Facts about Black Swallower
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Occasionally, when swallowed prey proves too large to digest, the stomach can rupture or the carcass drifts upward, explaining why many specimens are collected floating at the ocean's surface.
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Described scientifically in 1878 by German naturalist Wilhelm Peters, this species was first classified as Chiasmodon niger from Atlantic Ocean specimens.
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Reaching a maximum length of about 25 centimeters, this species belongs to the family Chiasmodontidae and ranges through tropical and temperate oceans worldwide.
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Rows of sharp, inward-pointing teeth line the black swallower's throat and esophagus to prevent swallowed prey from escaping back out once ingested.
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Specimens of Chiasmodon niger have been recovered with prey items still undigested in their stomachs up to 10 years after being caught, suggesting metabolism rates so slow the fish may only need to eat a handful of times per decade.
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After consuming prey, black swallowers can remain immobilized for weeks while their digestive systems process meals that may exceed their own body mass by several times.
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Chiasmodon niger possesses a luminescent organ in its stomach lining that may help digest prey by attracting digestive juices or signaling satiation to the brain.
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Black swallower fish possess eyes that cannot move within their sockets and remain permanently fixed in an upward gaze toward bioluminescent prey above them.
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The black swallower's jaw can unhinge to nearly 120 degrees, enabling it to engulf prey with a girth exceeding its own body width.
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Deep-sea black swallowers inhabit depths exceeding 2,000 meters where bioluminescent prey fish are among the only available food sources.
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Stomachs of black swallowers can expand to 10 times their body size, allowing them to consume fish nearly as large as themselves in the deep ocean.