Friday 18 March 2011

Snake Mackerel

The Snake Mackerel is one ugly fish. Actually it looks quite slim and sleek and shiny, accessorised with what look like dainty little fins. But then you reach the head. The big eyes are forgiveable, maybe even the overly long lower jaw, and of course both jaws are packed full of sharp little teeth. But surely, surely those fangs are a step too far? Snake mackerels are found in tropical and subtropical oceans across the world, where they eat squid, crustaceans and fish so I'm sure the outstanding dentition is put to some good use. Still though...

Adult snake mackerels spend their days at depth, as far as 600 metres (1,970 ft) down, and rise to the surface at night to feed. Youngsters do the opposite, braving the dangers of the surface by day before seeking the extra darkness of the deep during the darkness of night. Eventually they may reach 1 metre (3.3 feet) in length but they can mate when they reach half this, where females can lay between 330,000 and 1 million eggs.

7 comments:

TexWisGirl said...

Oh my, what a blog you have here! Amazing photos of amazing creatures!

Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment! Really appreciate the support!

Joseph JG said...

Hi, texwisgirl! Thanks coming by and saying nice things. I love it when people do that!

Unknown said...

Diarrhea fish. Because if u eat it you will get painful diarrhea btw.

Joseph JG said...

I know! And sometimes they sell it under the name of cod. Bad!

Anonymous said...

it is like a snake. but a fish

hennessy said...

Caught a couple 20# Snake Mackerel like pictured above they were actually kinda violent coming up from such depths still trying to bite us. We were fishing for Snapper in 300m in Fiji. The local Fijians boil the meat then smoke it which dilutes the wax chemicals in the flesh reducing the laxcistive aspect normal experienced...

Joseph JG said...

Ooo, clever! Every now again they find fish 'n' chip shops saving money by selling this stuff to unknowing customers instead of cod. I don't think they go through quite that level of preparation!