The purpose of this blog is simple. My name is Thomas Knight and I am a zoo keeper. Since I have worked as a zoo keeper at several zoos, I obviously love animals. I love plants as well, as it happens. And fungi. And other forms of life as well. Viruses too, even though nobody is quite sure if they qualify as life forms. So each day I will pick some species of living thing that I think is really cool (and not necessarily just organisms that I worked with as a zoo keeper) and I will tell you why. Maybe it's because it has an amazing life history. Maybe it's because I think its nose looks funny. Who knows (well, you will after you read my post, I suppose)? One or two things about it and then you can move on and get on with your day. If you're looking for deep thoughts you've come to the wrong place (if you're looking for conservation, you may instead be looking for this place.) On the other hand, if you're looking for cool organisms, you may just have found the mothership.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Tripod Fish

Tripod Fish Bathypterois
The Tripod Fishes Bathypterois spp. are a small group of fish that live in the depths of the deep sea in the Benthic zone and perch on a tripod made out of their elongated fins, where they wait for planktonic prey to drift by.  Apparently they use their fins to push prey into their mouths when it gets close to them.  They have tiny eyes, and it's not clear if they use them for hunting or not.  Not much is known about them since they live so deep, but we do know that they are incredibly cool.

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Posted by Thomas Knight, zoo keeper extraordinaire
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