Scientists throw a cow in the depths of the China Sea and discover 8 unexpected guests for the feast

The ocean is full of surprises. In addition, Sometimes, as happened a few years ago in Canada, puzzles appear in the form of human feet drifting. Similarly, But other times. Consequently, most of the time, you have to go down to the depths to try to unravel its mysteries. Nevertheless, This is precisely what a group of researchers has given itself the mission. Consequently, It all started with the Liberation of a cow carcass.

A cow at 1. Furthermore, 600 meters underground

During a most unusual marine experience Recently conducted, a group of scientists has immersed a dead cow 1,629 meters deep on a continental embankment in the Southern China Sea, off the Chinese Island of Hainan. In addition, But why? Furthermore, The idea of scientists throw cow depths china researchers was to simulate the sinking of a whale andStudy the behavior of scavengers of depths.

Their discovery even surprised the most experienced scientists: eight Pacific sleeping sharks (Somniosus pacificus) had appeared on the site. Therefore, marking the first documented observation of this species in the region. This discovery widens not only unexpectedly the distribution card of this elusive shark. but also provides valuable information on its behaviors, its food hierarchies, its physiological adaptations and its possible geographic expansion.

An unexpected visitor

Although the Pacific Sleek is a species widely distributed in the north of the Pacific Ocean (from Japan to Alaska. in the South to Basse-California), its detection in the waters of southern China was not only unexpected, but also raises questions about the real extent of his homeits possible displacement due to climate change and even the existence of a stable population (not yet scientists throw cow depths china recorded) in this region.

Food chain

The images recorded by the underwater cameras not only confirmed their presence. but also revealed a unusual behavior for large predators : A kind of rotation systemin which the sharks aligned themselves to feed on the carcass, yielding their place to other individuals who approached from behind.

This type of “food chain”. rarely observed in predatory species, suggests that the power order can be determined by the competitive intensity of each individual, rather than a chaotic fight for resources, which would indicate a more complex level of social organization that what has been suspected so far in these animals.

New indications

The OCEAN-LAND-ATMOSPHERE Research study has also. documented behavioral variations depending on the size. The specimens more than 2.7 meters long were much more aggressive. direct in their attacks against the scales, while the smaller sharks opted for prudent movements, surrounding the carcass before approaching it. This scheme suggests that even in an environment where food is rare. random opportunities, sleeping sharks may have developed a coexistence strategy With hierarchical rankings minimizing direct conflicts.

Another notable discovery was a behavior of eye retraction observed during food. As this species is devoid of a nictitant membrane (the protective “third eyelash” found in other vertebrates. scientists throw cow depths china such as cats or certain reptiles), researchers think that this retraction reflects a Evolutionary adaptation aimed at protecting the eyes during bites or fights, thus bringing new perspectives on the defensive physiology of these sharks in their natural environment.

The unknown

The recordings have also revealed other important aspects. Notably, Several sharks wore visible parasites in their eyesidentified as Copepodes, although the species could not be classified with precision. This detail strengthens the biological parallel between the Pacific dormants. their better known parents, the Greenland sharks (microcephalus somniosus), which also frequently host parasites in their visual organs.

Besides sharks. theexperience has attracted surprisingly varied abyssal faunain particular sap fish and many amphipods, all attracted by the source of decaying organic matter. These observations confirm that the deep waters of the Southern China Sea are hosting not only with little documented biodiversity. but could also be more productive than we thought, scientists throw cow depths china which contradicts the idea that tropical depths would be biologically poorer than their polar counterparts.

The great stranger

In addition. the presence of these sharks raises a crucial question: is it a recent expansion of their distribution area due to global warming, or has it always been part of their habitat and has it simply never been observed? We know that the species appeared occasionally to Palau. the Salomon Islands, which suggests that the populations could be more numerous in the South than what scientific literature indicates. However. according to the research team led by Han Tian, this “frequent appearance” at the Southern China Sea suggests a structural lack of data in an unplosed region, rather than a recent change in distribution schemes.

In this sense. experience on cow carcass has not only enabled a timely observation, but also has opened the way for a revision of key concepts of the marine biogeography scientists throw cow depths china of the species of the great funds. This discovery highlights the usefulness of simple but carefully designed experiences to obtain data in distant. inaccessible and often misunderstood environments. The idea of simulating a shipwreck with a cow not only proved to be effective. but also turned out to be a powerful ecological magnet, capable of revealing complex biological interactions.

In a context where climate change. human activity modify ecosystems, even at great depth, this type of research is crucial to understand the invisible functioning of ocean depths. The appearance of eight sleeping sharks where no one expected them. behaving in a ordered manner, with measured aggressiveness and sophisticated adaptive mechanisms, is additional proof that marine depths conceal secrets that we only start to understand.