A mysterious new species in Antarctica

What is an Antarctic ice fish?

Antarctic ice fish refers to a kind of fish, not a kind of fish. Refers to those fish that live under the Antarctic ice sea. They have a big head, but their bodies are slender, their skins are black and white, their eyes are big, their mouths have tusks, and some parts are translucent. Why is it named "ice fish"? Nature is related to their snow-white bodies. In addition, their blood is almost colorless, contains no hemoglobin, and can survive in the sea below freezing point, hence the name.

This kind of fish can't be found in other parts of the world, because they are very afraid of heat. If the water temperature exceeds 5℃, they may die of heat. In this big family of ice fish, there is also a very unique representative, called Hubei ice fish, named after kissing the minister like a crocodile.

biological evolution: the survival code of Antarctic ice fish

so why do ice fish have translucent bodies? In this regard, biologists explained that because Antarctic ice fish lack both red blood cells and hemoglobin, and it is the only vertebrate that has this characteristic, it is this characteristic that makes their translucent bodies. Here we have to talk about the evolution of Antarctic ice fish.

The story of Antarctic ice fish began 3 million years ago, when they were not what they are now. However, the Antarctic ocean was frozen later, and the waters were very cold, which made it difficult for many original residents in the ocean to adapt. However, the ancestors of the ice fish survived and learned to adapt to this cold water. Their descendants gave up scales, their bodies became transparent, and then their bones became thinner. Even from the outside, they could see the internal skeleton and some organs through their translucent bodies.

why didn't the ice fish freeze to death?

Ice fish live in the Antarctic, because they can adapt to the environment and become neither afraid of hypoxia nor hunger, so they have survived to this day. But how do they resist freezing? In this regard, scientists have also conducted a detailed study, and the answer is hidden in the ice fish. Under what circumstances will fish freeze to death? Here we have to know that the freezing resistance of fish is related to the freezing point of its blood.

Fish living in temperate waters generally have a freezing point of around minus .8℃, below which they will freeze to death. Fish living in Antarctic waters are different. They have a kind of high molecular substance in their bodies, which can make them have the ability to lower their freezing point according to the drop of external temperature, so they can live in the cold Antarctic waters for a long time without worrying about freezing to death.