COM Outlook - Winter 2016

AN NSU RESEARCH SPECIALIST from the Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography recently discovered a never-before-seen anglerfish species from the deep waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico. The three female specimens found ranged in size from 30 to 95 millimeters in length. Because of the ocean’s depth where this species was found, there is no sunlight, which means the only available radiance emanates from creatures that produce bioluminescence (generate their own light source). Additionally, because the fight for food is incessant, they have developed a unique way of attracting prey—from an appendage at the top of their heads that resembles a fishing pole of sorts. Like its human counterparts, this fish dangles the appendage until an unsuspecting fish swims up thinking it has found a meal—only to quickly learn that it has become the actual meal. Deep-Sea Fish Species Discovered