Fauna Fabula: Unreal Animals in the Real World

Long-nosed Chimera (Harriotta raleighana)

Biologists have gone to great lengths to describe the long-nosed chimaera, whose kind can reach five feet in length. Its stiletto-like nose reminded one of “the nose contour of a supersonic jet aircraft.” Others have dubbed it “rat-tail,” for obvious reasons. In South Africa, it is known as the “ghost shark,” though it is only distantly related to sharks. A touch of the venomous spine on the first dorsal fin can kill a person.

Chimeras are primitive fishes and are closely related to sharks. Chimeras have scaleless skin, and eggs that are encapsulated in horny packages. The long snout is a sensory organ, and as such is well-endowed with both chemical and electrical sensors. It is believed that these senses are used to detect prey and/or mates. When the latter resource is acquired, male long-nose chimeras hold onto their prize with claspers on their heads, which grasp the female’s pectoral fin during mating.

Boxer Crab or Pom-pom Crab (Lybia tesselata)

They are notable for their mutualism with sea anemones, which grow on their claws for defense. In return, the anemones find new places to eat and mate. It rarely puts the anemones down and totes them through life.This is how the crab got its name. As it walks along, it looks as if it is carrying boxing gloves or pom-poms. The bonding with the anemone is not required for survival, however, and boxer crabs have frequently been known to live without them, sometimes substituting other organisms such as sponges and corals.

Blobfish (Psychrolutes marcidus)

The Blob fish are found at a depth of around 800 meters which would make life impossible for most fish as at that depth the pressure is roughly eighty times more than at sea level. The reason that the Blob fish can survive at such a depth is also what gives it such a unique look (some would say ugly), foregoing a gas bladder (found in most fish to keep them buoyant) the Blob fish is almost entirely comprised of gelatinous substance, this keeps the Blob fish from sinking as the density of the goo is less than that of then sea where they are found.

When under water the Blob fish has an comical, almost human looking face however if taken out of water the Blob fish will die after a short while and is gelatinous body will dry out and shrivel no longer resembling the typical way people think of Blob fish.

Deep Sea Anglerfish (Linophryne sp.) larva

Frilled Shark (Chlamydoselachus anguineus)

A long, skinny shark that look like an eel, are among the oldest living species of sharks. Fossil evidence frilled sharks date to 95 million years ago. Some paleontologists suggest it is a living cladodont shark, a shark that existed as long ago as 380 million years. Frilled sharks have a long, thin body followed by a long tail fin. It has six gill slits which are covered with the frilly skin that gives it its name. Gestation is long, although it is not known how long, with estimates running from 1 to as long as 3.5 years!

A newly identified species is in waters around Africa.

Frog Crab (Lyreidus tridentatus)

Raninidae is a family of unusual crabs named for their frog-like appearance, taken by most scientists to be quite primitive. These animals closely resemble the (unrelated) mole crabs, due to parallel evolution or convergent evolution. In both groups, the claws are modified into tools for digging, and the body is a rounded shape that is easy to bury in sand. Unlike most other true crabs, the abdomens of raninids are not curled under the cephalothorax. The edible Spanner crab is also part of this family.

In this image, the face of the crab is located on the upper portion.

White Knight (Acanthonotozoma cristatum)

Giant Isopod (Bathynomus giganteus)

These creatures are crustaceans (a mix between a crab and a shrimp). They live in the deep and cold waters of the Atlantic ocean. The species upon which the generitype is based, is the largest known isopod and is the one most often referred to by the common name “giant isopod”. The species are noted for resemblance to the common woodlouse or pill bug, to which they are related. When a significant source of food is encountered, giant isopods gorge themselves to the point of compromising their locomotive ability.

Red Bull (Acanthonotozoma inflatum)

An amphipod crustacean found mainly in the North-West Atlantic ocean. Amphipods are small crustaceans that typically have a laterally flattened body and fourteen limbs. They form part of the zooplankton. The image below displays Acanthonotozoma inflatum feeding on Bryozoa.

Bryozoa are colonial animals that filter particles of food from the water with tiny tentacles.

Sea Butterfly (Limacina helicina)

A keystone species of mesozooplankton in Arctic pelagic ecosystems. Limacina helicina has been recognised as a species complex comprising two sub-species and at least five forms. They produce large mucus webs to filter-feed on phytoplankton but also small zooplankton. They eat the web with the captured prey and then re-reproduce a web net. Its main diet also involves the juvenile specimen of its own species (cannibalism).

Limacina helicina is protandric hermaphrodite.They will begin as males that are smaller at sizes of 4-5 mmand then change to females, which are larger than 5 mm.