The fish has a strange ability to transform

For a long time, people used three different names to call them, but thanks to gene analysis technology, experts realized that three species of fish are just one and this is a strange transformation in the world. vertebrate animals

The banded tail fish (top), Cetomimidae (middle) and big nose fish have extremely different shapes but belong to one species.Photo: Newscientist.

Of the three species, Mirapinnidae lives in shallow water layers and is often referred to as strip tail because of its long tail band. While Megalomycteridae (often called big nose fish) and Cetomimidae live on the seabed. Cetomimidae has many large teeth but no fins. And big nose fish have long respiratory organs, fixed teeth and energy reserves in the huge liver.

Three species of fish have many differences in body composition and living environment but have close relationship with each other. In 2007, some fossils were found about the transition from the tail fish to the big nose. Then marine biologist David Johnson and a number of colleagues from the Smithsonian Institute (USA) discovered identical tail fin and Cetomimidae DNA.

The above finding shows that there is a process of changing from cetomimidae fish to tail fish. David decided to analyze the DNA of all three fish species. The results show that they are actually just one species. According to the researcher, the banded tuna larvae will become the female Cetomimidae or the big male fish when entering the adult stage. He thinks this is the most bizarre transformation that scientists have ever known in the world of vertebrates.