Meet the manefish: A rare and intriguing little deep-sea fish with dance moves

Описание: In almost four decades of deep-sea exploration, MBARI’s remotely operated vehicles have completed more than 7,300 successful dives and recorded nearly 30,000 hours of underwater video. The deep-sea experts in MBARI’s Video Lab comb through all that footage with eagle eyes to identify and label the animals and objects we film. Their hard work and dedication often reveal an extraordinary moment—like this rare encounter captured during a dive in Monterey Bay.

We observed this manefish (Caristius macropus) 483 meters (1,584 feet) underwater during a dive in Monterey Bay in August of 2018. With a name like “macropus,” meaning large foot, this intriguing little fish can really keep the beat.

Manefish grow to be 35 centimeters (13 inches) long, but this individual was likely a juvenile, measuring only about four centimeters (1.5 inches). This sighting was only the second time we have ever encountered this rare species. We paused to watch the fish dance for a few minutes, then continued our research mission.

Manefishes love to dine on siphonophores. Despite that, they have developed a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship with the spaghetti siphonophore (Bathyphysa conifera). The siphonophore provides protection while the fish munches away on their amphipod parasites.

MBARI’s Video Lab Team has painstakingly logged more than 11 million observations—animals, behaviors, interactions, geological features, marine debris, and more—along with location, depth, and surrounding habitat characteristics. This playlist invites you to explore some of the most interesting and unique observations they’ve made over the last few decades.

Dive in to learn about other amazing animals of the deep: https://www.mbari.org/education/anima...

Editor: Kyra Schlining
Production team: Larissa Lemon, Nancy Jacobsen Stout, Susan von Thun, Kristine Walz
Music: Wink and nod (Pond5 - 050760271)