Louisiana pancake batfish facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Louisiana pancake batfish |
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The Louisiana pancake batfish (Halieutichthys intermedius) is a unique fish that lives in the Gulf of Mexico. It belongs to a family of fish called Ogcocephalidae, which are known for their flat bodies. This special fish was first discovered in 2010.
Its home in the Gulf of Mexico is in the same area that was affected by the big Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster. Scientists are still learning about how this event might have impacted the batfish.
Where the Louisiana Pancake Batfish Lives
For a long time, scientists thought there was only one type of pancake batfish. But in 2010, they realized there were actually three different species! The other two are Halieutichthys aculeatus and Halieutichthys bispinosus.
While the other batfish species live along the Atlantic coast, the Louisiana pancake batfish is found only in the Gulf of Mexico. It lives in deep waters, sometimes as deep as 400 meters (about 1,300 feet). These fish are quite rare. When they were first discovered, scientists found only three Louisiana pancake batfish among about 100,000 other fish.
What the Louisiana Pancake Batfish Looks Like
The Louisiana pancake batfish got its name because of its unusual shape. It has a very flat body with a large head, making it look like a rounded disc or, well, a pancake! It's small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and is described as being as thick as a "fluffy pancake."
Like other batfish, it moves in a very interesting way. Instead of swimming, it "walks" along the ocean floor. It uses its special pectoral fins, which look a bit like limbs, along with its smaller pelvic fins to crawl around.
These batfish are carnivores, meaning they eat other animals. They hunt for small invertebrates (animals without backbones) on the seafloor. To catch their food, they use a clever trick: they have a special chemical lure that attracts their prey.
How the Louisiana Pancake Batfish Was Discovered
The Louisiana pancake batfish was discovered by a scientist named Hsuan-Ching Ho. He was visiting the American Museum of Natural History in New York City when he noticed something unusual about the batfish specimens there. He realized that what they thought was one species was actually three different ones!
To confirm this, scientists went on special trips to trawl (drag nets) in the ocean. They found consistent differences in the fish they caught. Hsuan-Ching Ho then worked with other scientists, John Sparks and Prosanta Chakrabarty, to officially describe the new species.
In 2010, the Louisiana pancake batfish was even named one of the top ten new species of the year by a group called the International Institute for Species Exploration. John Sparks, one of its discoverers, said that finding new fish species in the Gulf of Mexico shows how much more life is still waiting to be discovered in our oceans.
