Aquatic News
GOTHENBURG, Sweden — Reticulated dragonet have been found in Väderöarna – “Weather Islands” – off the west coast of Sweden. It is not often that a new species of fish is discovered in Sweden.
Lars-Ove Loo is the underwater photographer who has captured the fish on film. He saw it while making an inventory ahead of the creation of a new nature reserve in the islands. This was in August 2010, 19 meters below the surface of the sea south of Lyngö in the southern Väderöarna (58° 32.554′ N, 11° 05.373′ E).
Source: http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=59102187046
Photograph by Lars-Ove Loo.
ScienceDaily (May 10, 2012) — The cone snails are predators of the sea. They capture fish by injecting a venom into the prey that consists of a cocktail of different substances. The single components of the snails’ venom, so-called conopeptides, are known for their extraordinary pharmacological properties and potential.
One example is Ziconotid (Prialt), a conopeptide that is prescribed as a pain medicine. That makes it one of the first medicines to contain substances from marine organisms. In collaboration with scientists from Canada and the USA, research teams at the Universities of Kiel, Lübeck, and Göttingen have examined the venom of the cone snail Conus striatus. They were able to demonstrate that a certain peptide (Conkunitzin-S1) alters the release of insulin in the pancreas cells. Their findings were recently published in the scientific magazine EMBO Molecular Medicine.
“This potentially could be a new approach to the treatment of type 2 diabetes,” says Professor Heinrich Terlau from the Physiological Institute of Kiel University and associate member of the Excellence Cluster “Future Ocean.”
Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/05/120510100228.htm
Photograph courtesy of the University of Utah; Picture taken from: H. Terlau et al., Nature 381: 148 (1996).
WESTERN BANK, Sheffield — New research focusing on tooth development in the deadly fish -unchanged through evolution – shows that after the first generation of teeth the program for continued tooth replacement modifies to form a distinctive and unusual `parrot like´ beak.
The study, which is the first time scientists have analyzed the development of the fish´s unique beak, also supports the idea that evolution doesn´t make jumps, as its distinctive bite has been modified from a set of genes responsible for tooth development and preserved over 400 million years.
Dr Gareth Fraser of the University of Sheffield´s Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, who led the project, said: “It goes beyond fishes and even morphological novelty; we can use the pufferfish beak as a model for a simplified tooth replacement system – composed of just four continually replacing teeth that make up the beak structure. It is of great interest for science to understand the process of tooth replacement, to understand the genes that govern the continued supply of teeth and mechanisms of dental stem cell maintenance.
Source: http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=46110072538
Photograph by Ed Wong
For many, an interest in fishkeeping may have got no further than winning a goldfish at the funfair.
But new figures have shown the remarkable rise in the numbers of Britons keeping the creatures as pets.
A purple crab stares down the camera in the Philippine island of Palawan (map) in an undated picture. The colorful crustacean, dubbed Insulamon palawanense, is one of four new species in the Insulamon genus described in a recent study.
Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/04/pictures/120418-new-crabs-purple-philippines-animals-science/?source=hp_dl1_news_crabs20120420
Photograph courtesy of Hendrik Freitag
Scientists from the University of Exeter have created a breed of glow-in-the-dark fish to learn more about how pollution affects humans and animals.
Genetically modified zebrafish have enabled researchers to track the damage of foreign chemicals in the body.
Once exposed to these pollutants, the fish’s affected organs or tissue glow a luminous green.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-17755135
Photograph courtesy of BBC News Devon
A new species of suckermouth armored catfish (pictured) has been found in Ecuador, a new study says.
DePaul University scientist Windsor Aguirre found five specimens of the odd-looking fish in 2008 in the Santa Rosa River (map) and sent them to Alabama’s Auburn University for identification.
“When we first realized it was new, it wasn’t particularly surprising—this family [of catfish] increases in number every year,” said study leader Milton Tan, a Ph.D. student in biology at Auburn.
Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/04/pictures/120410-new-armored-suckermouth-catfish-discovery-animals-science/
Photograph by Milton Tan
BRISTOL, U.K — Young coral reef fish use sounds, smells and visual cues to find their nursery grounds, according to new research from the University of Bristol, published today in Ecology.
Ever had to find your friend in a crowd? Imagine at a festival your mate saying: “I’ll be wearing a yellow t-shirt by the hotdog stall behind the jazz stage.” Using this information, you could walk around listening out for the romping double bass, and as you get closer and start to hear the trills of the trumpet, begin to sniff out the frying onions and sizzling sausages. Once you have located the hotdog stand, you only need to look for a bright yellow t-shirt and you will find your friend. Young coral reef fish use the same strategy, research from the Radboud University Nijmegen and the University of Bristol has found.
Source: http://www.underwatertimes.com/news.php?article_id=46019107523
Photograph by: MP. & C. Piednoir
Posted March 13th, 2012. 1 comment
The Galapagos catshark (Bythaelurus giddingsi).
In the latest edition of the scientific journal Zootaxa, it was announced that a new species of catshark was discovered off the Galapagos Islands and has been christened Bythaelurus giddingsi. Living at depths of over 1,400 feet, the Galapagos catshark was observed using ROV submersibles. It lives on the seafloor and on average reaches just over a foot in length. However the researchers only found and studied females and immature males. The species is notable for its coloration, which is generally dark and consists of an irregular pattern of spots that appear to be different on each individual.
The researchers postulate that future expeditions will not only reveal more about the Galapagos catshark, but probably more species of catsharks living in the depths of the ocean.
Source: http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2012/f/zt03221p059.pdf
Photograph courtesy of Zootaxa.
It turns out sawfish actually wield their snouts like chainsaw-toting madmen
On second thought, that’s not entirely accurate. Comparing a sawfish to a “madman” might give you the impression that these cousins of stingrays are unruly or careless when it comes to dispatching prey with their serrated snouts, when, in actuality, recent evidence suggests the exact opposite to be the case. Truth be told, sawfish are a lot more like chainsaw-toting surgeons.
Source: http://io9.com/5890405/it-turns-out-sawfish-actually-wield-their-snouts-like-chainsaw+toting-madmen
Photograph by Andy Murch.
