Tube-eye
Encyclopedia
The tube-eye or thread-tail, Stylephorus chordatus, is a deep-sea Stylephoriformes fish, the only fish in the genus Stylephorus and family Stylephoridae.
It is found in deep subtropical and tropical waters around the world, living at depths during the day and making nightly vertical migration
s to feed on plankton
. It is an extremely elongated fish: although its body grows only to 28 centimetres (11 in) long, it has a pair of tail fin rays that triple its length to about 90 centimetres (35.4 in). Its eyes are tubular in shape, resembling a pair of binoculars.
It has a tubular mouth through which it sucks seawater by enlarging its oral cavity to about forty times its original size. It then expels the water through the gill
s, leaving behind the copepod
s on which it feeds.
The tube-eye was previously thought to be related to Lampridiformes, a group of other bizzarre fishes. However it has now been placed in a new order, named Stylephoriformes.
It is found in deep subtropical and tropical waters around the world, living at depths during the day and making nightly vertical migration
Diel vertical migration
Diel vertical migration, also known as diurnal vertical migration, is a pattern of movement that some organisms living in the ocean and in lakes undertake each day. Usually organisms move up to the epipelagic zone at night and return to the mesopelagic zone of the oceans or to the hypolimnion zone...
s to feed on plankton
Plankton
Plankton are any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. That is, plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than phylogenetic or taxonomic classification...
. It is an extremely elongated fish: although its body grows only to 28 centimetres (11 in) long, it has a pair of tail fin rays that triple its length to about 90 centimetres (35.4 in). Its eyes are tubular in shape, resembling a pair of binoculars.
It has a tubular mouth through which it sucks seawater by enlarging its oral cavity to about forty times its original size. It then expels the water through the gill
Gill
A gill is a respiratory organ found in many aquatic organisms that extracts dissolved oxygen from water, afterward excreting carbon dioxide. The gills of some species such as hermit crabs have adapted to allow respiration on land provided they are kept moist...
s, leaving behind the copepod
Copepod
Copepods are a group of small crustaceans found in the sea and nearly every freshwater habitat. Some species are planktonic , some are benthic , and some continental species may live in limno-terrestrial habitats and other wet terrestrial places, such as swamps, under leaf fall in wet forests,...
s on which it feeds.
The tube-eye was previously thought to be related to Lampridiformes, a group of other bizzarre fishes. However it has now been placed in a new order, named Stylephoriformes.