Nunnally Ichthyology Collection: loosejaw

What do Rudolph and the stoplight loosejaw have in common? They can both produce red light to see in the dark!
Though, while Rudolph just wants to help Santa deliver presents to children, the stoplight loosejaw's motivation is a bit more nefarious - they use their red light to illuminate their prey while hunting.
In this video, Miguel Montalvo, a graduate student at VIMS, presents a preserved specimen of stoplight loosejaw (Malacosteus niger), which is a type of deep-sea dragonfish (family Stomiidae). Watch to learn about this fascinating fish!
originally posted: December 16, 2022