Jumat, 28 Oktober 2011

How Spooky Deep-Sea Creatures

Source: Livescience.com

Crimson Jellyfish
Credit: Edith A. Widder |
Operation Deep Scope 2005 Exploration | NOAA-OE | NOAAA deep-sea jellyfish, the blood-red Atolla wyvillei emits a spooky blue light when it is threatened by a predator. Its bioluminescent light flashes in a hypnotic, rotating pinwheel pattern around its body.
Eerie Anglerfish
Credit: Jared Benney | flickr.com
The terrifyingly toothy anglerfish became a common occurrence in little kids' nightmares ever since it chased Nemo and Dory in Pixar's "Finding Nemo." To attract prey, the scary-looking fish uses a bioluminescent "fishing pole" that hangs just above and in front of its toothy face. The lure is actually a piece of dorsal spine packed with millions of glow-in-the-dark bacteria.
Saber-Toothed Viperfish
Credit:David Csepp | NMFS/AKFSC/ABL | NOAA
The fittingly named viperfish has long, needle-like teeth and hinged lower jaws. This deepwater monster prefers warm tropical waters, where it sinks its fang-like teeth into prey, immobilizing them.
Monstrous Megamouth Shark
Credit: NOAA
The megamouth shark, shown here, is an extremely rare species of deepwater shark. The megamouth swims with its mouth wide open, catching and sucking in fish and krill as it glides along. Its massive mouth extends past its eyes and is equipped with about 50 rows of small, sharp teeth on each jaw.
Halloween Holothurians
Credit:Nikita Tiunov | shutterstock
Not all species of sea cucumbers (Holothurians) look like, well, cucumbers. Some species, which have swaying branch-like tentacles on one end of their long bodies, more closely resemble a chubby stalk of broccoli. Above is a colorful shot of a purple and orange-colored sea cucumber with its tentacles spread out.
The Blackdragon Fish
Credit:Dr. Julian Finn, Museum Victoria
Another bottom-dwelling bioluminescent creature, the blackdragon fish has light-emitting organs arranged all along its belly to fool predators by changing its silhouette. The spooky fish also has bioluminescencant "flashlights" next to each eye that it can flash on while on the look-out for prey or to signal potential mates. As you can see in the above photo, the blackdragon fish is so toothy that even its tongue has razor-sharp teeth.
Armored Searobin
Credit:bio.umass.edu
Found in deep tropical waters around the world, the coral-red armored searobins have bodies encased in heavy scales. They also possess prominent spines, with barbels on their chins for luring in unsuspecting prey.
Vampire Squid
Credit:2004 MBARI
Despite its terrifying name, the vampire squid is relatively tiny, reaching a maximum of 6 inches (15.4 cm) in length. It gets its name from its red coloring, glowing, bioluminescent eyes and the cloak-like webbing that connects its eight arms. Although it has similarities with both squid and octopuses, it is actually not a squid but in its own separate family, of which it is the last remaining member; as such, the animal is referred to as a "living fossil." Its scientific name, Vampyroteuthis infernalis, literally translates to "vampire squid from hell." Yikes.
Frightening Fangtooth
Credit: Joel E. Van Noord
Named for its long, vampire-like teeth the fangtooth fish inhabits the extreme deep waters of the ocean. In proportion to its body size, it has some of the largest teeth of any fish. Although it may look scary, the endangered fangtooth only grows to about 6 inches (16 cm) in length.
Coffinfish
Credit:New Zealand-American Submarine
Ring of Fire 2005 Exploration | NOAA Vents Program The cryptically named coffinfish more resembles a colorful autumn gourd than a casket. The scowling fish can often be found resting on the bottom of the ocean, using its tiny fins like legs to prop itself up.
Skeletal Jellyfish
Credit: NOAA Ocean Explorer
The deep-sea Aequorea, or crystal jellyfish, has a translucent body and long tentacles that give it a ghostly appearance. A jellyfish's tentacles, which trail after its body, can be less than an inch to120 feet (30.48 meters) long.v
Life In the Shadowy Depths
Credit: U.S. Antarctic Program Photo Library
From frightful fangtooth fish and vampire squid to coffinfish and spiky, sinister sea urchins, plenty of strange and scary creatures lurk in the dark, cold depths of the ocean ... Be brave and dive on in!
Scary Stargazer
Credit: Levent Konuk | shutterstock
This frightening fish is charmingly named stargazer, because its eyes are situated on top of its head. The fish burrows its flat body underneath the sand, hiding itself so that it is still able to peek out. It then hunkers down waiting to strike if prey swims by. Although many stargazers dwell in shallow water, Northern stargazers live in the deep waters off the Atlantic Coast.

Makhluk Aneh Ditemukan di Palung Mariana

Yunanto Wiji Utomo | A. Wisnubrata | Senin, 24 Oktober 2011 | 09:10 WIB
From: Kompas.com
KOMPAS.com — Ilmuwan dari Scripps Institute of Oceanography di University California San Diego menemukan makhluk hidup aneh di Palung Mariana, bagian lautan paling dalam di Bumi. Makhluk hidup aneh tersebut berupa amoeba raksasa, secara ilmiah disebut xenophyophores, ditemukan di kedalaman sekitar 10,5 km di bawah permukaan laut.


"Amoeba raksasa yang mengagumkan itu bisa beradaptasi dengan sangat baik di lingkungan ekstrem, tetapi pada saat yang sama sangat rentan dan tidak banyak dipelajari," kata Lisa Levin, biolog Laut Dalam yang juga Direktur Scripps Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation.

Levin menjelaskan, xenophyophores adalah salah satu individu satu sel terbesar, kadang bisa tumbuh hingga 10 cm. Studi terkini mengindikasikan, dengan menjebak partikel dalam air, xenophyophores bisa mengakumulasikan timbal, uranium, dan merkuri sehingga dianggap resisten terhadap logam berat.

Diketahui, xenophyophores sangat cocok hidup di tempat yang gelap, dingin, dan bertekanan tinggi seperti di kedalaman lautan. "Identifikasi sel raksasa di lingkungan laut terdalam ini membuka habitat baru bagi studi biodiversitas dan adaptasi lingkungan ekstrem," kata Levin seperti dikutip Foxnews, Jumat (21/10/2011).

Untuk bisa menemukan makhluk hidup ini, Levin bekerja sama dengan Eric Berkenpas dan Graham Wilhelm, insinyur pencitraan daerah sulit terjangkau dari National Geographic Society. Mereka menggunakan peralatan yang disebut "dropcams", terdiri dari kamera HD dan lampu yang berada di dalam bahan gelas. Peralatan ini mampu bertahan di lingkungan laut yang bertekanan tinggi.

Pohon Evolusi Mollusca Berhasil Dibuat

Yunanto Wiji Utomo | Tri Wahono | Jumat, 28 Oktober 2011 | 21:31 WI
From: Kompas.com

KOMPAS.com - Casey Dunn, pakar evolusi dari Brown University, AS, berhasil mengembangkan pohon evolusi mollusca atau hewan bertubuh lunak. Pohon evolusi adalah suatu bagan yang menunjukkan relasi antara satu spesies dengan spesies lainnya secara evolusioner.
Pohon evolusi mollusca yang berhasil dikembangkan itu menjadi gambaran kekerabatan mollusca pertama yang paling lengkap dan dipublikasikan di Jurnal Nature. Untuk mengembangkan pohon evolusi itu, Cunn mengambil sampel beragam jenis mollusca. Selanjutnya, tim menganalisa susunan gen pada tiap spesies dan membandingkannya satu sama lain.

Hasil studi ini telah menempatkan golongan mollusca laut dalam yang disebut Monoplacophora. Jenis ini sebelumnya diduga punah hingga ditemukan pada tahun 1952 di pantai Meksiko. Studi jenis Monoplacophora dilakukan dengan spesimen yang ditangkap selama ekspedisi tahun 2007 oleh tim yang dipimpin oleh Nerida Wilson, juga tergabung dalam penelitian ini.

Setelah ekstraksi DNA, tim mendapatkan hasil bahwa Monoplacophora memiliki kekerabatan dengan grup mollusca yang disebut Cephalopoda, meliputi gurita dan cumi-cumi. "Cephalopoda sangat berbeda dengan mollusca lain, sangat sulit dimengerti bagaimana mereka bisa memiliki kekerabatan. Mereka berbeda dengan yang lainnya," ungkap Dunn.

Cephalopoda secara umum adalah jenis mollusca yang memiliki kaki di kepala dan tidak memiliki cangkang. Beberapa cephalopoda memiliki kantung tinta dan tentakel.

"Sekarang kita mengetahui bahwa ada dua grup paling berbeda dalam mollusca ternyata bersaudara," ungkap Dunn seperti dikutip situs ScienceDaily, Rabu (26/10/2011).

Berdasarkan hasil penelitian, ilmuwan juga mengungkapkan bahwa spesies yang tergabung dalam grup Cephalopoda atau Monoplacophora mungkin adalah nenek moyang mollusca, meski belum diketahui jenisnya.

Penelitian ini merupakan hasil kolaborasi dari banyak pihak. Selain Brown University, pihak lain yang terlibat adalah Harvard University dan Australia Museum.