The Fish Boy

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sweetlips (by doug.deep)

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rhamphotheca:

Octopuses Mimic Specific Objects To Foil Predators

by Jennifer Welsh

Instead of blending in with the background, octopuses hide from predators by taking on the shape and color of specific objects in their environment, new research suggests.

“Octopuses are considered to be the master of camouflage. An octopus can change its color, pattern and texture of its skin in an instant,” study researcher Noam Josef, of Ben-Gurion University in Israel, told LiveScience. 

“By reproducing key features of well-chosen objects, the octopus can produce an effective camouflage that may fool a wide range of potential predators,” Josef and colleagues write online today (May 23) in the journal PLoS ONE. 

There are a few different ways that animals use camouflage to hide. Some adopt the color or texture of their surroundings, taking in the environment as a whole like, say, a mouse that evolves to have a lighter color because it lives on the beach...

(read more: Live Science)       (photo: Keren Levi)

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sand sharks

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n202_w1150 by BioDivLibrary on Flickr.

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ichthyologist:

Ornate Ghostpipefish (Solenostomus paradoxus)

Solenostomus paradoxus is the most commonly observed species in this genus and can be found through out the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific region from the Red Sea and all of the Indian Ocean across to the central Pacific. It is also found occasionally in temperate waters such as Sydney Harbour in Australia. They are generally found on coastal reefs or in estuaries amongst rubble and they are often found in pairs or small groups. They prefer sheltered waters and are often are found in areas that are susceptible to current.

Images David Harasti

ichthyologist:

Salps

Although salps appear similar to jellyfish because of the simple form of their bodies and their free-floating way of life, they are structurally most closely related to vertebrates, animals with true backbones.

Salps appear to have a form preliminary to vertebrates, and are used as a starting point in models of how vertebrates evolved. Scientists speculate that the tiny groups of nerves in salps are one of the first instances of a primitive nervous system, which eventually evolved into the more complex central nervous systems of vertebrates.

ichthyologist:

Black Ghost Knifefish (Apteronotus albifrons)

Native to the Amazon, these popular aquarium fish possess the ability to generate a weak electricity. Receptors are distributed over the length of their body and are used to sense and locate insect larvae.

The black ghost knifefish natively lives in fast moving, sandy bottom creeks in a tropical climate. South American natives believe that the ghosts of the departed take up residence in these fish,hence the name.

ichthyologist:

Dragon Knifefish (Parapteronotus hasemani)

Native to the Amazon, this relatively obscure fish is the only species of the genus Parapteronotus.

ichthyologist:

White Dragon Knifefish (Parapteronotus hasemani)

A rare color form of an obscure fish.

ichthyologist:

White Arowana

This platinum white arowana sold for $80 000, making it the most expensive aquarium fish. Its white coloration is an exceedingly rare mutation of the rather common arowana. Arowanas are not usually so pricey, but this platinum-colored mutation is unique in its own way. This fish is of the species Osteoglossum that are mostly found in South America.