| You've probably heard about flying fish and luminous fish, but you might have not heard about fish that can make a knot out of their bodies, fish that can transform themselves into liquid, fish that hunt for food outside the water, and most strangely, ones that can climb trees! These are very bizarre abilities, which in my opinion, turn these fabulous sea creatures into a force of nature. |
| 1. Sea Slugs are able to perform photosynthesis |
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Elysia chlorotica is a sea slug whose ability leaves you questioning its nature - is it a plant or an animal? Maybe it's better called "a crawling leaf", as some have nicknamed it. This sea creature has the surprising ability to photosynthesize its own food using sunlight, and in order to be able to do this, it makes use of chloroplasts (organelles found in plants that perform photosynthesis) that it steals from algae. And what's even more surprising is the fact that it can even produce its own chloroplasts! Although this is a plant-like creature, scientists have also discovered that it doesn't rely solely on photosynthesis - it can also survive long periods of time in the darkness without eating a single thing. |
| 2. The Teddy Bear Crab Makes Living Weapons |
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| Although it can be compared to a cute little teddy bear, its prey definitely has another opinion of this cunning hunter. The Teddy Bear Crab is not happy enough with its hunting skills, so it takes advantage of stinging anemones by carefully gripping them to each claw and using them as weapons! Not only this, but it also uses the anemones as a food source by pulling out the food in their digestive system and feeding on it. This animal is a pure example of how deceiving cuteness can be. |
| 3. Hagfish can tie themselves in knots |
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By the sound it, you might think the creature has the weird tendency of strangling itself. On the contrary, it is actually a hunting method. The worm-like Hagfish preys on little fish hiding in holes, and in order to do this it has to squeeze itself in and out of these holes. So as to make its body stronger during the pulling process, the fish ties its rear end into a knot. Like that, the fish can get to eat its prey much quicker and without any trouble squirming out of the hunting zone! This ability can also serve as a survival method for this creature to free itself from predators (like in the video above). |
| 4. Sea Cucumbers Liquefy Themselves |
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Apart from having a defense mechanism that allows it to eject its guts at predators and regrow them later, the Sea Cucumber has a second bizarre ability. It can liquefy itself by unhooking the bonds keeping their cells together. It uses this mechanism to be able to get itself through areas that are too small, and in which it can hide from predators. It can solidify itself in there, making it impossible to be pulled out. Weirdly enough, it can even liquefy itself to death, turning itself into pure goo. |
| 5. Mudskippers can climb trees |
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This fact might remind you of Einstein's famous quote saying: "Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." Apparently, this particular fish decided it was a genius! The curious Mudskipper was born with the ability to not only go out of the water, but even climb trees. It lives in damp areas filled with mangrove trees, which it loves to pull itself up, with its strong pectoral fins and using its pelvic fins as suckers to keep it from slipping off. By holding a breath of water in small sacks around its gills, it is able to survive on land, especially during the high tides. Surprisingly, this fish spends much of its life out of the water. |
| 6. Archerfish Shoot Down Prey |
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The name of this fish suggests an impressive ability. With its outstanding aim, the Archerfish is brilliant at shooting down its prey, yet instead of using a bow and arrow, it uses its mouth as a water pistol! It preys on insects that live outside of the water and are obviously difficult for a fish to reach. By using its tongue, it can produce a jet of water to accurately hit the target and knock it over to the water (as shown in the video above). when it spits, the speed of water coming of its mouth is increased by six times more than the force of its muscles, allowing the water to arrive all at the same time. |
| 7. The Tigerfish captures birds from the air |
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This fish is considered as the 'tiger' of the fish kingdom, often compared to the piranha because of its razor-filled jaws used to tear its prey into pieces. In this case, the prey is usually birds. Not just birds that are happily floating on the water, but even those flying above the sea. Researchers were dumbfounded when they found out this genius capability, which allows the fish to leap out of the water and catch the flying target. The video above is proof of this happening in a South African lake, with the target being a swallow. There is a variety of other Tigerfish, such as the goliath fish, which can weigh up to 50kg (110lb) and can even eat crocodiles. |
