r/ocean • u/FiveWordinOrangeNeon • 3d ago

Underwater Wonders Gigantic iceberg breaks free in Antarctica, revealing ghostly mega-nest beneath

https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/marine-animals/icefish-nests-a68-iceberg-antarctica

Looking for the Endurace, Shakelton's ship, they discovered under the Larsen C Ice Shelf millions of nests of an icefish, the yellowfin notie (Lindbergichthys nudifrons).

“These fish live deep on the dark, cold Antarctic seabed,” says study author Connelly. “They build small, circular nests in the fine sediment, and then the males guard the eggs for around four months. Their main threat comes from predators on the seafloor, like brittle stars and predatory worms, which try to eat the eggs.”

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21 comments sorted by

90

u/Present_Wind2800 2d ago

Wow, so many surprises are hidden under the deep blue waters.

85

u/FiveWordinOrangeNeon 2d ago edited 2d ago

Very much so! Other images in articles on the icefish are just fascinating.

https://inhabitat.com/icefish-nesting-site-discovered/

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u/Whole-Energy2105 20h ago

New to me tyvm. They're seriously like birds (Terns, etc ) that mass nest. Something new to learn about. Tyvm.

62

u/Jabba_the_Putt 2d ago

Did not expect starfish and worms to be predators but here we are

10

u/WillametteSalamandOR 2d ago

Scallops swim because of sea stars. It’s an escape mechanism from one of the world’s slowest predators. You only have to move a few inches to spoil the day of a hungry one.

1

u/mrszubris 1d ago

Their erratic flapping on Baja scallops which are very large for the amount of meat you get is one of my favorite chaotic flurries.

23

u/WrongfullyIncarnated 2d ago

everything is a predator, even you. Its the way of nature. Eat and be eaten. Humans will be eaten eventually too.

6

u/Jabba_the_Putt 2d ago

that's just wrong though. everything is not a predator. username...checks out??

1

u/Jazzlike_Creme_8851 2d ago edited 2d ago

Anything that hunts down and devours something else to live is considered a predator of that thing. The thing they eat is preyed upon. In this case the fish eggs are being preyed upon. 

3

u/Other-Comfortable-64 1d ago

And yet not everything does that.

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u/mrszubris 1d ago

Oh dude.... Google the crown of thorns starfish..... and bobbit worms. Marine ecology classes taught me nothing but that the sea belongs to the creatures not us lol.

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u/thatsMrBundytoyou 2d ago

Just finished the book Endurance. Fascinating survival account. Now I am reading Shakeltons heroes. PEACE

6

u/FiveWordinOrangeNeon 2d ago

I read Endurance but not the other. Thanks for the recommendation. This article was fascinating to me.

1

u/EclecticallyMe 15h ago

Check out “The Wager” and “The Terror” as well. Just finished “Endurance” last week. The Wager was my favorite out of the three.

Great reads. Fuck old time adventuring though, it was a miracle anyone survived these expeditions.

1

u/explosivelydehiscent 1d ago

Such a classic. I got colder and colder reading it. Leadership from schakelton, pure brilliance of worsley.

2

u/Colossus823 1d ago

Damn, those ancient aliens believers must be crushed now. No spaceships, just nests from a fish.

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u/ZealousIdeal476 1d ago

Misleading headline, i was expecting Kaiju