Scientists Stumble on Footage of Bizarre Deep-Sea Creature With ‘Pig Tails’ Near Antarctica

The deep sea has always been filled with mysteries that are too difficult for experts to explain or resolve. Every so often, an expedition down there delivers a jolt to our imagination, and this time the credit goes to a fish that appears to be wearing pigtails. Sounds unbelievable, right? But turns out that’s the reality. During a recent deep-sea expedition by the Schmidt Ocean Institute in collaboration with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, experts explored the little-known South Sandwich Islands, a chain of subantarctic volcanic islets in the South Atlantic Ocean, state Live Science. And what they spotted next left them too stunned to speak.

At a chilling depth of 1,604 feet (489 meters), experts spotted a ghostly rattail fish—also known as a grenadier from the genus Macrourus sliding slowly through the frigid water. But it was not the fish that grabbed the scientist’s attention, it was what was attached to it. On both sides of the fish’s head were two parasitic copepods of the species Lophoura szidati, resembling adorable yet quite disturbing pigtails. The parasites, each flaunting long trailing egg sacs, created a unique appearance. "They feed on blood and fluids from their host using their scraping mouth parts that are embedded in the muscle of the fish…These copepods are mesoparasites, meaning they are partly inside and partly outside of their host," James Bernot (biologist at Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History who was not on the expedition), told Live Science.

An interesting point to note is that the parasites themselves are anything but harmless accessories. Labeled as mesoparasites, part of their bodies burrow inside the fish, while their egg sacs remain exposed. The video clip also shows a similar situation. Intriguingly, as bizarre as it seems, this is part of a natural cycle. Bernot remarked, "Copepods are surprisingly good mothers for invertebrates…They carry their eggs in sacs attached to their body until the eggs hatch into swimming nauplius larvae that will molt through several larval stages and eventually go on to find their own host…Even after the parasite dies, remnants of the embedded head can still be found in their host for many years."

What makes this footage even more interesting is how little we know about such interactions in this particular region. The deep-sea water around this area is often not much explored, and information related to such parasites or similar ones is limited. Therefore, this discovery is quite remarkable for the experts in this field. Lauren Dykman, a benthic ecologist, remarked, "Diverse, functioning, healthy ecosystems actually have a higher diversity and abundance of parasites," in a Woods Hole article.

Now, delving deep to understand these species, one must know that several copepod species are deadly for farmed fish, acting as direct parasites or hosts for lethal organisms. Species like Lernaea cyprinacea and Ergasilus sieboldi damage gills, stop growth, and can cause other deadly actions on aquafarms. This does not end here; others, like Caligus lacustris, reduce the commercial value of fish due to deformities, stated Research Gate. So, while the pigtail rattail fish may seem harmless, it has piqued the curiosity of experts for vital research. Let's see how many more pigtail fish experts will spot in the deep, dark abyss of the oceans.