5 mesmerizing minutes of flowing flatfishes to help you unwind

This mesmerizing collection of fin-tastic flatfishes was filmed by MBARI’s underwater robots. Flatfishes spend most of their time lying on their sides, camouflaged against the muddy seafloor or buried in the sand. When it’s time to find a meal or to escape an unwelcome predator, they swiftly push off the bottom and swim into the water above. They gracefully undulate their flattened bodies to swim, employing elongated fins for extra propulsion.

Larval flatfish live in open water far above the seafloor. Like a typical fish, they have eyes on either side of their heads. But as flatfish develop into juveniles, one eye migrates over to join the other, and they settle onto their sides on the ocean floor.

These remarkable fishes are found in all ocean basins. Some live in shallow waters, while others thrive at depths of more than 1,500 meters (about 4,900 feet).

Observing and documenting deep-sea biodiversity is increasingly critical. Overfishing, pollution, and climate change all threaten the deep ocean. We urgently need to establish a baseline in order to monitor ongoing human impacts on this environment. Unraveling the secrets of these smooth side swimmers—and other life in the deep—takes us one step closer to making this possible.

Video credits:
Producer/editor: Larissa Lemon
Production team: Kyra Schlining, Nancy Jacobsen Stout, Susan von Thun
Music: Aura of the Heart by Jordan Jessep

Animals in order of appearance:
Note: The red dots in some of these clips are lasers used to help us estimate the size of animals and seafloor features. The lasers are 29 centimeters (11.4 inches) apart.

0:00 Deep-sea sole (Microstomus bathybius) | 616 meters (2,021 feet)
0:11 Juvenile flatfish (order Pleuronectiformes) | 296 meters (971 feet)
0:21 Dover sole (Microstomus pacificus) | 589 meters (1,933 feet)
0:30 Juvenile flatfish (order Pleuronectiformes) | 377 meters (1,238 feet)
0:41 Dover sole (Microstomus pacificus) | 869 meters (2,850 feet )
0:50 Juvenile flatfish (order Pleuronectiformes) | 464 meters (1,523 feet)
1:13 Tonguefish (Symphurus sp.) | 262 meters (859 feet)
1:25 Deep-sea sole (Microstomus bathybius) | 1,194 meters (3,919 feet)
1:37 Juvenile flatfish (order Pleuronectiformes) | 296 meters (972 feet)
1:50 Dover sole (Microstomus pacificus) | 761 meters (2,497 feet)
2:03 Deep-sea sole (Microstomus bathybius) | 871 meters (2,858 feet)
2:16 Juvenile flatfish (order Pleuronectiformes) | 499 meters (1,637 feet)
2:29 Deep-sea sole (Microstomus bathybius) | 842 meters (2,762 feet)
2:41 Deep-sea sole (Microstomus bathybius) | 663 meters (2,174 feet)
2:51 Juvenile flatfish (order Pleuronectiformes) | 343 meters (1,127 feet)
3:05 Deep-sea sole (Microstomus bathybius) | 1,166 meters (3,824 feet)
3:19 Juvenile flatfish (order Pleuronectiformes) | 264 meters (868 feet)
3:43 California halibut (Paralichthys californicus) | 25 meters (83 feet)
3:51 Deep-sea sole (Microstomus bathybius) | 1,202 meters (3,943 feet)
4:03 Juvenile flatfish (order Pleuronectiformes) | 595 meters (1,953 feet)
4:17 Dover sole (Microstomus pacificus) | 885 meters (2,904 feet)
4:31 Juvenile flatfish (order Pleuronectiformes) | 144 meters (472 feet)

Видео 5 mesmerizing minutes of flowing flatfishes to help you unwind канала MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)