My Deep-sea Fishery

After flying out of the water, the flying fish needs to open its long and wide pectoral fins immediately, and glide against the sea wind at a speed of about fifteen meters per second.

If the wind is suitable, flying fish can fly more than 400 meters in the air at a low altitude of 4 or 5 meters above the water surface.

When the flying fish returns to the water, if it needs to take off again, it will beat the waves with its tail before its whole body enters the water to increase the gliding power, so that it can jump out of the water again and continue its short gliding flight.

Obviously, during the entire flight process of the flying fish, the wings do not flap at all, but rely on the propulsion of the tail to glide briefly in the air.

A scientist once conducted an experiment in which they cut off the tail fin of a flying fish, leaving its long pectoral fins, and then put it back into the sea. Since flying fish do not have developed pectoral muscles like birds, they cannot flap their wings, so the flying fish whose tail fin was cut off is Can no longer fly into the sky.

"Speaking of which, the wings of flying fish may have degenerated over the long years. In the earliest days, flying fish could actually fly." Xiang Yang said suddenly.

"Why did you say this all of a sudden?" Chen Qingsheng wondered.

Xiang Yang pointed to the front and said, "Look at that."

Chen Qingsheng took out his binoculars and looked at it carefully for a while, then turned his head in surprise, "Is that a flying fish?"

"Yes, it's all flying fish."

Xiang Yang recalled it carefully for a while, and then said: "Researchers in my country have discovered a flying fish fossil in Guizhou. Its time can be traced back to about 240 million years ago, and it is the oldest known flying fish fossil so far."

"Then the fossil can fly?" Fang Youqun asked.

Xiang Yang shook his head, "The flying fish fossils discovered by researchers from the Academy of Sciences and other institutions in Guizhou Province have a physiological structure very similar to today's flying fish. The small fins serve as auxiliary wings when gliding."

The reason why Xiang Yang said that the ancient flying fish could fly is because the tail fins of the found flying fish fossils are asymmetrical.

The two tail fins of today's flying fish are about the same size and are symmetrically spaced, but that flying fish's two tail fins are asymmetrical, and the lower one is much larger, which helps them get more thrust when they jump out of the water.

The dating results of these flying fish fossils show that they lived about 240 million years ago, belonging to the middle Triassic period.

The oldest flying fish fossils ever discovered date back to about 200 million years ago and belong to the late Triassic period, and were found in Italy and Austria.

Therefore, these fossils found in our country are the oldest flying fish fossils known so far.

Some researchers have said that the body length of that kind of ancient flying fish can reach up to 20 centimeters, and after they jump out of the water, they can glide tens of meters farther in the air than today's flying fish.

This discovery has important implications for studying ancient ecosystem changes.

Because about 250 million years ago, when the Permian period ended and the Triassic period began, the earth experienced a serious mass extinction. At that time, more than 90% of marine life died.

But the flying fish appeared soon after, suggesting that the oceans were already rich in species at that time, and the ecosystem may have recovered from the mass extinction faster than previously thought.

"Nature is really amazing, fish can fly." Fang Youqun stared at the group of flying fish through the binoculars and said in amazement.

Xiang Yang smiled and said: "Fish swim in the water and birds fly in the sky. For many people, this is indeed a common rule in the area where animals live, but just like there are flightless birds among birds, fish Naturally, there are also challengers in the class who bravely jump out of the water and soar in the sky."

"Which type of flying fish is this? I don't think I've seen this type of flying fish before." Chen Qingsheng asked Xiang Yang.

Xiang Yang shook his head, "The distance is too far, and I can't see clearly."

Although any fish that can fly can be called a flying fish, the flying fish we usually refer to refers to members of the entire flying fish family.

But in fact, under this flying fish family, there are a total of nine genera, and there are as many as dozens of effective species. species of flying fish.

As for the entire flying fish family, it is spread all over the world's oceans, so it can be regarded as a fish race with a big family and a big business.

Flying fish is different from those fierce marine predators that Xiang Yang encountered before.

Small flying fish mainly feed on zooplankton, and the water layer they inhabit is mainly surface waters.

As the saying goes, big fish eat small fish, and smaller ones eat dried shrimps. Smaller flying fish can be said to be the prey of all marine predators, including tuna, swordfish, dolphins, and even squid and seabirds.

In such a situation surrounded by powerful enemies, flying fish can evolve flying skills, which is actually a portrayal of the survival of the fittest in natural selection. Flying skills can help flying fish escape from the mouth of natural enemies quickly.

As for the flying ability of flying fish, different types of flying fish have different performances in different situations.

The current record of the flying fish with the longest time in the air is 45 seconds recorded by a TV crew in Dongyi in 2008.

In terms of flight distance, the average flight distance of flying fish is 100 meters under normal circumstances, but in extreme cases with the help of wind or waves, some flying fish can successfully fly a distance of 400 meters.

As for the flying height of flying fish, although many people have the impression that flying fish fly close to the water surface, there are actually many types of flying fish that can glide at a height of six meters above the sea.

With the means of flying, although flying fish is one of the bottom creatures in the entire marine food chain, at present, all members of the flying fish family basically do not have a survival crisis.

After hearing this, Fang Youqun said with emotion: "It turns out that fish don't only fly in fairy tales, there are actually fish that can really fly in the sea."

"It's not just a fairy tale, but it's also cruel. In the real world, the flying of flying fish is just a means of escape after being cornered." Xiang Yang shook his head.

Speaking of this, Xiang Yang suddenly laughed, "Actually, the first time I knew about Flying Fish was in a sci-fi comic."

When Xiang Yang was a child, he once saw a story in the comic "Doraemon" that the husband was feeding the koi at home, and he mercilessly laughed at Nobita: "Your house is so small that you don't even have a pond. Can’t afford koi?”

Nobita returned home, holding Doraemon and crying loudly.

Doraemon had an idea, if there is no pond, then raise the fish in the air, so he took out a bag of fish food from his pocket and sprinkled it into the sea, a magical scene happened, the fish in the sea jumped up, like Flying birds rush to the sky...