Tripod Fish
Bathypterois grallator
Living stilts turn the seafloor into a lookout.
The tripod fish balances above the mud on three incredibly long fin rays. Facing the current, it waits for food to drift into reach of its feeler-like fins.
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From field guide to game table
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Quick dive
Creature passport
- Home
- It stands on soft deep seafloors worldwide, usually 900 to 4,700 meters down.
- Favorite foods
- It catches tiny crustaceans and small fishes carried past by the current.
- Size check
- Body about 12 in (30 cm); stilts can approach 3 ft (1 m)
Tell-your-friends facts
Four wonderfully wild things
- 1
Two pelvic-fin rays and one tail ray form the three-legged stand.
- 2
Tiny eyes are less useful than touch in its pitch-black home.
- 3
Long pectoral fins sense movement and guide food toward the mouth.
- 4
Young tripod fish drift near the surface before moving into the deep.
Ocean superpower
Built to be amazing
It pumps fluid into flexible fin rays to stiffen them into stilts.
Junior scientist tip
What should I look for?
Find the fish perched above mud on three wire-thin legs.
Grown-up research links
We used trusted science organizations to check this profile.