I’m saying is that we’d just be gone-- it’ll be like we’ve never existed.”

_____

It wasn’t every day that he had a chance to pick at advanced alien technology and figure out its delicate mechanisms.

The same delicate mechanisms that he nearly blew irreparably. He shook the nerves from his hands and went on.

#ask #sticky notes au #'mells what does this have to do with the au--' Oh You Know #i'm p sure i've talked abt these concepts at one point or another

[terrible-tentacle-theatre]

Just “being the only biologist in your family” things

“It looks like something a tiny race of aliens would design in order to blend in with deep sea creatures” - My brother, after I showed him this image of the barreleye fish (Opisthoproctus soleatus)

#biology #deep sea creatures #barreleye fish #admin's private life

[listerious]

Top 10 Spooky Barreleye Fish Facts

Did you know that there's a particular type of creepy fish that has an invisible head? In this post, you'll learn all about it in our top 10 list with Barreleye fish facts. Interesting barreleye fish facts 1. They have an alternative name Barreleye fish are a small type of deep-ocean fish and a member of the family Opisthoproctidae in the order Argentiniformes. There aren't a huge number of members in this order because they have only been distinct from their previous order, the Osmeriformes, recently. They do have an easier name as they are mainly referred to as "spook fish." 2. There are 3 different types of barreleye fish The Argentiniformes are an order of ray-finned fish which consists of about 6 to 7 families, nearly 60 genera, and at least 228 different species. There are basically 3 different types of barreleye fish based on their morphology: Genera Opisthoproctus and Macropinna - Stout, deep-bodied barreleyes.Genera Dolichopteryx and Bathylychnops - Slender and elongated barreleyes.Genera Rhynchohyalus and Winteria - The type in between the stocky and slender barreleyes. 3. They have really distinctive eyes Even though the body-type of these species can vary significantly, the one thing these creatures have in common is their distinctive eyes. Their tubular eyes have the option to both look straight upwards similar to the eyes of the stargazer, as well as straight ahead. Read the full article

#Animals #Barreleyefish #Barreleyefishfacts #Creepyanimals #Fish #Ocean

[myzaza]

™

#fish #barreleye #Scopelarchus analis #Opisthoproctus soleatus #Stylephorus chordatus #Argyropelecus offinis #Dolichpteryx longipes

[a-book-of-creatures]

I think I stumbled upon some kind of ichthyological forbidden knowledge. Opened up a book of names that were never meant to be read.

You've probably heard of "can-opener smoothdream", right? It's practically a meme by now.

But the thing is, it's a deep-sea fish. And deep-sea fish have historically not had English names because nobody drops them into the conversation over a hot cuppa. Sure, there's generic stuff like hatchetfish and barreleye, but when you want to refer to the actual fish you're probably saying such euphonious phrases as Diretmus argenteus, Sternoptyx diaphana, or maybe even Opisthoproctus soleatus.

So whence "can-opener smoothdream"? Certainly no non-ichthyologist has ever used that name. It's not even a direct translation of the scientific name Chaenophryne longiceps - that would be "long-headed gape-toad". Which to me is even cooler than "can-opener smoothdream".

But I digress. The "dream" bit comes from the anglerfish family Oneirodidae, from oneiros, "dream", because those marvelous fishes look like they came out of a dream (Pietsch, 2009).

Note that Pietsch (2009), more or less the anglerfish bible, uses English names at the genus level only. So Chaenophryne is the smoothhead dreamers genus but no mention is made of "can-opener smoothdreams". So no luck there.

Wikipedia, root cause of a lot of misinformation, has this to say.

"Longhead dreamer" is a far more accurate name. And in fact, despite Wikipedia prioritizing "can-opener smoothdream" (because it's funny?), the links listed use "longhead dreamer" and "smoothhead dreamer" as the name and "can-opener smoothdream" as an alternative.

So. Again. Where did "can-opener smoothdream" come from?

The answer, as it turns out, lies with McAllister (1990).

In the book A List of the Fishes of Canada, ichthyologist D. E. McAllister sought out to list every single fish known to Canadian waters, providing both an English and a French name.

And when there wasn't an English name, like for most deep-sea fishes, he arbitrarily gave them a name. And his names "differ in many instances from the widely accepted names" (Holm, 1998)

This had varying results. This is his name for one of the netdevil anglerfishes.

The humpback anglerfish or blackdevil anglerfish becomes a werewolf (????).

This one is just confusing.

The white-spotted lanternfish or Rafinesque's lanternfish instead becomes...

And most embarrassingly, the Mediterranean spiderfish gets saddled with something that "violates the tenet of good taste" (Holm, 1998).

This then is the original source of "can-opener smoothdream". It was invented by an ichthyologist in 1990, and has seen little to no use outside of how bizarre the name is.

Maybe McAllister's goofier names will catch on. Who knows? They certainly aren't very popular in the scientific community though.

References

Holm, E. (1998) Encyclopedia of Canadian Fishes (review). The Canadian Field-Naturalist, 112, p. 174-175.

McAllister, D. E. (1990) A List of the Fishes of Canada. National Museum of Natural Sciences, Ottawa.

Pietsch, T. W. (2009) Oceanic Anglerfishes: Extraordinary Diversity in the Deep Sea. University of California Press, Berkeley.

#marine biology #fishes #can-opener smoothdream

[just-a-little-anxious]

Blue and turquoise

Blue; Preferred type of weather?:

I like it when the sky is gray and there's soft rain. Especially when I'm sitting inside it makes everything feel more cozy.

Turquoise; favourite sea animal?:

Honestly that depends. I once got really interested in the deep sea, and I spent hours doing research on the animals that live there. They're all so interesting and beautiful and some of them even seem like they could be from another planet! Like for example a Riftia Pachyptila which lives by underwater volcano's and lives in symbiosis with certain bacteria! Or an Opisthoproctus Soleatus, which is a fish that always looks at the sky so they can see predators above them! And don't forget about mythical creatures! I mean they're fake but the idea of actual dragons that live in the sea is just- aaaaaaa! Or the Megalodon or Giant Squids! They're so cool too!! Aaaaa I'm getting all excited talking about this, sorry.

Anyways I think my actual answer for the question for now will be the "leafy sea dragon" because it looks funny and it's pretty (:

#sorry this took me a while to answer #also I hope it wasn't annoying that the answer to the sea animal question was so long #I just love learning about it #even tho the deep sea does actually scare me