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Chiasmodon Niger, Black Swallower Deep Sea Fish
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Black swallowers have been found to have swallowed fish so large, they could not be digested before decomposition set in, and the resulting release of gases forced the swallower to the ocean surface. This is, in fact, how most known specimens came to be collected. In 2007, a black swallower measuring 19 cm (7.4 in) long was found dead off Grand Cayman. Its stomach contained a snake mackerel (Gempylus serpens) 86 cm (34 in) long, or four times its length.
Reproduction
Reproduction is oviparous; the eggs are pelagic and measure 1.1–1.3 mm (0.04–0.05 in) in diameter and contain a clear oil globule and six dark pigment patches, which become distributed along the newly hatched larva from in front of the eyes to the tip of the notochord. These patches eventually disappear and the body darkens overall to black. The eggs are mostly found in winter off South Africa; juveniles have been found from April to August off Bermuda.
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