Deepstar 4000 fish

The Deepstar 4000 Fish (Meganarcetes californianus) is a species of giant marine ray-finned fish, a slickhead belonging to the family Alepocephalidae. At 8-12metres (25-40 ft) in length, it is the largest species of slickhead, and the largest species of bony fish entirely restricted to the deep ocean, beating out the next largest species in both categories, the 8.2 ft long Yokozuna Slickhead by a significant margin.

The Deepstar 4000 fish was discovered by Joe Thompson (1930 – 2003) and possibly marine biologist Gene LaFond (1909 – 2002), during a June 1966 research dive in the San Diego Trough alongside instrumentation engineer Dale Good. They had taken the Deepstar 4000 down to around 4,000 ft (1,219 m) to lay hydrographical instruments on the seafloor, and when Thompson happened to look through the window, he found himself staring into the eye of a giant fish which had swam briefly into view. It moved past quickly, bringing up silt from the seabed, before disappearing

Description

The Deepstar 4000 fish has only been spotted a handful of times making accurate descriptions difficult.

The most notable aspect of the Deepstar Fish is it's size. being far larger than any other deep-sea fish at 25–40 ft (8–12 m) in length, similar in size to some Whale Sharks (Rhincodon typus), but only 5–6 ft (1.5–1.8 m) across.

The Deepstar Fish has huge pectoral fins 2 ft (60 cm) in length, a rounded grouper-like tail fin about 4–5 ft (1.2–1.5 m) in height and serrated, with ragged caudals jutting off its end on a 30 degree angle .

Its eyes, one of which was the first thing the fishes' discoverer Thompson saw, were "as big as dinner plates." The skin was dark and mottled gray-black or brown with grayish white tipping on the fin scales and tail, and Thompson was certain that it was also covered in scales,[6] with those towards the anterior portion of the body being the largest, around the size of coffee cups.

Ecology

It’s been thought that as members of the Alepocephalidae age, they move down layers in the ocean, (mesopelagic waters and bathypelagic waters) due to mostly adolescent Alepocephalidae being reported near the surface, although there have been sightings of juveniles only several meters above the sea floor, which could suggest that some species may travel between different depths throughout their life stages, a vertical shift. It is likely that The Deepstar Fish has similar behavior, and juveniles have been found, but mistaken for the California slickhead (Alepocephalus tenebrosus).

Vertical shift could occur due to predation being higher close to the sea floor and/or warmer water having a larger abundance of plankton. Juvenile slickheads may have a preference to travel upwards to take advantage of the lack of predation and abundance of food to increase survival rates.