The moon, or Lampris fish is the first warm-blooded fish discovered by scientists. The property is considered an advantage to living in the cold depths of the oceans, according to a study published yesterday.
The Lampris, a fat oval fish that can reach two meters in length, has small vessels blood in their gills that allow it to transport the hot blood from the inside of your body.
These individuals covered and heated vessels other veins near the gills, at the exact place where the fish breathes.
The internal heating system allows the brain to stay warm, in good condition, and maintain their active muscles to swim faster and catch prey.
Thanks to sensors installed on sunfish in the West Coast, the researchers found that the average temperature of the muscles was “about 5 ° above the water in which they swim, between 45 and 300 meters below the surface,” says study published in Science .
Most fish have cold blood so discover that a fish is able to give warmth to her body as do mammals or birds represented a big surprise to scientists.
“Before this discovery thought was a pretty slow fish, as several fish swimming in cold environments,” said lead author of the study, Nicholas Wegner, the Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA).
“But thanks to the fact that it can warm your body, is a very active agile predator hunting prey like squid, and can migrate over long distances “he added.
Other fish such as tuna or sharks can heat certain parts of your body to improve its performance in the cold depths, but their internal organs remain cold, forcing them to climb to waters shallower for warmth.
With its red fins flapping permanently, sunfish remains hot when the water cools. It also has capable of fat around the gills, heart and muscle tissues to keep hot bodies.
“We have never seen anything like it on the gills of other fish,” Wegner said. “It’s an interesting innovation of these animals that gives them a competitive advantage,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment