Rakery Beaconlamp

Lampanyctus macdonaldi

Previoulsy we learned about a very large fish found in the Antartic Waters. Today, we'll learn what we can about a very small one -- Lampanyctus macdonaldi, also known as the Rakery Beaconlamp.

This deep sea fish can actually be found in the Arctic as well-- it's a creature that really enjoys polar seas. Like most fish in cold waters, these guys are small, maxing out around 6in in length. They feed on creatures that are even smaller still, like tiny shrimp and other crustaceans.

Rakery Beaconlamps undergo small migrations every single day, moving up and down to different depths depending on the time. During the day they travel as far as 1,000m down. During the night they move upwards, hunting between 150 and 250m.

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IUCN Status : Not Evaluated
Location : Antarctica
Size : Length up to 6in (16cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Actinopterygii -- Order : Myctophiformes
Family : Myctophidae -- Genus : Lampanyctus -- Species : L. macdonaldi
Image :  SFSA

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Antarctic Toothfish

Dissostichus mawsoni

Today's animal is a pretty cool creature-- it is one of the top predators in Antarctica's Ross Sea, dominating over other species of fish that barely reach 1/3 its size!

The Antarctic Toothfish can grow up to 2m long, making it a giant in cold waters where the fish tend to stay half a meter or less. They are also important because they serve as prey to the large Mammals that feed in those waters-- one group of Orcas actually feeds almost exclusively on them!

The life habits of the Antartic Toothfish haven't been extensively studied, but we do know that they can live as long as 50 years, and don't reach maturity until 16 or 17. Scientists believe that they migrate in order to breed, but that hypothesis hasn't been confirmed because no eggs have ever been found!

Another weird fact is that these fish are able to produce proteins in their body that act like anti-freeze. Those proteins are incredibly efficient at keeping the Toothfish's blood from crystallizing!

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IUCN Status : Not Evaluated
Location : Antarctica
Size : Length up to 6.6ft (2m)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Actinopterygii -- Order : Perciformes
Family : Nototheniidae -- Genus : Dissostichus -- Species : D. mawsoni
Image :  Last Ocean

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Snowy Sheathbill

Chionis albus

Meet the Snowy Sheathbill-- the only bird species in Antarctica that is primarily land dwelling and widespread. They are endemic to the continent and the nearby southern Islands, though very rare vagrants sometimes make it to South America and Africa.

Snowy Sheathbills are named for their cone-shaped bills that have a sheath made of a horn-like keratin covering their nostrils. They also have small, fleshy wattles, naked skin around the eyes, and bodies covered in white feathers.

These birds are scavengers, and will eat anything they can find. They live near the coasts, and seals are one of their favorite food sources-- they will pick as seal scabs and dried blood, eat placenta and umbilical chords, and will even eat seal feces. Yum.... The Sheathbills eat insects and seaweed as well.

Snowy Sheathbills have a large population and are widespread. They don't have any major conservation threats at present, and are listed as being of Least Concern.

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IUCN Status : Least Concern
Location : Antarctica
Size : Length up to 16in (40cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Aves -- Order : Charadriiformes
Family : Chionididae -- Genus : Chionis -- Species : C. albus
Image :  David M. Jensen

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Belgica antarctica

Belgica antarctica

Did you know that insects do live on Antarctica? You may have assumed that the cold weather would scare the tiny invertebrates away from the continent, but you would've assumed wrong! Today's animal is one of a handful of little Arthropods that make our southernmost landmass home year round.

Belgica antarctica has the important distinction of being the largest terrestrial-only inhabitant of Antarctica-- at a whopping 6mm in length! These insects have some seriously amazing adaptations that allow them to survive in the hard environment-- they can go without oxygen for several weeks, they can survive their bodily fluids freezing, and they are able to produce specific compounds that keep that freezing to a minimum.

Warm temperatures are actually harmful to B. antarctica. They need to stay close to freezing in order to thrive. If it gets too cold though, they are in trouble. Luckily, they spend nearly all of their time just under the surface of the snow, which keeps the heat to within a few degrees of freezing.

Belgica antarctica can live up to 2 years, and spends most of that time in four different larval stages. As adults their lifespan in very short-- only around 10 days. They live just long enough to mate and lay eggs before dying.

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IUCN Status : Not Listed
Location : Antarctica
Size : Length up to 6mm

Classification : Phylum : Arthropoda -- Class : Insecta -- Order : Diptera
Family : Chironomidae -- Genus : Belgica-- Species : B. antarctica
Image :  Richard Lee

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Weddell Seal

Leptonychotes weddellii

For the last week or so we've been learning about animals that live in mountain rainforests. This week let's totally mix it up and move to a completely different ecosystem and location entirely-- Antarctica.Our southernmost continent doesn't harbor a ton of year-round terrestrial life, but it is the migratory home of several different birds, and it is surrounded by waters that are teeming with life of all types.

The Weddell Seal is one of those marine animals that makes Antarctica its home. These large, docile mammals live further south than any other Seal, and they tend to stick close to home-- most never move more than a few miles from where they were born.

Weddell Seals take advantage of the rich waters surrounding Antarctica. They hunt Cod, Silverfish, Octopus, Crab, and many other sea creatures. While searching for food they can dive as far as 2,000ft, and stay under for 45 minutes. An adult Weddell Seals eats anywhere from 20-110lbs of food every day!

You'd think a 10ft, 1,000lb mammal would be near the top of the food chain-- but Weddell Seals have predators of their own! Orcas and Leopard Seals love to track them down, so they have to be careful while fishing and especially while raising their young. Little Weddell Seals grow fast-- they can swim at 2 weeks -- but they aren't weaned or able to hunt on their own for another month after that.

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IUCN Status : Least Concern
Location : Antarctica
Size : Length up to 10ft (3m), Weight around 1,100 lbs (500kg)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Carnivora
Family : Phocidae -- Genus : Leptonychotes -- Species : L. weddellii
Image :  NOAA

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Sun Catfish

Horabagrus brachysoma

Finally we get to our last animal of the Western Ghats series (for now...), the Sun Catfish. It goes by a whole mess of other names-- Guther's Catfish, Yellow Catfish, Bullseye Catfish, etc. Thankfully we have scientific names to sort out the confusion!

Sun Catfish make their homes in the high-vegetation-filled, slow-moving rivers and streams pf western India. Because they live in waters of varying depths and salinity levels, they aren't especially picky when it comes to diet. These adaptable fish will eat anything and everything they can swallow, and since they can grow up to 18in in length that gives them lots of options!

Sun Catfish have been captured for the pet trade, and for food. They are currently listed as "Vulnerable" due to over-exploitation and because of habitat degradation in the nearby areas.

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IUCN Status : Vulnerable
Location : India
Size : Length up to 18in (45cm)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Actinopterygii -- Order : Siluriformes
Family : Horabagridae -- Genus : Horabagrus-- Species : H. brachysoma
Image :  N. Hepworth

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Indrella ampulla

Indrella ampulla

Today we meet yet another creature endemic to the Western Ghats-- Indrella ampulla.

It is the only species within its genus, but it comes in all sorts of different colors and varieties. Yellow is a very common body color, but it can be bright red, black and white as well. The shell is dark in color, normally contains three whorls, and typically meaures no more than 2in in diameter.

Indrella ampulla lives in mountainous rainforests. There, they feed on different Fungi varieties, using their radula that contain more than 100 rows of tiny teeth!

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IUCN Status : Not Listed
Location : India
Size : Shell width up to 2in (6cm)

Classification : Phylum : Mollusca -- Class : Gastropoda
Family : Ariophantidae -- Genus : Indrella -- Species : I. ampulla
Image :  NHM

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