The most unusual fish in the world (with photos). The most unusual and scary fish on earth

As we know, life originated in water. And mysterious, unexplored expanses of water have always attracted travelers, scientists and simply adventurers. How many generations have replaced each other, but the rebellious element has never succumbed to full study, carefully guarding its secrets.

However, by the twenty-first century, humanity has still accumulated a lot of knowledge about the inhabitants of rivers, seas and oceans. And despite great experience, and a lot of materials studied, we are still surprised by those who live in the abysses of the sea.

We present to you the top 10 amazing inhabitants of the World Ocean. Happy reading!

One of their varieties is the Greenlandic, which lives in the vastness of the North Atlantic.

Their longest length that has been recorded is as much as six and a half meters! The weight of that shark was about a ton. But, despite their size and origin, Greenland sharks attack people very rarely, most often these cases are only attributed to them, without much evidence. This is because these sharks prefer cold waters, where it is almost impossible for them to meet a person. There are only two known cases of sharks chasing people. One of them occurred in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where the Greenland polar for a long time swam behind the ship, and another time, she kept up with a group of divers, forcing them to rise back to the surface.

Some fishermen are sure that this type of shark causes damage to gear and large-scale extermination of other fish, and considers them pests. Therefore, most often when catching a polar shark, they get rid of their tail fins and throw them overboard.

Arapaima is a representative of tropical freshwater fish, which boasts interesting features.

Scientists have called this fish, which has a very archaic morphology, a living fossil. In addition to its enormous size for its genus, the arapaima has large scales that cover its entire body. Her head is also covered in durable bone plates.

At first glance, it seems as if such a fish is protected by some kind of armor. And this is not so far from the truth - the relief scales of the arapaya are incredibly strong (for comparison, if you compare the modulus of elasticity of such scales and ordinary bones, then these scales will exceed the strength of bones ten times). It is thanks to this protection that arapaima can live calmly even among piranhas.

These fish prefer quite warm climate, and therefore you can meet them by visiting South America, the Amazon basin, or in the vast expanses of Brazil, Peru and Guyana. At the same time, arapaima are predators, and their food is mainly other, smaller fish or even birds.

One of its types is Californian. They are quite poorly studied, but interest in these fish is growing very quickly. California sharks live mainly in the subtropical waters of the Pacific Ocean. The size of one shark can reach one hundred centimeters. These creatures lead night look life, preferring to both feed and reproduce at a later time.

Such sharks are able to pump water into their stomach, and thereby swell, similar to other sharks of the genus bigheaded. They prefer to eat crustaceans and just small fish.

The Californian species is good because it is absolutely safe for people. If there is a collision with a person underwater, then this fish will remain motionless until the last moment, however, if someone disturbs it or scares it, it will swell, doubling its size. And therefore, the National Union for the Conservation of Nature has assigned such bloating sharks the status of “least dangerous”.

A very popular and famous fish. This form of discus appeared in the early nineties of the last century, that is, relatively recently. Its ancestors are considered to be discus fish of blue and brown natural forms. In Thailand, one of the breeders noticed among his pets a fish with a small pattern similar to snake skin. The first fish of this form had fourteen vertical stripes, although ordinary discus have only nine, but now they have become much thinner. Later, through the efforts of breeders, another form of these fish was developed, the stripes of which were so thin that they resembled a cobweb. Subsequently, representatives of this form became the basis for the emergence of many new beautiful and unusual forms of fish. This is how the Leopard Snake Skin and Eastern Dream were born; they delight aquarists with their appearance - bright red dots and a subtle cobweb pattern. Snakeskin discus are capricious and finicky; they require a caring attitude from their owners. They prefer to live in small flocks (5-6 individuals) and are susceptible to various diseases.

Mandarin ducks live in coral reefs in the western Pacific Ocean. These colorful representatives of the order Perciformes received their name for their bright juicy color, reminiscent of the mantle of imperial Chinese mandarins.

These small six-centimeter beauties have a slightly elongated body, slightly flattened on the sides. Their head is round with huge moving eyes. The skin is smooth, without scales. The tail has long plumage. The entire fish is painted a cute red-brown color with bright blue psychedelic patterns. The “feather” of the tail, fins on the tail and on the chest are edged with a bluish color.

The mandarin duck is a bottom-dwelling fish and is quite friendly. Looking at her, you admire her amazing beauty. That is why the Mandarin duck is very popular as an aquarium fish. But, it is worth noting that only experienced amateur aquarists can afford to own this beauty due to its rather difficult maintenance.

The imperial angelfish is deservedly one of the most beautiful coral fish on the planet. These underwater inhabitants swim in tropical and subtropical seas near the coral reefs of the Indo-Pacific region. It is noteworthy that the imperial angels change their color. The fry are born black with snow-white and turquoise curved lines and a black tail with spots and a bright blue edging. In adult individuals, the body is slightly flattened on the sides and increases in height. Their color turns bright purple with thin horizontal stripes of yellow and orange.

With age, the head becomes emerald above and brown below, with a noticeable bright mask near the eyes. It's amazing beautiful creatures! They are active during the day and like to live alone. IN mating season they pair up. Researchers believe that a couple is created for life, and if one “half” dies, then the other will soon die.

An amazing creature of the tropical seas - the surgeon fish. Her characteristic feature is a colorful color - from pale blue to rich yellow, as well as a mixture of blue-black colors with yellow fins.

These half-meter tropical beauties attract divers with their amazing colors, however, it is better to stay away from them. The fact is that in their crescent-shaped rear fin there are two sharp bone plates, which the fish use, like a knife blade, for self-defense. This dangerous weapon, sharp as a razor, can lead to rupture of a tendon or artery, and, as a result, heavy bleeding. Basically, the “scalpels” are peacefully pressed against the fin. But when a threat comes, the surgeon fish opens them and can inflict quite severe cuts with them. So you need to keep your distance with these fish. Losing blood can be fatal, but it's much worse if the wounds become bait for a deadly reef shark.

This cute fish has a beak-like front part of its head. That is why it has such a bird-like name. In addition, its colorful appearance determined the naming of a specific bird - a parrot. The fish uses its “beak” to eat small invertebrates found in corals. After which, it spits out the remains of food. These rainbow fish are very colorful. They are colored in a mixture of gold, blue, green, blue, purple and pink tones and are decorated with bright yellow spots.

2. Pisces - Leo

This handsome predatory fish is also called the zebra fish, striped lionfish. It lives in the Indian and Pacific oceans, the Red Sea, and can be found in the waters of the Caribbean. This is enough big fish its dimensions can reach forty centimeters (and in captivity it grows up to 13 cm), weight - up to one kilogram. The lion fish attracts everyone's attention, of course, with its color; the color of its stripes can be red, black, or light brown. This “lion” has a large head, there are spikes on it, and there are tentacles near the mouth. When he is in danger or during a hunt, the lion fish opens its rays and becomes very formidable. For marine inhabitants, this immediately becomes a signal of danger, but humans are always attracted to everything bright, colorful and unusual, and this can have sad consequences. After all, the needles of this fish contain poison that is dangerous to humans. But this handsome man will never attack first, only if in response to human provocation.
If you keep it at home, then its neighbors in the aquarium should be large fish, since it will simply eat small ones, and the “lion” swallows its victims whole. It lives near corals, in lagoons and bays, and in the aquarium it needs to create secluded places so that it can hide.

The Cardinal Bangai fish, named after its habitat on Bangai Island in Indonesia, is quite rare and is on the verge of extinction. In length, Bangai generally grow to five to six centimeters in length, with a maximum of eight. These fish are extremely beautiful. They are recognizable due to their forked caudal fin, very long dorsal fin rays, decorated with black and white spots. Also, three black stripes vertically cross the entire body and head. These sea inhabitants are extremely hardy. In addition, Bangai Cardinals are not problematic to breed in their natural environment.

"Somehow we have never touched on the topic of fish. So we correct ourselves: "Strange and unusual fish". And we warn you: some of them are really strange. And some are unusual.

Strange and unusual fish - photos for your attention!

This is probably the blob fish known to everyone from photographs on the Internet. It can grow for a long time up to 12 inches and lives at depths of up to 900 meters. Psychrolutes marcidus is a deep-sea bottom-dwelling marine fish of the family Psychrolutes, which due to its unattractive appearance is often called one of the ugliest ocean deep-sea fish on the planet. Presumably they live at depths of 600–1200 m off the coast of Australia and Tasmania, where they are found Lately Fishermen began to increasingly reach the surface, which is why this species of fish is endangered.

This is most likely a moon fish. It is very slow and not at all dangerous to humans. However, its appearance off the coast causes fear among fishermen and they do not go to sea if they see this fish. This is due to the fact that the moon fish is a very poor swimmer and is easily carried away by the current. So if this fish is off the coast, it means it was blown out of the ocean by an approaching storm:

Funny sea ​​Horse, which mimics the algae surrounding it. Unlike other seahorses, the mimicry of this one has gone so far that even males and females have difficulty finding each other :)

We did not find the name of this fish. But, you must admit, it is very unusual with its hypnotizing colors. It would be funny if this fish was found in shallow water and hunted in the sun, spinning in front of its prey. And the combination of sun glare, rotation and color of the fish would cause a hypnotic trance in the victim :)

This is a little-studied deep-sea frilled shark. These very ancient sharks, little studied by science, live at depths of 500 to 1000 meters and rarely come to the surface. This specimen floated to the surface for a reason severe illness and lived in captivity for only a few hours. Therefore, there is almost no data about this fish except for a photograph:

But one more is enough ancient look. Rokhlya stingray, or guitar stingray. A very rare and completely harmless creature.

Its uniqueness lies in the fact that this species is an intermediate link that existed in those days when fish had not yet decided whether they would be sharks or rays. Well, later the ancestors of this guitar stingray divided into two factions, one of which evolved into sharks, and the other into stingrays. Whereas the ancestors of the stingray never decided what they wanted to become. So we remained halfway through - neither this nor that:

Here is a rare and even stranger deep-sea fish called Macropinna Microstoma, or, in our opinion, Big-Eared Smallmouth. It has a transparent head through which it can see with its tubular eyes. The head, through which the fish watches for prey, helps protect the eyes. First opened in 1939. Lives on significantly great depth, therefore has not been fully studied.

So what is visible in the picture is not the hemispheres, as it might seem, but the eyes. Strange decision. But if the fish leads an exclusively bottom lifestyle (or/and because its enemies attack only from above), then this is only to its advantage. Well, you can find the prey in front of you by smell. A little more detail in the video:

Another unknown and mysterious animal:

And another unknown fish:

Well, this is the lobe-finned coelacanth known to many schoolchildren (which does not require scuba gear). The skeletal structure of the coelacanth, the modern coelacanth, is almost identical to that of its ancestors who lived 200 million years ago (although the average size modern species A bit more). Studies of coelacanths have revealed that they have many common features with cartilaginous fish (sharks and rays):

Well, this is an arm-footed fish. With a strange comb:

on Earth, and some fish are definitely more unusual and scary than others. Below you will find a list of the TOP 11 most unusual, terrible and amazing fish in the world's oceans, ranging from the laughable blob fish to the nightmarish goblin shark and stargazer.

1. Blobfish

In its natural habitat at ocean depths of 900 to 1200 meters, the blobfish ( Psychrolutes marcidus) looks almost like ordinary fish, but when it reaches the surface, its body expands and the fish turns into a comical creature with big nose. This is because the blobfish's gelatinous flesh evolved to withstand intense deep-sea pressure while allowing it to float on the seabed. Torn out of your usual environment, the blob fish swells into a real monster. You may not have noticed, but the blob fish appeared in the Chinese restaurant scene in the third movie Men in Black, yet most people thought it was a special computer effect and not a real animal!

2. Asian sheephead wrasse

We know little about these fish, but it is likely that their huge forehead and chin are a sexual characteristic of dominance: males (or perhaps females) with larger head growths are considered more attractive to the opposite sex during mating season (one piece of evidence The support for this hypothesis is that the newly hatched Asian sheephead wrasses have normal heads).

3. Cube body

The marine analogue of the rectangular watermelons that are sold in Japan is the cube-shaped fish ( Ostracion cubicus) often visits Coral reefs Indian and Pacific Oceans, feeding on algae and small . No one is sure how or why boxy fish have distorted the classic fish with flat, narrow bodies, but their maneuverability in the water appears to depend more on their fins than their body shape. An interesting fact is that in 2006, Mercedes-Benz introduced the Bionic concept car, modeled after a cube-shaped fish (if you've never heard of the Bionic, that's because the car was a real evolutionary failure compared to its more successful inspiration ).

4. Psychedelic frog fish

Discovered in 2009 in Indonesian waters, psychedelic frogfish ( Histiophrine psychedelica) have a large flat face, Blue eyes, a giant mouth and, most importantly, a striped white-orange-brown pattern that supposedly allows it to blend in with the surrounding corals. For any potential prey who is not properly hypnotized, the psychedelic frogfish also possesses a tiny "luring appendage" on its head that resembles a wriggling worm.

5. Redfin opah

In terms of its appearance, the redfin opah ( Lampris guttatus) will surprise few people. You may have seen these fish in large aquariums. What makes the redfin opah a truly unusual fish is not on the outside, but on the inside: it is the first identified species of warm-blooded fish, that is, it is independently capable of maintaining its internal body temperature 10 ° C above the temperature surrounding water. This unique physiology gives the redfin opah greater energy (they are known to migrate thousands of kilometers) and also supports them in extreme deep-sea habitats. The hard question is, if warm-blooded metabolism is a beneficial adaptation, then why are other fish cold-blooded?

6. Goblin Shark

Deep-sea analogue of Alien from film director Ridley Scott, goblin shark ( Mitsukurina owstoni) is characterized by a long narrow muzzle on the top of the head and sharp protruding teeth below. When this shark is within range of its prey, it pushes out its lower jaws and captures the prey. However, do not be afraid, the goblin shark is unusually lazy and relatively slow and would probably not be able to outrun a frightened person. Surprisingly Mitsukurina owstoni is probably the only living shark that flourished during the early 125 million years ago, which explains the fearsome appearance and method of feeding.

7. Striped catfish

Striped catfish ( Anarhicas lupus) made this list for two reasons. Firstly, this fish has a pair of extraordinary terrible jaws, with sharp incisors in front and chewing teeth at the back, which are ideal for and. Secondly, and more astonishingly, the striped catfish lives in such icy Atlantic waters that it is forced to produce its own "antifreeze proteins" that prevent the blood from freezing at temperatures of -1° C. As you might expect, this strange chemical component makes the striped catfish unsuitable as food for humans, but they are so often caught in deep-sea trawl nets that they are endangered.

8. Red pacu

Red pacu ( Piaractus brachypomus) looks like something out of a nightmare, or at least a mutant from a David Cronenberg film: this South American fish has unusual human-like teeth. Oddly enough, red pacu are sold as "vegetarian piranhas" in some pet stores, whose owners often neglect to inform their customers that these fish are capable of inflicting serious, crushing bites on the fingers of their owners, and a 10-centimeter young pacu can quickly outgrow the size of its aquarium. demanding large and expensive dwellings.

9. Spiny-nosed whiteblood

Almost all animals on Earth use the protein hemoglobin to carry oxygen, which gives blood its characteristic red color. But the spiny-nosed whiteblood ( Chionodraco rastrospinosus) fully lives up to its name, since due to the lack of hemoglobin, its blood is colorless. This amazing Antarctic fish uses whatever oxygen dissolves in its blood directly from its oversized gills. The advantage of this adaptation is that clear blood is less viscous and is more easily pumped throughout the body; The disadvantage is that the spiny-nosed whiteblood must lead a sedentary lifestyle, since prolonged bursts of activity quickly deplete oxygen reserves.

10. Common Vandellia

Described by one naturalist as “the most complex creature in creation,” the stargazer fish has two large, bulging eyes and one huge mouth on top, rather than in front, of its head. The Stargazer burrows into the ocean floor, from where it pounces on unsuspecting victims. Well, that's not all the weirdness: these scary fish also grow two poisonous thorn above the dorsal fins, and some species can even generate mild electrical shocks. Surprisingly, stargazers are considered a delicacy in Asian countries. If you don't mind having your dinner staring back at you from your plate, and you're confident the chef has successfully removed its toxic organs, don't hesitate to order a meal from Stargazer on your next trip to Asia.

Unusual fish are found not only in the depths of oceans and seas, lakes and rivers, they can also be seen in aquariums. People who are keen on fishing have invented many original methods.

The most unusual aquarium fish

With a huge variety of aquarium fish, the most unusual ones can be distinguished among them. Tetraodon - somewhat reminiscent of a helicopter aquarium fish. It swallows air or water, causing it to swell greatly, becoming like a ball. The body of the fish is egg-shaped, tapering towards the tail. Her skin is bare. Most often, tetraodon is gray-beige in color with stripes and spots along the body. There are small spines on its abdomen. Tetraodon grows to a length of between six and twenty-five centimeters. These are strictly territorial fish. In the aquarium they always occupy certain territory and “strangers” are not allowed there.

You can see snake-like fish in aquariums. Their name is macrognathus. The cylindrical body sometimes reaches a length of seventy centimeters. The upper part of the jaw ends in a proboscis-like process. It is difficult to see them during the day, since macrognathus are mostly nocturnal, but during the day they prefer to bury themselves in the ground or stay in dark places. A fish that is unable to burrow into the ground may experience stress, which will lead to skin disease. Due to its activity at night, Macrognathus is capable of jumping out of the aquarium, so it is better to always keep it closed.

The Chukchan fish is considered to have an unusual shape and at the same time rare. She has a flat, slightly concave belly, a raised back and a high fin. Her body is light brown with three dark stripes. As soon as night falls, you turn off the light in the aquarium, and the fish freezes in place and does not move, remaining in this position until morning or the light turns on.

Large and massive fish are Mastacembelas. Depending on the species, they can be from forty to sixty centimeters in length. Their color is bright and spotted.

Elephant fish belongs to the beaked fish family. The snout of the fish is crowned long trunk with the oral cavity located on it. With this device, the elephant fish obtains food for itself in the mud. It can also fish out invertebrate larvae from crevices and cracks. These fish communicate with each other using a “living radar” - a unique electrical organ. An organ that is capable of producing electric charge 1/2 volt, located at the end of the body.

The long, snake-like olive-coffee fish is called the kalamoicht. Its length reaches thirty centimeters and is no more than a finger thick. The fish's face is similar to a Chinese dragon. Many people confuse it with a snake when they see it for the first time. The kalamoicht fish is prone to escape. It is important that the aquarium is completely closed, since a small gap will be enough for her to escape.

The most unusual sea fish

Using bathyscaphes, sonars and scuba tanks, man is moving further and further in research underwater world oceans. From time to time, unusual fish are discovered there, the existence of which people knew nothing about.

Very unusual shape in the drop fish, which belongs to deep sea fish. She can be seen in tropical waters at a depth of about three hundred meters. The colors of these fish are very diverse and depend on the color of the native coral where they live. Surprisingly, the drop fish is able to walk along the bottom on its fins, like terrestrial quadrupeds.

Of the modern bony fishes, the largest is the sunfish. It is also called the sun fish. Sometimes its length reaches four meters and its weight reaches two tons. The body of the fish is strongly compressed from the sides, which is why it resembles a disk.

Smallmouth macropinna lives at enormous depths. Her cylindrical eyes point upward and peer through her transparent head. Among sea ​​fish The most poisonous fish is the stone fish. The spikes on the back are very dangerous. The poison affects the central nervous system, so meeting such a fish can result in disability or death.

Unusual ways of fishing

Fishermen use different types of bait when fishing. There are unusual ways. One of them is to use ordinary sand as bait, fried with oil for ten minutes. Such sand in small quantities It is poured into the water where fish are fished, thanks to which the catch is always considerable.

In Nepal, local residents manage to catch trout using kerosene lamp and khukri (knife). This is done at night. One person holds a lantern or lit lamp as close to the surface of the water as possible. Soon the head of a trout appears, which freezes for a moment, looking at the bright light. At this time, the local fisherman makes a sharp blow to the head of the fish with his knife, after which it floats downstream, where it is caught by a second fisherman.

It is known that in Rome mastiffs helped fishermen catch bulls. They swam to the reef closest to the shore, waited until the water they disturbed subsided, then lowered their mouths into the water and exhaled forcefully, gurgling loudly. Because of this, the bulls swam out from behind the stones, and the mastiff, jumping into the water, hit them with his paws. These movements raised silt, which clogged the gobies’ gills; in addition, they were stunned by the blows of the dog’s paws on the water. All this made gobies easy prey for fishermen.

The most unusual fish in the world

The most unusual fish in the world is called in various ratings different fish. According to one version, this is a flying fish. Having jumped out of the water, it can fly about half a kilometer, and can reach speeds of up to seventy-five kilometers per hour.

In 2000, an unusual fish was caught in Australia, which belonged to an unknown species. She received her nickname “handshift” for her ability to move along the bottom on fins that resemble hands. This fish lives in clean water in shallow water and practically does not swim at all.

There is another unusual representative aquatic fauna- moon fish. This animal is considered one of the most big fish. The website has an interesting article about sunfish and other large inhabitants of the depths.
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The oceans are considered the last great and unexplored regions on Earth...

Today we will tell you about ten of the most rare fish, which you are unlikely to ever see.

1. One-eyed shark. The name speaks for itself. A very rare albino shark was caught in Mexico, but it was already dead. Scientists believe that this type of shark with birth defects cannot exist for a long time in wildlife, as it is very attractive to stronger predators.
   
2. Frilled shark.
   Very rare deep sea shark, living at a depth of 1000 meters. Last time was caught in 2007 in the shallow waters of Japan, but the shark died a few hours after it was transported to the marine park.
   
3. Coelacanth.
   Oldest species fish are considered a living fossil. It is believed that coelacanth acquired its current appearance about 400 million years ago. Fish can weigh up to 80 kg and grow up to 2 meters. During the daytime they live at a depth of 100-400 meters, and at night they rise to a depth of 60 meters.
   
4. Snakehead.
   Channa amphibeus – very rare view, it can only be seen in northern Bengal, India. It grows to a maximum of 25 cm (usually 10-15 cm) and is found in waters with a temperature of 25 degrees. During rainy periods, snakeheads may move to flooded rice fields surrounded by forest. Aggressive predators.
   
5. Pelagic largemouth shark.
   The largemouth shark feeds on plankton and is distributed throughout the world, but to date only 54 individuals have been discovered. Almost nothing is known about the anatomy and behavior of this shark species.
   
6. Goblin shark.
   This is deep sea sea ​​creature lives on the coasts of Japan, Australia, the USA and South Africa. They usually live at a depth of 200-500 meters, but some individuals have been caught at a depth of 1300 meters. Favorite foods are squid, fish and crabs. A distinctive feature, as you have probably already noticed, is a long nose.
   
7. Colossal squid. Looking at the photos colossal squid Japanese horror films come to mind, it looks so infernal. Length giant squid can exceed 10 meters, and weight reach 500 kg. The lifestyle is little studied, since cases of capture are very rare.
   
8. Chimeras. We are not talking about those types of animals that consist of the head and neck of a lion, the body of a goat and the tail of a snake. Chimeras – cartilaginous fish, living at a depth of 2500 meters and growing up to 1.5 meters in length.
   
9. Black Crookshanks.
   Crookshanks became famous not only for its rarity, but also unique ability swallow fish larger than himself. Its highly elastic stomach allows it to swallow prey 10 times its own weight. It lives at a depth of about 1500 meters and reaches 25 cm in length.
   
10. Black Lizardfish. This type of fish is really very difficult to find. They live at depths of 1500 to 3000 meters, with a maximum size of 30 cm. Distinctive features is purple-black in color and has a very sharp set of teeth.