Pacific viperfish animal Type Fishes Maximum Size 30 cm(12 inches) Depth 200–1,500 m (655–5,000 feet) Habitat Midwater Diet Small crustaceans, chaetognaths, and small fishes Range Northern Pacific Ocean About A big mouth isn’t an issue for this toothy predator.Sleek, silvery, and adorned with modest bioluminescence along their bellies, Pacific viperfish (Chauliodus macouni) make fearsome predators for small fish and shrimp. They are among the countless marine animals that migrate each night from the ocean’s depths towards shallower surface waters to dine.The Pacific viperfish’s needle-like teeth are the key to their hunting strategy. The two front fangs, which jut up from the fish’s bottom jaw past its own eyes, are especially dramatic. When viperfish unhinge their jaws, their mouths can open wide enough to engulf prey, while the teeth form a cage to prevent an escape. Gallery Video Clips Publications Choy, C.A., S.H.D. Haddock, and B.H. Robison. 2017. Deep pelagic food web structure as revealed by in situ feeding observations. Proc Biol Sci, 284: 1–10. http://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.2116 Christiansen, S., H.J. Hoving, F. Schütte, H. Hauss, J. Karstensen, A. Körtzinger, S.M. Schröder, L. Stemmann, B. Christiansen, M. Picheral, P. Brandt, B. Robison, R. Koch, and R. Kiko. 2018. Particulate matter flux interception in oceanic mesoscale eddies by the polychaete Poeobius sp.. Limnology and Oceanography, 63: 2093–2109. https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.10926 Francis, W.R., M.L. Powers, and S.H.D. Haddock. 2016. Bioluminescence spectra from three deep-sea polychaete worms. Marine Biology, 163: 2–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00227-016-3028-2 Robison, B.H. 2004. Deep pelagic biology. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 300: 245–264. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2004.01.012 Robison, B., R.E. Sherlock, and K. Reisenbichler. 2010. The bathypelagic community of Monterey Canyon. Deep-Sea Research Part II, 16: 1551–1556. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2010.02.021 Uttal, L., and K.R. Buck. 1996. Dietary study of the midwater polychaete Poeobius meseres in Monterey Bay, California. Marine Biology, 125: 333–343. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00346314 News Sorry, no results were found.
Choy, C.A., S.H.D. Haddock, and B.H. Robison. 2017. Deep pelagic food web structure as revealed by in situ feeding observations. Proc Biol Sci, 284: 1–10. http://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.2116
Christiansen, S., H.J. Hoving, F. Schütte, H. Hauss, J. Karstensen, A. Körtzinger, S.M. Schröder, L. Stemmann, B. Christiansen, M. Picheral, P. Brandt, B. Robison, R. Koch, and R. Kiko. 2018. Particulate matter flux interception in oceanic mesoscale eddies by the polychaete Poeobius sp.. Limnology and Oceanography, 63: 2093–2109. https://doi.org/10.1002/lno.10926
Francis, W.R., M.L. Powers, and S.H.D. Haddock. 2016. Bioluminescence spectra from three deep-sea polychaete worms. Marine Biology, 163: 2–12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00227-016-3028-2
Robison, B.H. 2004. Deep pelagic biology. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 300: 245–264. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2004.01.012
Robison, B., R.E. Sherlock, and K. Reisenbichler. 2010. The bathypelagic community of Monterey Canyon. Deep-Sea Research Part II, 16: 1551–1556. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2010.02.021
Uttal, L., and K.R. Buck. 1996. Dietary study of the midwater polychaete Poeobius meseres in Monterey Bay, California. Marine Biology, 125: 333–343. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00346314