Big mouth under water

September 26, 2018 Researchers film rare Pelican eel

From September 14 to October 1, 2018, the US research vessel E / V Nautilus is exploring ten seamounts within the Papahānaumokua Marine National Monument (PMNM) west of Hawaii. Now a very unusual creature swum in front of the camera of their submarine.

The Nautilus team discovered a pelican eel (Eurypharynx pelecanoides). His pocket-shaped mouth can inflate in almost no time and snap up prey - much like a pelican. The gulper eel (Eurypharynx pelecanoides) is a deep-sea fish rarely seen by humans, though it is occasionally caught in fishing nets. It is an eel-like fish and the only known member of the genus Eurypharynx and the family Eurypharyngidae.

The animals mainly eat crustaceans, but also smaller fish, cephalopods and other invertebrates. Because of their small, not very elastic stomach, they prefer smaller organisms than prey, which are snapped with the big mouth. After they have ejected with absorbed water over the gill openings, they then swallow their prey.

More Information: www.nautiluslive.org