Have you heard about one of the deepest living fish with weird looks and the most giant teeth?
Here we have information about such a type of peculiar fish, the Fangtooth.
It’s scientific name is Anoplogaster cornuta. The word Anoplogaster is derived from the Greek words, “anoplo” which means unarmed, and “gaster” which means stomach.
The Fangtooths live in the world’s deep-sea waters in the temperate and tropical waters.
The Fangtooth is a small, ferocious-looking fish, with a large mouth and teeth, and the jaws are protruding.
The teeth or fangs are pointed and are believed to be the world’s largest teeth than other fish of their size. The body is compressed and very thin in size.
The length of the Fangtooths’ teeth is very long and pointed that it becomes difficult to close their mouth. The Fangtooth comprises 8-10 teeth.
The Fangtooth feeds on scallops, coral, small fish, shrimps, crustaceans, and squids.
Fangtooths are also being hunted by other large animals that live in the ocean floor’s deep depths like tuna, marlin, and some shark species.
The common Fangtooth (Anoplogaster cornuta) looks like a ferocious fish with its enormous mouth, jaw protruding out, and large sharp teeth. They have a big mouth compared to their body size.
Although their appearance seems feral, they are small fish and harmless to humans. They are found in different colors like dark brown, light gray, yellow, and black. Their skin comprises scales.
Since they live in the deep sea, they are generallyvery dark in color and thin. The male and female Fangtooth (Anoplogaster cornuta) have a similar appearance, but surprisingly, the male’s size is smaller than the female’s.
The common Fangtooth lives in deep seawater and is about 7 in (18 cm) long. The female Fangtooth fish is larger than the males. The adult Fangtooth fish is two times larger than the tiny shrimp.
Since these species live in deep ocean waters, the exact speed of the Fangtooth is not noted by the researchers yet.
The Fangtooth fish with big pointed teeth feeds on scallops, coral, small fish, shrimps, crustaceans, and squid.
The Fangtooths are found at a depth of 16000 ft (5000 m) below the sea-level.
Their habitat comprises the deepest ocean waters below the sea’s surface, where sunlight does not reach known as the Bathyal Zone or midnight zone. Since they live in the Bathyal Zone, they are also known as Bathypelagic fish.
The Fangtooth fish species are found worldwide in the deep depths of tropical and temperate ocean waters. Although they mostly live in the deep ocean water, they are believed to move to the ocean’s surface at night.
Since the Fangtooth fish (Anoplogaster cornuta) species lives in the deep sea, scientists cannot find their exact lifespan.
They follow the external fertilization process to reproduce. Since the Fangtooth fish (Anoplogaster cornuta) species live in the ocean’s deepest depths, significantly less is known about their reproduction process.
However, scientists believe that they are oviparous, which means that the female leaves many eggs in the water and the males fertilizes them.
The Fangtooth (Anoplogaster cornuta) do not look after their eggs. The Fangtooth fish’s eggs are left to hatch on their own and feed themselves.
