Fish in the Abyss By Chelsey Wing

Some fish that live in the Abyss Football fish Deep Sea Lizard fish Orange Roughy Fangtooth Hag-fish Giant Hatchet-fish

Where is the deepest part of the ocean? :is the deepest part of the ocean and contains some of the most unique and interesting marine life ever discovered. The Mariana Trench is a crescent-shaped trench in the Western Pacific just east of the Mariana Islands near Guam.

Facts about the Mariana’s Trench Its approximately 2,550 kilometers. At the bottom of the trench the “water column” above has a pressure of over 1000 times the standard atmospheric pressure at sea level. The temperature of the very bottom is between 1-4 degrees Celsius. The movement of the Pacific and Mariana’s trench cause the forms of the Marianian islands. Contains the deepest known points on Earth. The deepest part is called “The Challenger Deep”.

The Football Fish The football fish was actually discovered in the 1900s by accident by a deep sea fisherman in search for flounder.. Females are carnivores that aside from pelagic fish and cephalopods, they eat shrimp. They also have a bioluminescence; an esca that gets it light from symbiotic bacteria.

The Deep Sea Lizard fish These creatures were first described in the year of 1878. They were discovered by a British zoologist named Albert Gunther. Adults reach over 70 cm in length. Have a slender and cylindrical body. Inhabitants of the ocean floor.

The Orange Roughy Belongs to the slimehead family and is a deep-sea perch that is red and orange roughy. Actually categorized by the Marine Conservation Society as “vulnerable to exploitation”. It is found deep in the Western Pacific Ocean, eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Indo-Pacific, and in the Eastern Pacific. They are also very popularly known for their long life span of 149 years. Like other slimeheads, they are very late to mature and are slow-growing. They are also considered very important to commercial deep trawl-fisheries.

The Fangtooth Fish They have disproportionately, large fang-like teeth that is a façade for their harmless nature. The pelagic fangtooths are one of the deepest-living fish, found in water as deep as 5,000 meters down. These fish are more strong and healthy compared to other deep-sea fish when put into unfamiliar habitats. This is the worlds deepest living fish discovered. Most adaptable and endurable creatures on Earth. The fang-like teeth make it impossible for it to close its mouth. Not a picky eater and will eat anything edible they come across due to the scarcity of food in the abyss.

The Hag-fish An eel-shaped, slime-producing fish. They are the only known living animals that have a skull but no vertebral column. They are also jawless and are also the sister group to vertebrates. They have a long, worm-like body and produce a fibrous slime or mucus that comes out of 100 glands. They release the slime when agitated or for protection against certain predators.

The Giant Hatchetfish Also know as the Greater Silver Hatchetfish. They can be found in every ocean except the north Pacific in the mesopelagic zone of tropical and subtropical waters. Their depth range is from 600 to 4,500 feet. One of the many deep sea creatures that have the ability to create their own light through a process known as bioluminescence. They have special light-producing organs known as photophores . These photophores produce light by chemical reaction and are used to hide the fish from predators, this process is known as counterillumination.

Current Event https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/04/160427151026.htm This is a current event on the issues the deep-sea creatures are facing. The deep-sea has a vulnerable biodiversity that is threatened by climate change. Issues like rising water temperatures, decreased oxygen, and decreased pH levels can be detrimental to the future of deep-sea organisms and creatures. Deep-sea creatures are highly sensitive due to their diversity and the decreasing levels of oxygen can also decrease the number of creatures that can survive in the abyss.

Video on the abyss