video capture of a spiderfish [ Bathypterois]

enjoy :

vid link

appologies - no y-tube embedable clip could be found

provisionally identified as a Bathypterois

alive and well off the coast of brazil at 1440m thats nearly 1 mile below the surface -

this type of fish is not a new find - even though it is rarely found abouve 1km depth - though i think seeing it alive and swiming is cool

more info on the family tripod fishes

At first I have to admit as soon as I saw SPIDER fish.....I had a serious case of the heebie geebies considering I think that anything with more than 4 legs should be burned with fire but after watching the video I have to say its kind of cute and not so spider like (hate spiders). Kind of reminds me of one of the walkers from War of the Worlds except it has a fish body.

S&F for not creeping me out

Nice find!

That is an elegant looking fish.

Looks CGI and why is there four different shadows? o.O

They should just call that thing a tripod fish. It looks nothing like a spider.

Originally posted by PunchingBag80
They should just call that thing a tripod fish. It looks nothing like a spider.

They do!

I thought it was something new but it was just a tripod fish.

Originally posted by AzazeI
Looks CGI and why is there four different shadows? o.O

edit on 16-8-2011 by AzazeI because: (no reason given)

Because there are four different light sources......

You're kidding though..........right?


Anyway, i was watching the vid waiting on it to 'land' on it's tripod, and it DID....

So now it's got me thinking.....Why?

What are the legs for?.....Is it avoiding predators along the ocean's floor?...Is it a tool for feeding FROM the ocean floor?

The evolutionary 'why' has got me puzzled.......

cool thread...

Originally posted by OneEleven
What are the legs for?.....Is it avoiding predators along the ocean's floor?...Is it a tool for feeding FROM the ocean floor?

...feeding on microscopic particles would be my bet but i'm just guessing... very cool critter...

Originally posted by OneEleven
What are the legs for?.....Is it avoiding predators along the ocean's floor?...Is it a tool for feeding FROM the ocean floor?

Does this fish sleep? Maybe it uses this tripod to float still while resting to avoid predators who move in on the slightest movement (sight, vibrations, etc).

Cool fish though.

It uses the fins to sit on the floor and the two fins in front act as sensing organs. The fish will use the fins to flip things like shrimp upwards towards its mouth.

reply to post by ignorant_ape


Very cool fish
Here is another video of this strange fish.

reply to post by OneEleven


I was thinking it uses it's tripod to conserve energy and stay off the bottom of the sea floor were it's possibly more dangerous.

Originally posted by OneEleven

Originally posted by AzazeI
Looks CGI and why is there four different shadows? o.O

edit on 16-8-2011 by AzazeI because: (no reason given)

Because there are four different light sources......

You're kidding though..........right?


Anyway, i was watching the vid waiting on it to 'land' on it's tripod, and it DID....

So now it's got me thinking.....Why?

What are the legs for?.....Is it avoiding predators along the ocean's floor?...Is it a tool for feeding FROM the ocean floor?

The evolutionary 'why' has got me puzzled.......

cool thread...

Actually I thought it looked kinda CGI as well, when you first look at it. It just looks that way, I'm not doubting the footage, just saying.

reply to post by ignorant_ape


That is just the coolest thing. I swear there are some of the coolest animals under the ocean.