Can you name this Creature?

nao

Week 19th – 25th August, 2013

How did you do with last week’s Mystery Creature? This unusual looking animal is called a red lipped bat fish (Ogcocephalus darwini) from the Galapagos Islands.

Image source: Wikimedia Commons 

This striking looking fish has a number of unusual features…

  • this fish is not a very good swimmer and more often will “walk” along the sea floor using adapted fins
  • it tends to hunt like the angler fish… luring it’s prey using an organ, called an illicium, that it extends from its head
  • it has those amazing red lips… possibly to attract a mate although their exact purpose is unclear

nao

Science blogger and writer; Owner of Dr. How's Science Wows; Mother of three junior scientists who have taught me that to be a great scientist you need to look at life through the eyes of a child!