Trivia question for May-13-2011

Carter liked the odd look of this guy so here it is being featured in our trivia.  Lets see how you do:  These are bottom-dwelling fishes, mostly found on the continental slope at depths between 660 ft and 3,300 ft. However, some New World genera live in much shallower coastal waters and river estuaries.

They are laterally compressed fishes similar in appearance to rays, with a large circular, triangular, or box-shaped head and a small tail. They belong to the family of bottom-dwelling, specially adapted fish. They are found in deep, lightless waters of the Atlantic, Indian and western Pacific Oceans.

So here are Carter’s questions:  What technique do these guys use to catch fish and tell us how the typically traverse along the ocean floor.  Also, tell us what these fish are called and where they can be found.

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Congratulations to Gina for getting the type of fish correct.  The dolled-up fish we featured is the Red-lipped batfish.The red-lipped batfish is an unusual looking fish found on the Galapagos Islands. Red-lipped batfish are closely related to rosy-lipped batfish which are found near Cocos Island off the coast of Costa Rica. Both fish species look and behave very similarly to one another.

Batfish are not good swimmers; they use their pectoral fins to “walk” on the ocean floor. When the batfish reaches adulthood, its dorsal fin becomes a single spine-like projection that lures prey which is how they catch their food.  Here is more on this particular species Red-Lipped Bat Fish, and here is more information on the general type of Bat-fish or Angler-fish to which they belong.

Thanks for playing along 😉