Recently, an elusive "shape-shifting" fish was sighted off the coast of California. Many experts are amazed at this sighting, as the whalefish is rarely observed closely. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) tweeted a footage of a whalefish on the 6th of August.
The research institute stated, "A whalefish was spotted last week with ROV Doc Ricketts. This whalefish (order Cetomimiformes) was encountered by Steven Haddock's team on their R/V Western Flyer expedition 2,013 meters deep offshore of Monterey Bay."
In the video, a bright orange fish is seen swimming in the unilluminated depths of the ocean. A commenter on Twitter wanted to know if there are actually bright orange like that or it's just the lighting. MBARI responded by saying they are really that color.
Over the last 34 years, the institute has only spotted the deep-sea fish 18 times, MBARI added in a follow-up tweet.
They said: "Whalefish have rarely been seen alive in the deep, so many mysteries remain regarding these remarkable fish. With each deep-sea dive, we uncover more mysteries and solve others."
The Newest Specimen
This elusive marine creature continues to baffle experts. The Smithsonian reported in 2010 that the whalefish was initially found in 1895. As one might have projected, scientists gave their newest specimen a name that suits its "whale-like appearance."
But the animal comes in three distinct forms: bignose fish, tapetails, and whalefish. Since its three forms all appear extremely distinct from one another, scientists have long thought that each form is among a distinct zoological family altogether.
Researchers found the tapetail in 1956, this form was given its name because of its "long, streamer-like tail." The creature possessed a "large upturned mouth" and it inhabited close to the ocean's surface unlike the whalefish.
Scientists took 120 tapetail samples, but as further research went on they discovered that all the samples they collected were larvae. Naturally, scientists wanted to have the knowledge of where they could locate the matured form of the creature.
The Study
Scientists included bignose fish in the formal list of deep-sea creatures a decade later. But, the whole 65 specimens gotten were male. Similar to whalefish, this creature could possibly be seen in the ocean's depths. On its snout is an uncommon nose-like bulge with big organs for smell, it also has an immovable jaw, said the institute.
In 1989, Smithsonian also reported that researchers started evaluating the whalefish again.
In their 2010 article, the institute said: "An Australian scientist studied all the whalefish specimens collected so far-a total of over 500 from all over the world. Every adult was a female. Where were the males?"
The scientists didn't confirm that all three fish were truly the same species until 2009.
Since these fish are hardly seen, not so much is known about where they live and their family tree. Sightings like the MBARI made are thrilling and give researchers the chance to get more knowledge about these elusive creatures.
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