In the distant warm seas and oceans livesAn inconspicuous fish with striped sides and pointed head. Like many other fish, it feeds on crustaceans, small relatives and mollusks. Sometimes sent to migrate.
One could say that a pilot is a fish that is no different from many thousands of others. But she also has an amazing feature that doesn’t have many analogs.
Species
Pilot - fish belonging to the orderPerciformes. She is a close relative of the Stavrid. This fish is eaten, but the lion’s share of the catch belongs to amateur fishermen, not large vessels. The fact is that pilots usually live in small flocks, which are meaningless to hunt, because there are huge flocks of stavrid, mackerel and other much more valuable species nearby. But on the hook fishing rod, this fish sometimes comes across. By the way, sometimes it becomes prey of the Black Sea fishermen.
This fish can reach half a meter in length, butmost individuals do not exceed 30 cm in length. Its body is colored in a blue-silver hue, and several dark blue stripes descend from back to side. On the bottom surface of the body of the pilot fish is a pointed fin.
Unusual Friends of Pilot Fish
“To whom and the mare bride,” - said to Ostap Bendernotorious janitor Tikhon. “And to whom the White Shark is the closest friend,” a pilot fish would certainly say if she could speak. Yes, yes, small groups of striped fish spend most of their lives near the thunderstorm of the seas and oceans. It is noteworthy that completely different types of sharks become the best friends of pilots.
Scientists, researchers of the underwater world, ordinarydivers, travelers - who just did not try to find answers to the question about this incomprehensible friendship. But today it is not known for certain why the fish, the pilot and the shark spend their whole lives shoulder to shoulder.
Myths and legends
And there are many versions.To separate the wheat from the chaff, you need to understand where the name came from. What is a pilot? The fish after all was so named not casually. In marine terminology, this word means a navigator who is familiar with the underwater terrain and knows how to plot a course. Most likely, this fish owes its name to one of the main misconceptions, which says: the fish pilot accompanies the visually impaired shark, helping to find food and avoid dangers. For this, they say, the shark and allows its little striped guide to pick up the crumbs from her royal table.
There is another version. According to her, the pilot eats shark feces or parasites attached to her skin.
Perhaps the shark serves only to protect?This version has neither evidence nor denial. The shark does not rush to the protection of pilots, and hardly anyone will attack the companions of a dangerous predator. But this assumption raises one question: why isn’t the shark trying to eat pilots? After all, this fish is edible, tasty and quite comparable with other prey that makes up the diet of sharks.
And the pilot is a fish, which is often confused withsticky Much is known about the relationship of the sticks and sharks. Of course, you can't call them real parasitism, as sticking doesn't cause shark harm. But the fact that one fish simply lives at the expense of the second, does not cause controversy. She can't even move herself. Pilots are not riders, they just swim nearby.
Scientific versions
Although science does not know for certain thatbinds sharks and pilots fish, but scientists know for sure about what exactly isn’t and cannot be. The version on navigation functions is untenable, if only because sharks have just enviable eyesight, and the smell is even better, they are perfectly oriented even in muddy water.
The version of eating scraps (and even moreparasites and feces) - even more unfounded. The stomachs of pilots were investigated more than once, and scientists have long been observing their behavior. Cruising near the shark, the pilots periodically pick up a fish that fishes or crustaceans and eat them.
More scientists have established that if the shark engages with the enemy or becomes the prey of hunters, the striped procession leaves it instantly, and then begins to search for a new patroness.
Other weird friends
Pilot is a fish that is “friendly” not only with the mostdangerous predator of the ocean. Often, divers find her in the company of huge turtles, rays, and other large marine creatures. Scientists are investigating their behavior, trying to solve the riddle of this strange coexistence, which cannot be called a symbiosis either, because neither side gains any obvious benefit. But so far they have more questions than answers.
What makes these nimble striped fish accompany other sea creatures? The underwater world is not in a hurry to reveal its secrets to us.
