Meet the Opah, a Warm Blooded Fish

So, high school biology texts will need some revision. As always, we continue to discover new information about the incredible world we live in. Although the fish is not newly discovered, it's warm bloodedness and the mechanisms for that has just now come to light.

It’s one of the most basic biology facts we’re taught in school growing up: Birds and mammals are warm-blooded, while reptiles, amphibians and fish are cold-blooded. But new research is turning this well-known knowledge on its head with the discovery of the world’s first warm-blooded fish — the opah.

In a paper published today in Science, researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) describe the unique mechanism that enables the opah, a deepwater predatory fish, to keep its body warm. The secret lies in a specially designed set of blood vessels in the fish’s gills, which allows the fish to circulate warm blood throughout its entire body.

Washington Post

a reply to: quercusrex

What? No picture? How are we supposed to meet it?

I thought great whites had a form of warm bloodedness too.

a reply to: soulpowertothendegree

theres a pic of it if you read the story.

a reply to: soulpowertothendegree

Oh my word you are right!
Here ya go.



soulpowertothendegree, meet opah fish; opah fish, meet soulpowertothendegree.

a reply to: roaland

Do me a favor post a picture if you invite me to meet someone!

a reply to: ketsuko

They do address that in the article a bit, although not with great whites as an example:

Some other types of fish, such as tuna, have similarly designed blood vessels in certain parts of their bodies, allowing for “regional endothermy” — warm-bloodedness that’s limited to certain organs or muscles, such as the eyes, liver or swimming muscles. But the opah is the only fish scientists know of that has this design in its gills, where most fish lose the majority of their body heat to the surrounding cold water.

ETA: Some size reference:

a reply to: soulpowertothendegree There's a link. Use it.

a reply to: quercusrex

Post a picture!

Beautiful fish it is. The fact it's 5*C warmer than the surrounding water at the deep depths this fish lives is very significant in the fish world. According to the article, this allows it to have an advantage over others when preying for food at deep depths. Marine life has always amazed me.

Now I wonder why some fish would evolve full warm bloodedness and others partial, organ specific warm bloodedness and some haven't evolved either usage. There are fish that have survived for eons (coelacanth) that have done just fine being cold blooded.

originally posted by: soulpowertothendegree
a reply to: roaland

Do me a favor post a picture if you invite me to meet someone!

Here's the fat feller,



Just to add..it's cruelty now!

a reply to: quercusrex



Fine I will post a picture for you..............sheesh!

originally posted by: smurfy

originally posted by: soulpowertothendegree
a reply to: roaland

Do me a favor post a picture if you invite me to meet someone!

Here's the fat feller,

Just to add..it's cruelty now!

Looks tasty!

For a second I thought I read "Meet the Oprah"

This is pretty interesting, I saw the headline a few hours ago. It just goes to show that every time we turn around, something new can surprise us.

It's amazing how little we know about our own oceans...

a reply to: MystikMushroom

Yeah me too, thought my eyes were seeing an r in there somewhere!

a reply to: MystikMushroom

I thought it was Optha, one of the members here lol. One of those words, I guess. Kind of like how I looked at a Chinese restaurant menu and saw "eyeball soup" when it was eggdrop soup.

originally posted by: quercusrex
Now I wonder why some fish would evolve full warm bloodedness and others partial, organ specific warm bloodedness and some haven't evolved either usage. There are fish that have survived for eons (coelacanth) that have done just fine being cold blooded.

It could be that it evolved and adapted out of necessity to survive and compete or could have always been this way? One of those mysteries of life.

a reply to: quercusrex

We will soon kill them all anyway unique or not.

They are prized trophies for deep-water anglers as their large size and attractive form lend themselves well to taxidermy. Opahs are frequently caught as bycatch in many longline tuna fisheries.[2] Opah is becoming increasingly popular in seafood markets. It first became popular as a sushi and sashimi in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

It sure looks related to the sunfish. This is the oceans Set and the Sunfish Horus. Is there any speculation on a diverging evolutionary path that links a common ancestor between the two by chance??

Also, it looks rather delicious. answered that question in the post above me I see.