Sunfish are all warm-blooded like mammals – lagranepoca

Pez Luna (Opah) mammals hot as blood, allowing it to be an agile predator in the depths (NOAA)

New research revealed details of the life of the sunfish in the depths of the oceans, also called Opah fish.

“ is the first fish in steaming blood that circulates the blood through your body like mammals and birds , which is a competitive advantage in the cold ocean depths, “the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) May 12.

It is a silvery colored fish fins, rounded about a meter in diameter. NOAA scientists compare it to the size of a large car tire, which circulates in the oceans of the world, usually hundreds of feet below the surface, in cold water and in low light.

“Nothing rapidly flapping their large pectoral fins through the water”, unlike cold-blooded fish occupying depths and move slowly to conserve energy.

Agility sunfish allows you to pursue their prey, instead of remaining sangrefrçia choose ambush.

“The constant fluttering fins fish moon warms your body, speeding up your metabolism, movement and their reaction times, “said marine biologist Nicholas Wegner of Southwest Fisheries Science Center NOAA in La Jolla, Calif., lead author of the new study.

” Before this discovery I had the impression it was a slow-moving fish, as most fish in cold environments, “Wegner said. “But because it can warm your body, turns out to be a very active predator chasing their prey like squid agile and can migrate over long distances.”

In fact the gills of fish Moon show an unusual design said Wegner, where the hot blood of the center of the body helps warm the cold blood entering the respiratory surface gills where it absorbs oxygen.

The unique location of heat exchange within these gills allowed almost the entire body of the fish to maintain a high temperature, known as the endotherm, even in the cold depths. “Similar to a car radiator,” said the scientist.

“ never before seen anything like this in the gills of a fish ” Wegner said.

In turn Francisco Werner, director of Southwest Fisheries Science Center , noted that “findings like this helps us to understand the role of the species in the marine ecosystem.” About the study he added that “really shows how much we learn from basic research in the water, thanks to the curious scientists doing good questions about why this fish seemed to be different.”