#PELICAN EEL

[i-draws-dinosaurs]

Deep Cuts: A Lino Printing Journey to the Seafloor

2 - Pelican eel, Eurypharynx pelecanoides

More lino printing!! I've loved gulper/pelican eels for ages but didn't learn until recently that only this species actually has the common name pelican eel! The other gulper eel genus, Saccopharynx, has jaws that are much more curved and a much longer body, whereas the pelican eel Eurypharynx has larger straight jaws and a (relatively) shorter body.

I love how these guys kinda straddle the line of being a bit unnerving but also silly goofy. The design of this print is inspired by the way they can billow out their throat pouch as recorded in this wonderful video from Nautilus Live:

[uncharismatic-fauna]

The Can-do Pelican Eel

The pelican eel, also known as the gulper eel (Eurypharynx pelecanoides), are the only known species of eel in the family Eurypharyngidae. They are found exclusively in the deeper parts of the water column, from depths of 500 up to to 3,000 m (1,600 to 9,800 ft), but are distributed throughout all the world's oceans.

The gulper eel is perhaps most famous for its unique body shape. Like many deep-sea fish, this species is highly adapted to its environment; maximum energy efficiency is the highest priority. To that end, the pelican eel has a large head, and a jaw estimated to be quarter of the total length of its body. The jaw is loosely hinged, meaning that gulper eels can open their mouths extremely wide. The rest of the eel, in contrast, is quite slender and long, about 0.75 m (2.5 ft) in length on average. Most individuals are black--so black, in fact, that they only reflect 0.5% of light; perfect for hiding from potential predators.

Although they look skinny, E. pelecanoides can expand their stomachs to hold prey much larger than themselves. Their primary prey consists of crustaceans and cephalopods, though they may feed opportunistically on other fish. Because it is so well camouflaged, it uses bioluminescent organs on the tip of its tail to attract prey. Gulper eels themselves are preyed upon by lancetfish and other larger deep-sea fish. To deter predators, they will gulp down a large amount of water; this stretches the loose skin around their head and throat, and inflates them to several times their usual size.

Because of their remote location, the breeding habits of gulper eels are relatively unknown. However, it is believed that smell plays a large part in attracting a mate, as pelican eels have highly developed olfactory organs. Like other eels, they're born as tiny, transparent larvae in a state known as the leptocephalus stage. At this stage, they do not have any red blood cells. Researchers aren't sure how long it takes gulper eels to become fully mature, or how long they live, but many believe that adults die shortly after mating.

Conservation status: The population size of E. pelecanoides has not been assessed, and thus the IUCN has not made a determination on its status. The greatest threat for this species is deep-sea trawling, which frequently brings up gulper eels as by-catch.

Photos/Video

Paul Caiger

Schmidt Ocean Institute

EV Nautilus Team (I highly recommend checking out their 2023 highlights reel!)

[fishenjoyer1]

Fish of the Day

Today's fish of the day is the gulper eel!

The gulper eel, also known as the pelican eel, and scientific name Eurypharynx pelecanoides is a species of deep sea eel renowned for their unusual swallowing ability. With a range stretching worldwide in both temperate and tropical zones, with a depth range of 500-3,000 meters. Solidly placing themselves within the Mesopelagic-Bathypelagic zones, or the twilight-midnight zones. Despite being found primarily in tropical zones, recent findings have led to the discovery of a gulper eel in the arctic, providing the possibility that the current understood range may need to be reevaluated.

The most notable feature of these eels is the large mouth, which can be expanded outward and used to swallow prey several times larger than the eel itself. Similar to how a baleen whale uses ventral grooves, the mouth is only loosely hinged to the body, and around a quarter of the eel's body length. This jaw can unfold both vertically and horizontally, stretching open a sac of skin larger than the entire rest of the body, although the stomach is made of a similar material and can distend outward with a meal. Unlike many other animals in deeper waters, the gulper eel is an active hunter for its food: hypothesized to exhibit lunge-feeding. Their diet consists primarily of crustaceans, and small fish, because despite their large mouth, they have small teeth and can not handle larger prey. Rather, they feed often by swimming into swarms of shrimp, catching huge swathes of them in one go. In their natural habitat, they are predated on by lancetfish, and other large animals, and there are semi rare cases of them being caught as bi-catch in deep sea fishing nets.

The life cycle of the gulper eel is similar to many other eels. They start life in a larval form, where they are thin and transparent, surviving off of marine snow. Then, once they enter the juvenile stage, they have small organs and no red blood cells. In adulthood, they have bioluminescence along the long tail, which can glow pink, or flash red, which is used to attract prey, along with developing a remarkable olfactory sense. This is then used during mating, as they release pheromones to attract partners. Over their lifetimes they can get as large as a meter in length, and it is curren. tly unknown just how long they can live.

Have a good day, everyone!

[squartsquartson]

Squart here with more midnight zone critters.

-The dumbo octopus is the deepest living species of octopus found to date.

-The frilled shark is one of the oldest living species of sharks, it might even date back to the late Jurassic!

-The gulper eel, true to its name, can swallow prey 11 times its size.

-The yeti crab uses those long hairy arms to catch bacteria from hydrothermal vents as its main source of food.

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[huginsmemory]

I was like what's a pelican eel and then looked it up and was like OHHHHHH ITS A GULPER EEL. that explains A LOT of katakuri's design. Also like makes perfect sense then to have him in black leather cause it's black and shiny like the eels themself, and the way he eats food cause the eels do that as well; even him being mochi and stretchy is a trait the eels have!!! PLUS, his pink tattoo/pink theme also makes sense since the eels have a photophore that glows pink and occasionally flash bright red... Not dissimilar to the way they did when his observation haki activates!!! Anyways as a biologist FUCK YEAH that makes me like him even more, they're adorable creatures tbh. All I can think of is the one expedition footage of one that was just drifting around looking like a balloon (they're also super cool and have their own distinct family within the true eel family!)

[vikary401]

day 11 - deep sea fish

pelican eel is actually my childhood icon in some way.

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

just discovered pelican eels :D

And boy, what fish they are!

Daily fish fact #481

Pelican eel!

Also called a gulper eel, its most recongisable feature is its massive jaws! They're estimated to be up to a quarter of the eel's length and look disproportionately large compared to its small body and thin tail. Their jaws allow the eels to swallow prey much larger than themselves, and some footage suggests they may also use their large jaws as a defensive measure, helping them appear larger and threatening.

[talism4niac]

Mermaids of the Deep

Just a normal day in the depths of Aquataga, testing the quality of your screams with your homies.

[cypherdecypher]

Animal of the Day!

Pelican Eel (Eurypharynx pelecanoides)

(Photo from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute)

Conservation Status- Least Concern

Habitat- Northern Atlantic Ocean; Northern Pacific Ocean

Size (Weight/Length)- 75 cm

Diet- Small fish; Crustaceans; Cephalopods

Cool Facts- Also called a gulper eel, the deep sea pelican eel has one of the largest mouths of any eel species. The pelican eel’s mouth makes up a quarter of its body, opening wide enough to eat extremely large prey despite its rather small body size. These eels are active pursuit predators rather than stealth hunters as most deep sea fish are. Little is known about how these eels breed let alone when their breeding season is, if they have one at all. The only reason we even know about pelican eels is due to them being pulled up as bycatch in deep sea trawling nets. Submarine explorations have allowed for some footage to be taken but not much is known about pelican eel behavior.

Rating- 11/10 (Unhinged jaw for max gulping power.)

[kitteyteeth]

Pelican eel! I had trouble picking just one deep sea fish to draw and I guess it wouldn't be against the rules to pick more than one, but I wanted to finish this on time ^^;;

@fish-daily

[marshland-parlour-cat]

The pixel artist Neorice (https://x.com/neoriceisgood) has made a huge collection of marine life. I emailed him a while back asking if I could upload some of my favourites to my tumblr blog (crediting him of course), and he said I could.

[raptorhonks]

Another treat, but this time it's a heinous creature.

I think the gulper eel is cute, what about you?

[weirdanimal-tournament]

Round 1 Match 10

Mexican Mole Lizard weirdness: "LOOK AT THIS THING. It has legs in a family of completely legless creatures. It is neither a mole or a lizard yet is spiritually both at the same time. It is so long and so skinny."

Pelican Eel weirdness: "big mouthj"

[cheddarchandelure]

I gave Martlet & Moray a child, Her name is Angie (She/Her)! I based her off a pelican eel, cause its a fish named after a bird, and prison yuri is a bird x fish ship lol. Also she is named after Moray's mom!

[yippee-dnd]

this is the player's greatest ally or greatest enemy, depending on what path they choose in the campaign

Design is based off of a gulper eel/pelican eel

ignore how scuffed the fins and bg look its fine-

i have agonized for SO LONG over this guys design

yes he is dating the Prince/Sayrin/his co-leader/the strategy planner/the mastermind of the whole rebel operation

yes they have matching earrings made of medieval ocean waste/pollution (bolt, nut, screw) i have more on that dont even get me started on that

yes i have a sketch of them holding hands

no i will not be sharing it YET because i need to draw him with his hood off

i could explain everything but this post would become an essay - it already kinda is oops

[canonickero]

pide moth