Diving for elephant fish eggs

University of Cambridge biologistAndrew Gillisstudies the embryo of elephant Pisces , distant relation of sharks with long , trunklike snouts . But how , exactly , do you get an elephant fish conceptus ? You go diving for them , of row . In this TV , Gillis describes how he gets these Pisces the Fishes embryos and what he finds inside their eggs .

Gillis explains :

This is a picture of an elephant fish conceptus . Elephant fish are cartilaginous Fish , and are upstage cousins of sharks , skate and stingray . The elephant fish survive in deep pee off the coast of Australia and New Zealand , but migrate annually into shallow coastal bay to rest their eggs . I study the embryonal ontogenesis of elephant fish , by collecting their eggs by SCUBA diving event at their egg - laying grounds . ordinarily , an elephant Pisces conceptus will live in their testis and feed off of their yolk supply for 7 to 10 month before hatching out as a completely self - sufficient juvenile person . However , these embryos may also be cultured alfresco of their testicle case , as seen here . This allows us to observe and photograph the development and growth of this strange fish .

The diameter of the petri saucer in the elephant fish picture is 10 cm .

Music byPeter Nickalls

This is the fourteenth in a serial publication of videos called Under the Microscope , which io9 is post in partnership with scientist at University of Cambridge . Under the Microscope is a accumulation of videos that enamor glimpses of the rude and artificial earth in sensational close - up . They will be unblock every Monday and Thursday for the next couple of months , and you cansee the whole serial here .

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