monsters washed ashore from tsunami
- Thread starter CentralMayhem
- Start date
do search of tropical fish keeping news theey got the scoop on them when they started getting sent around after the big wave
Deep sea fish in hoax tsunami email
An email containing photographs of bizarre-looking deep sea fish reportedly washed up on Thailand's Phuket beach after the tsunami actually contains images of fish collected during a study undertaken in 2003.
email
The email, which comes with the subject line "Phuket Deep Sea Creatures - Found At Seaside After Tsunami" was forwarded to Practical Fishkeeping by Nick Muhlemann of Sydney, Australia. It has been circulating rapidly and contains some stunning images of very odd-looking deep sea fish taken in museum wet laboratories.
The email says: "As everyone knows, the tsunami in Southeast Asia was devastating both in the loss of life and economically to the region.
"However now that the clean up is underway in the region, deep sea creatures that live too deep to be studied are being found scattered throughout the wreckage. These creatures were washed up on shore when the waves hit.
"Amazing what lives so far below the surface isn't it?"
Several of the images in the hoax email contain museum accession numbers which Practical Fishkeeping has checked. These show that the fish pictured were actually collected during a joint New Zealand and Australia Norfolk Ridge - Lord Howe Rise Biodiversity Voyage (NORFANZ) undertaken between May and June 2003, and weren't collected in Phuket as stated in the email.
According to NORFANZ, the fish pictured were captured during a series of over 150 deep water trawls in depths of up to 2000m.
email
The study found a number of new species, including a comical looking Psychrolutes species, affectionately named "Mr Blobby".
What are the creatures in the hoax email?
> Stone crab, Neolithodes sp.
A male specimen of a new species of deep sea crab from the Neolithodes genus. This one has eight legs, but two of them are poorly developed and are tucked away at the rear-end of the crab. The red colour of this crab actually appears black at great depths.
email> Coffinfish, Chaunax sp. A
An undescribed species of pink, flabby bottom-dwelling angler fish growing to about 30cm in length. This new species has stumpy pectoral fins which are used to "walk" along the seabed. It's a predatory fish that sits around waiting for other fish to swim over the top of it, before engulfing them in its capacious mouth.
email> Prickly Shark, Oxynotus bruniensis
This very unusual high-backed shark has very prickly skin due to its very advanced dermal denticles. This species has an enormous oily liver which is believed to be one reason for its peculiar shape. The enlarged liver provides oil used to make the fish more neutrally bouyant.
email> Fangtooth, Anoplogaster cornuta
This species only grows to about 15cm but must be one of the toothiest fish known. Oddly, this is a midwater species and feeds on other fish. The teeth are so big that they slot into special sheeths either side of the fish's brain when the mouth closes.
email> Umbrella mouth gulper eel, Eurypharynx pelicanoides
This species gets its generic name from the latin for "all throat". It feeds on shrimps by engulfing them and the water around them. It has a light emitting organ on its tail.
More details on these fish can be found on the Australian Museum's website.
More at: NORFANZ (Thu January 13, 2005, 6:46 pm)
An email containing photographs of bizarre-looking deep sea fish reportedly washed up on Thailand's Phuket beach after the tsunami actually contains images of fish collected during a study undertaken in 2003.
The email, which comes with the subject line "Phuket Deep Sea Creatures - Found At Seaside After Tsunami" was forwarded to Practical Fishkeeping by Nick Muhlemann of Sydney, Australia. It has been circulating rapidly and contains some stunning images of very odd-looking deep sea fish taken in museum wet laboratories.
The email says: "As everyone knows, the tsunami in Southeast Asia was devastating both in the loss of life and economically to the region.
"However now that the clean up is underway in the region, deep sea creatures that live too deep to be studied are being found scattered throughout the wreckage. These creatures were washed up on shore when the waves hit.
"Amazing what lives so far below the surface isn't it?"
Several of the images in the hoax email contain museum accession numbers which Practical Fishkeeping has checked. These show that the fish pictured were actually collected during a joint New Zealand and Australia Norfolk Ridge - Lord Howe Rise Biodiversity Voyage (NORFANZ) undertaken between May and June 2003, and weren't collected in Phuket as stated in the email.
According to NORFANZ, the fish pictured were captured during a series of over 150 deep water trawls in depths of up to 2000m.
The study found a number of new species, including a comical looking Psychrolutes species, affectionately named "Mr Blobby".
What are the creatures in the hoax email?
> Stone crab, Neolithodes sp.
A male specimen of a new species of deep sea crab from the Neolithodes genus. This one has eight legs, but two of them are poorly developed and are tucked away at the rear-end of the crab. The red colour of this crab actually appears black at great depths.
email> Coffinfish, Chaunax sp. A
An undescribed species of pink, flabby bottom-dwelling angler fish growing to about 30cm in length. This new species has stumpy pectoral fins which are used to "walk" along the seabed. It's a predatory fish that sits around waiting for other fish to swim over the top of it, before engulfing them in its capacious mouth.
email> Prickly Shark, Oxynotus bruniensis
This very unusual high-backed shark has very prickly skin due to its very advanced dermal denticles. This species has an enormous oily liver which is believed to be one reason for its peculiar shape. The enlarged liver provides oil used to make the fish more neutrally bouyant.
email> Fangtooth, Anoplogaster cornuta
This species only grows to about 15cm but must be one of the toothiest fish known. Oddly, this is a midwater species and feeds on other fish. The teeth are so big that they slot into special sheeths either side of the fish's brain when the mouth closes.
email> Umbrella mouth gulper eel, Eurypharynx pelicanoides
This species gets its generic name from the latin for "all throat". It feeds on shrimps by engulfing them and the water around them. It has a light emitting organ on its tail.
More details on these fish can be found on the Australian Museum's website.
More at: NORFANZ (Thu January 13, 2005, 6:46 pm)
so i now cocure bull**** on you or your brothers part. i duno who ****ed who but someones ****ed someone and it sure does stink awfuly bad!
why dont you ****ing morons read the begining post. it said he GOT them not TOOK them. you guys are so stupid. read up and make sure u read the right stuff, dont interpret it the way your slow ass brains want to see it, READ. And this is called MFK right. Well i hadnt seen the pics and my cousin who went to do relief in the tsunami did send the pics and i figured they looked pretty monster to me. so you are all welcome and i love you all very much.
and daddyo72, you are an embarrassment to your mamma. READ, then reply, you pissed ME off tuff guy. and by the way "my fish can beat your fish up" hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
and I am disappointed in u 2 midas. you usually read the post and reply accordingly. so since you have all failed to read the post and understand it, i will just say that you guys are all ungrateful, i mean how many times have you seen the same pic of a midas or the infamous red dovii. gimme a break, im sure not every MFK member has seen em and thats why i posted em. at least i didnt say he was the collector or had em in a tank like some of you guys would have probably said. try to keep your mind open and listen to what people are saying, not what you want to hear. hopefully i didnt make anyone else mad enough to continue this war of words. daddyo72hahahahahahahahahahahaha
