Creatures From The Mariana Trench Quiz

Answer: Fats found inside bones

Zombie worms do not have stomachs or mouths. They come to rest upon a skeleton, usually a whale, and connect to the bones. They then release bacteria which break down the lipids within the bone interior into nutrition for the worm. The worms have roots which hold themselves into the bone and plumes that reach out into the water and act as gills. Each worm that can be viewed is a female.

This is because the females actually contain up to 100 microscopic males inside their body who are able to fertilize them.

The fertilized eggs are then distributed into the currents in the hopes of resting upon another set of bones and beginning the cycle anew.

Answer: Glowing lure protruding from their head

The anglerfish has a long protrusion, called an esca, jutting from its head. At the end of the esca is found a type of bacteria which emits a bioluminescent glow. This light attracts other animals who are searching for prey and the anglerfish attacks them as they get closer. Males of the species will eventually fuse themselves onto females and, over time, their fins, teeth, eyes, and some organs will disappear. All that will be left of him is sperm that will be utilized to fertilize the eggs.

Answer: Transparent

The body of the telescope octopus is so clear it is practically transparent. Unlike other types of its species, it does not dwell on the ocean floor. Instead it lives its life floating through the deep ocean currents. It swims vertically, perhaps to make a more narrow target for predators.

Its protruding eyes, which rotate, allow it to see both potential food sources and incoming predators. A webbing reaches between each of its eight tentacles and gives it an even more ghost-like appearance in the murky depths.

Answer: False

The dragonfish gets its name from its fang-like teeth and ferocious attitude, but not due to its outer covering. Even though it is a fish, it has no scales and actually resembles an eel. It grows to about six inches long and this type of dragonfish lives deep in the Pacific Ocean.

It has light organs that run down its slippery sides and these organs cause it to glow, even with a red color, in the dark. This capability aids in both attracting a mate as well as luring in unsuspecting prey. It also has a barbel attached to its chin with a dangling, lighted lure which works to attract food sources.

The deep-sea dragonfish also boasts a mouth full of large teeth, compared to its body size, to aid in the hunt for food.

Answer: Frilled shark

The frilled shark can grow up to six feet long and has six rows of frilly gill slits, which gives them their name. They live in deeper parts of the ocean than many other shark species and have a long eel-like body with 300 teeth in many rows. These teeth help grab hold of their prey, which consist primarily of squid and octopuses.

It is believed that when prey is seen by this shark, it moves like a striking snake and relies on this method since it does not have the bite force as most of its cousins.

The gestation period for these sharks is an incredible 3 1/2 years and the eggs stay in the female until it is time to hatch.

Answer: Jellyfish

Many jellyfish have a sessile stage of life when they are in a fixed position and attached to something like a reef. The benthocodon does not have this stage and moves on its own, floating through the water. They have a bell that is around 3/4" in diameter on which are 1500-2000 tiny red tentacles that function as a form of locomotion and also as the digestion system.

These tentacles can also sting predators. The benthocodon live deep in the ocean near the floor and feed on tiny shelled organisms.

The reddish color it exhibits is believed to exist in order to mask the illumination of certain prey to avoid other predators from moving in and stealing the meal!

Answer: Dumbo octopus

The dumbo octopus lives extremely deep in the ocean and prowls the sea floor looking for worms and crustaceans. It has a U shape under its body, called the mantle, and its eight arms have a webbing between them. When it spreads out its arms, it looks like an umbrella from below. On the top of its mantle, it has fins that look like large ears and was named after Walt Disney's cartoon elephant named Dumbo.

These fins help propel it through the water. Because it lives in almost total darkness, it has no need of ink secretions but does still have the ability to change its outer skin color for camouflage.

It does not tear and grind its food like some octopuses; instead, it eats it whole in one bite!

Answer: Twilight (dysphotic) zone

The barrelfish has a clear shield over the top portion of its head which works to protect its tubular eyes. The fish itself can be horizontal but its eyes will be looking above it. The eyes themselves have a large amount of rods in the retina which help the fish delineate the silhouettes and shadows of prey in the twilight zone of the ocean. Once the fish locks on to its target, its eyes then rotate forward as it heads to the source.

It has a small mouth but large digestive system and feeds on crustaceans and jellyfish.

Its fins on either side work to help keep the fish almost motionless in the water as it endlessly searches for its next meal.

Answer: Counterillumination

The hatchetfish has an exceptionally thin body where the chest area is shaped like a hatchet blade and the rear fin is shaped like the handle. It lives in dark ocean depths and is equipped with bioluminescence to emit light. It can also change the amount of light it gives off so that it matches the same amount of sun filtering through the water at its current depth.

This means it cannot be seen from below as a shadow and become a target. The hatchetfish travels up towards the surface of the ocean to feed on plankton at night and then back down to the depths during the day.

They live a little under a year long.

Answer: It can extend its jaw out almost to the tip of its snout

The goblin shark lives in ocean depths down to 3,000 feet but can go deeper and deeper the older they grow. They are pale, almost a shade of pink, in color with a long snout that resembles a sword blade. Under the snout their jaw has a series of ligaments that allows it to be extended out of the body almost to the tip of the snout and snapped back in when the prey is caught.

The goblin shark is typically sluggish and can float so it appears almost still. When the unsuspecting prey, typically sting rays or fish, swim nearby it unleashes its unique jaw.