Weird Wonderful Wildlife #11 – The Stoplight Loosejaw Fish

Although it looks like a monster from an H.R. Geiger inspired horror film, the stoplight loosejaw is really just an enigmatic creature that has adapted well to its environment. This fish lives at depths ranging from 7,000 to 13,000 feet, which isn’t deep enough to be in the abyssal zone, but it’s close. Unlike other members of the Stormiidae family, the stoplight loosejaw doesn’t have to surface to feed because it has adapted to the dark in two ways. The first is that their lower jaw is 1/4 the length of their entire body – it hangs open most of the time (hence the name loosejaw), which allows for effortless ingestion of zooplankton. The second adaptation that makes them excellent hunters is the red and green photophore they have beneath each eye (hence the name stoplight). Most deep sea creatures cant see these colors, which gives this fish a strategic hunting advantage, since the photophores allow them to see in the dark and find prey before it sees them. The stoplight loosejaw fish may not be the prettiest fish, but when it comes to thriving in an inhospitable environment, they are proof that even in the depths of the sea, wildlife will find a way to thrive.

Source:

a-z-animals.com/animals/stoplight-loosejaw