Imagine you are an anglerfish swimming in the dark deep sea. You don’t see something swimming up to you; it jumps out and bites you. You sink to the bottom of the ocean. What was the thing that bit you? That was a dragonfish. If you want to learn more about this amazing and mysterious creature, read more to find out.
What are they?
Dragonfish are fish that live in the deep oceans. This amazing animal uses bioluminescence to hunt for food. What is bioluminescence though? It is a glowing chemical that is created by multiple other chemicals. These chemicals are inside the animals that live in the deep sea. These animals have to mix up the chemicals and it produces light that they can see. The chemicals of bioluminescence are luciferine, luciferase, and photoprotein. So many animals in the dark depths have bioluminescence. This results in many different lights. If you were following the lights there, you could get hopelessly lost! Now I am going to tell you about how dragonfish and bioluminescence are related. First of all, what is bioluminescence?
Hunting!
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, dragonfish use bioluminescence for hunting. The dragonfish use their chin barbel which produces light to lure things in. Once the prey is close enough, they strike and kill it. This works because they have a special light which makes them invisible to other creatures. This way their prey is unaware of the dragonfish. Sometimes, the prey will use bioluminescence as a defense and run away, but the dragonfish’s strategy usually works. Dragonfish eat small fish and crustaceans as well as anything that fits in their mouth. Remember the special light I told you about? That is a red light under their eyes. No other fish except the dragonfish can see red light. This means they can sneak around in their preferred habitat, the twilight zone which doesn’t have as much sunlight as the sunlight zone, so they need light to see. That is how dragonfish roll . . . er swim.
Life Cycle of the Dragonfish!
Not much is known about dragonfish lifecycles, but we do know that they are external spawners. This means that they lay eggs. The eggs then float to the surface to hatch. After a while, the eggs hatch into larvae. The larvae then have to fend for themselves and then grow into adults that we know about. That is how the life cycle cycles. I mean circles! No! I mean cycles! No circles!
Did you know?
You want to know something really weird about male dragonfish? Well they have no chin barbel, no stomach, and no fangs. They only are able to live long enough to mate. Dragonfish are also the only known fish that have chlorophyll in their eyes! Another use of bioluminescence from the dragonfish is to attract potential mates. They also use this for protecting themselves from other predators. Dragonfish stomachs are black to conceal digesting prey and to not alert predators. Males are also one tenth the size of females. This probably means females are the more dominant ones. Even though dragonfish are classified as fish, they do not have scales. Dragonfish are amazing!
See Ya Dragonfish!
Dragonfish are pretty cool ,right? Too bad there is not much known about this creature. The good thing is that scientists are studying and trying to learn more about them. From their mating habits to why they have chlorophyll. People from around the world are studying this mysterious, wondrous, and fascinating creature. Hopefully, one day we will know everything about them and try to meet them ourselves. When you grow up, maybe you will learn more about dragonfish and their amazing habitat.
Lookout for my next article, Smart Aleck Octopus. Until then, Dasvidaniya! Bye!s
Comments