Saturday, April 25, 2015

Fish!

We are studying a group of fish called the notothenioids.  One family within this group has translucent "white" blood because it doesn't express the protein hemoglobin, which is the oxygen binding protein found in red blood cells of vertebrates, and it is hemoglobin that gives blood its characteristic red color.  The fish species in this family of fishes (Family Channichthyidae) are commonly called icefish because of their lack or red blood. Below are some of the fish species of icefish.  Chionodraco rastrospinosus is my favorite.

Chaenocephalus aceratus


Chionodraco rastrospinosus



Pseudochannichthys georgianus. By the way the large "spider" is a sea spider (a pycnogonid).  To give you an idea of its size... see below.

1 comment: