Treasure of the month June: Viperfish - predator of the deep sea
1 June 2018
Photo: Solvin Zankl
This viperfish from the LIB collection was caught in the Atlantic 50 years ago.
With a body length of up to 35 centimeters, viperfish - like our treasure of the month June - belong to the larger predatory fishes of the deep sea. Their heads seem somewhat oversized in relation to their slender bodies. However, this group of fish is named after their teeth, which protrude conspicuously like tusks.
Their genus name, Chauliodus, means "fangs" in ancient Greek. Viperfish are predators whose extra-long teeth extend far beyond their jaws when their mouths are closed. They do not let go of prey once they have it between their teeth. Viperfish live primarily between 400 and 1,800 meters deep, but have also been caught at depths of over 4,000 meters.
The photo shows a specimen of Sloan's viperfish from the LIB fish collection (catalog no.: ZMH 105821). It was caught on 15/01/1968 at a depth of 580 meters in the Atlantic Ocean off the north coast of Spain.
With more than 8,000 fish species and 260,000 specimens, LIB houses the largest fish collection in Germany.