April & May 2019

and are hunted by sharks and killer whales in that time. They’re loners
who spend most of their lives in crevices and under rocks on the
ocean floor, coming out only to eat and mate. They reach depths of up
to 12,000 feet and use their eight arms, equipped with harpoon-like
barbs, for holding onto dinner — small crustaceans and worms. The
males also deliver sperm into females via these arms, which is NSFD
(not safe for Disney).
Pelican Eel
Nicknamed a “gulper,” this creature is not really an eel at all — it’s
a scaleless fish named for a giant mouth that extends like that
of a pelican to hold on to prey larger than itself. As far as fish go,
this guy is a pretty poor swimmer. Instead, he relies on a pink or
red, bioluminescent (aka glow-in-the-dark) tail that draws in
mesmerized prey. Gulpers, which can be more than three feet long
with a body that’s half tail, prefer to stay between 4,000 and 26,000
feet deep, where sunlight cannot reach. They die after they mate.
Ceratioidei Anglerfish
The beady-eyed anglerfish, which can grow to 110 pounds, is a scarylooking
beast. But the most horrifying thing is the way it mates. To
get it on, males dig their teeth into a female’s belly until the bodies
fuse permanently. They share a bloodstream, and all his organs —
except for the testes — dissolve. Oh, and females have a natural,
fleshy fishing rod that sticks out from the head and glows in the dark
to attract prey. Try not to freak out — these guys prefer water up to a
mile deep.
The poor little Blobfish and, right, the Red-lipped Batfish, who looks
mighty angry that someone smeared lipstick on him.
Water Bear
This nearly microscopic, eight-legged champ is ridiculously resilient.
A healthy specimen will live only a few months, but water bears under
duress will repeatedly defy death. After being dried out for 10 years,
they come back to life. In fact, there’s not much they can’t survive.
Radiation? No problem. Extreme temperatures ranging from -458
to 304-degrees fahrenheit? Fine. Starvation? Ha. Interstellar travel?
Child’s play. No kidding — scientists sent water bears into orbit for 10
days in 2007, and 68 percent of them came back unscathed, becoming
Moonglow jewelry
Wear a picture of the moon
from the date of
FIND
your choice.
YOUR
MOON
Jewelry with a picture
of the moon from the
date of your choice
good scents
Corner of Jackson & Carpenters, Cape May
609-884-0014
exit zero 72 april-may