This video of a baby eel is amazing! The stunning footage was taken by underwater photographer Fan Zhang, in Anilao, Philippines, who explains:
Leptocephallus [eel larva] is a stage that all kinds of peptides must go through in growth and development. During this period, their heads are very small, their body size is extremely flat, their muscle tissue is thin, their blood lacks red blood cells, and their digestive tract is relatively simple . . . They dive into deeper waters during the day and float to the surface waters shallow below 100 meters at night for food.
I have encountered [larvae] many times while diving at night in Anilao, Philippines. In water they are as transparent as ghosts to almost indistinguishable, and very restless, wriggling the body almost all the time, which makes it very difficult to focus.
Here are the specs on the video:
Nikon Z7+Z24-70 F4
Nauticam blue sky sea waterproof shell
Left and right lights: NITESCUBA NSV10K two
Mid light: ATG 10000 one
Beam light source: SUPE DR95
The video was retweeted by Aawaz, who provides more information about the life cycle of an eel:
Eels have what's called a catadromous life cycle, which means they undergo mass relocation from one area or body of water to another. When they spawn and are born in the Sargasso Sea, a region of the Atlantic Ocean, they spend their early life drifting in the ocean currents before washing up the shore of Europe where they enter the freshwater. The video below shows a newly spawned eel. Credit for the video to Fan Zhang, a Chinese underwater videographer and photographer.
Who knew baby eels were so captivating?
