With commentary worthy of a World Cup match , researchers aboard the American enquiry vesselOkeanos Explorernarrate the unbelievable moment an Atlantic barracuda gets completely possess by a brute burrowed below the seafloor .
“ It ’s a race to the tunnel , ” announce one of the spectators . “ The snail is succeed … ”
striking music ensues before the benthic Pisces the Fishes strikes the magnanimous barracuda at lightning speed , followed by a flurry of deposit .
“ Oh ! Oh , geez ! ” abuse the startled viewers .
At first , scientists had a strong clock time identifying the burrow - dwelling fish , noting it resembled both anoffshore toadfishand awrymouth . Freezing the video recording milliseconds before the fire highlighted three light - emitting organs known asphotophores , helping identify the fish as an Atlantic Midshipman(Porichthys plectrodon).These wight are “ sit - and - hold off ” trap predator likeanglerfish , and they have some of the fastest strikes of any fish .
“ This singular video footage give us the rare opportunity to document a depredation issue in the deep sea , while highlighting the trophic link between beast that live in the water column with those that survive on the seafloor , ” say NOAA in astatement . investigator were able to identify the barracuda using its big eye and long straight jaws . They remark the fish appear like it was damaged before being eat , with a frayed mucus coat and strip of cutis dragging along the side of its organic structure .
The television was captured using a remotely operated vehicle ( ROV ) calledDeep Discovererduring adiveexploring the wall of an unnamed sub canyon 40 kilometer ( 25 miles ) off Pea Island on the Outer Banks of North Carolina . The ROV began its honkytonk at 511 meters ( 1,677 feet ) mysterious and scaled a canyon ridge , reaching a depth of around 328 meters ( 1,076 metrical unit ) . The squad go to five “ seep ” location where hydrocarbon - rich fluid like methane and sulfide outflow from the seafloor . These places are authoritative for rich - sea ecosystems as they fuel community that swear on bacteria to convince chemical to food for thought , a process called chemosynthesis . Less than a decade ago just twoseepswere place . Today , more than500have been recorded . Documenting the size of these bubbles allowed scientist to estimate how much methane they retain – larger bubbles hold methane longer and transport it further throughout the water column .
Scientists pull together samples , including a sediment sample with a snail and two quill dirt ball and water sampling for environmental DNA analysis . The next NOAA deep - ocean expedition is schedule to set forth July 12 , navigate from Norfolk , Virginia to Hamilton , Bermuda .
To see some more of the weird and wonderful mystifying - sea Pisces fleck on the expedition , clickhere .
