Deep Sea Freak of the Week!

Provided for your amusement by Shauna:

Red Lipped Batfish (Ogcocephalus darwini)

Also known as the Galapagos batfish, this oddball seafloor dweller is a poor swimmer that spends an abundance of time “walking” on its pectoral fins. In addition to its freaky walking ability, its body is covered in gnarled lumps, so it’s no wonder this warm water species looks like it’s wearing lipstick—how else could it get a date?

When the batfish reaches adulthood, its dorsal fin becomes a single spine-like projection that lures prey.

And for this week only, we have a bonus sea freak of the week (I’m unsure as to it’s natural depth)

I don’t have commentary for this creature (since I’m not sure what it’s actual name is). The only thing I know is that it’s not a fish …

This week’s freak is the Turritopsis nutricula, an apparently immortal species of jellyfish.

Jellyfish usually die after propagating; however, T. nutricula has developed the ability to return to a polyp state. The ability to reverse the life cycle is probably unique in the animal kingdom, and allows the jellyfish to bypass death, rendering T. nutricula biologically immortal.

Only one other instance of biological immortality is known in the animal kingdom; Hydra - simple fresh-water animals.   It has often been assumed that hydras are unique among animals in that they do not undergo senescence (aging), and so are biologically immortal. Evidence for this was provided in 1998.

This week’s freak is the narwhal (Monodon monoceros), a medium-sized, tusked whale that lives year-round in the Arctic:

Narwhal Facts

• The species’ name is based on the Old Norse word nár, meaning “corpse”, in reference to the animal’s greyish, mottled pigmentation, like that of a drowned sailor.

• Some medieval Europeans believed narwhal tusks to be the horns from the legendary unicorn. As these horns were considered to have magic powers, such as the ability to cure poison and melancholia, Vikings and other northern traders were able to sell them for many times their weight in gold.

• The most broadly accepted theory for the role of the tusk is as a secondary sexual characteristic, similar to the mane of a lion or the tail feathers of a peacock.

• When on their wintering grounds, the narwhals make some of the deepest dives ever recorded for a marine mammal, diving to at least 800 meters over 15 times per day with many dives reaching 1,500 meters. Dives to these depths last around 25 minutes, including the time spent at the bottom and the transit down and back from the surface.