Food
The tripod fish uses tactile and mechanosensory cues to identify food; the tripod fish apparently does not have special visual adaptations to help them find food in their low-light environment. When the fish is perched with its long rays on the ocean floor, it can get dinner without even seeing its meal. The tripod fish’s mouth ends up at just the right height to catch shrimp, tiny fish, and small crustaceans swimming by. They seem to prefer to perch on the mud using much elongated fin rays in their tails and two pelvic fins in order to stand, facing upstream into the current to ambush with the pectoral fins turned forward so that the outthrust projecting fins resemble multiple antennae. The fish senses objects in the water with its front fins. These fins act like hands. Once they feel prey and realize it is edible, the fins knock the food into the fish’s mouth. The fish faces into the current, waiting for prey to drift by.
Read more about this topic: Tripod Fish
Famous quotes containing the word food:
“Prose and poetry are as different as food and drink.”
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)
“The repugnance to animal food is not the effect of experience, but is an instinct. It appeared more beautiful to live low and fare hard in many respects; and though I never did so, I went far enough to please my imagination.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“There is no instant of time when one creature is not being devoured by another. Over all these numerous races of animals man is placed, and his destructive hand spares nothing that lives. He kills to obtain food and he kills to clothe himself; he kills to adorn himself; he kills in order to attack and he kills to defend himself; he kills to instruct himself and he kills to amuse himself; he kills to kill. Proud and terrible king, he wants everything and nothing resists him.”
—Joseph De Maistre (1753–1821)