The Black Swallower And Its Characteristics
The black swallow is a species of fish in the order Perciformes and the family Chiasmodontidae . It inhabits the dark depths of the sea and its scientific name is Chiasmodon niger .
The black swallow feeds on almost any other animal that crosses its path, regardless of its size.
For this reason, most of the captured specimens of this species rose to the surface because they had ingested excessively large prey. This caused them to die when their distended stomach ruptured.
Characteristics and habitat of the black swallower
The black swallow is a marine fish that lives in the mesopelagic and bathypelagic zones, that is, between 700 and 2,750 meters deep.
It is present in a large part of the world, as it can be found in the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans, with tropical areas being the places where it can be found more easily.
Its body is elongated and dark black. It can measure up to 25 centimeters and has no scales. Its jaw is large and extremely flexible. Your teeth are made up of many teeth with large canines.
The chest fins are long. In addition, it also has two dorsal fins, the second longer than the first.
The most notable feature of this fish is its stomach, which can expand more than twice its normal size.
Thanks to this, it is relatively easy for him to swallow whole fish, larger than he is. Their tusks can be more than twice their length and 10 times their weight.
It is able to swallow these large fish due to the extension of its jaw and stomach which, after digestion, returns to normal size. Sometimes the black swallow swallows fish so big they burst its stomach.
In the wide biological variety of planet Earth there are many other species of fish with the ability to swallow large prey for their size. However, the black swallower trumps them all.
Feeding and reproduction
He usually feeds on other fish much bigger than himself. It swallows its prey by opening its mouth and pushing the prey into the stomach, which can be enlarged depending on the size of the prey.
The black swallow can eat other fish that are 10 times its size, which is quite surprising for such a small fish.
All of this makes your prey’s digestion last for weeks. For this reason, he remains vulnerable for a long time, as his stomach is too stretched out and can be ruptured by an animal more deadly than himself.
Black swallower females are much larger than males. To breed, the female is held by the male thanks to its large jaw.
Its reproduction is oviparous, that is, through the production of eggs, which are dragged by the sea currents. Black swallower chicks acquire their characteristic color as they grow.
Main image source: https://www.australiangeographic.com.au
