The Sunfish by Dylan Ramrattan

I think the Sunfish look the way it does because of the barbaric environment it has to live in. The sea is a crazy place. There are different pressure levels, different predators, and even different lighting. I think the fish is so large to protect itself from the sea predators like sharks. Maybe its large body can make let's say a shark think twice before making a meal out of the sunfish. In a way the sunfish reminds me of a flounder, they both have a very flat but large body. Also, maybe this fish is a bottom feeder at times, so the pressure at the sea floor could've caused this fish to evolve to be flat. The fish has a very dull color because of where it lives. It probably rarely sees sunlight, so it has evolved to be dull colored just like the dark ocean floor. This fish is a unique fish, hopefully we don't lose it to global warming. New species come from maybe a cross breed of two other fish species? It has received multiple traits from its parents causing it to look so bizarre. As long as we leave this fish alone, and don't tamper with it's environment, the fish could still swim on!

Ethan Weed Sunfish

1. Why do you think the sunfish looks the way it does? Why did it evolve to look the way it does? How does it's appearance and features help it live and survive? Take a guess.

If I had to take a guess as to why sunfish had a flat body, I would guess that it's flat body would make it easier for sea birds to consume parasites off of its body. The arrival mentions that sunfish will swim twords the surface of the water and lay flat so that parasites can be removed from their skin. Not only that, but by being more flat, sunfish can better warm themselves up when laying in the sunlight. By increasing the surface area of their skin consumed by sunlight, the more effectively they would be able to warm up.

2. Why and how do you think new species appear?

I believe that all new species appear through evolution. Adaptation falls within evolution, and by adapting, different organisms can change to better fit their need to survive. Species that survive due possessing to more life preserving traits often reproduce and pass on those traits.

3. What do you think the sunfish's future looks like in terms of survival?

I don't feel that the sunfishes survival in the future is high. Pollution and ocean acidification a major threats to marine wildlife today. Not only that, but sunfish are also described in the article as being very hard to find, suggesting that they may have a small population. The article l also describes how seals often tear the fins off of sunfish, resulting in them being consumed by other marine wildlife.

The Sunfish

The sunfish is a bizarre, eccentric- looking fish. Characterized by a flat, lumpy body with two vertical fins and no tail, this marine creature baffles scientists seeing as there's no obvious evolutionary reason for its morphology. As someone who has not studied this creature and has only recently been introduced to it, I can only wonder and guess at why a fish would evolve to be so inefficient at swimming, ugly, and seemingly random. That being said, here are a few of my guesses.

Sunfish have a lumpy, flat body. Unlike other fish with this structure who lay on the sea floor, sunfish swim awkwardly upright. This could be because of its evolutionary ancestors. If the sunfish evolved from large, blobby, fat ancestors, then their stretched- out forms might be an unfortunate way of evolving to be more aerodynamic and streamlined, albeit unsuccessfully.

As far as the sunfish's odd "beak", this might be advantageous when slicing through the creature's main source of food, jellyfish. Finally, their enormous size could be the key that allows them to dive deep underwater, not unlike whales, and what protects them from smaller predators.

A brand new species of sunfish was recently discovered. New species of an existing family, class, order, or genus are discovered when a physical specimen is observed and studied that is distinctly different than existing species. In the case of this sunfish, these differences can be observed on a macroscopic scale (it's less lumpy) and genetically.

The sunfish is not a particularly endangered species. Humans do not catch it for food, it can lay 300,000,000 eggs at once, and it has few predators. However, accidental entrapment by commercial fisherman is a threat to some. In general, the sunfish is going to be just fine.

Jasmine Jones- THE SUNFISH BLOG POST

The Sunfish is a blob-like fish that has flat sides and fins attached to the top and bottom of their body. They lack a 'back fin'. They can grow to around 14 feet, and (probably) is a predator in the ocean. They have a wide mouth that allows food to move into their body. Their size also helps instill fear into nearby fish. If a 5,000-pound fish came near me, I'd swim in the other direction. There's also the bonus that they look similar to a shark with the big fin on top.

Scientists and researchers are still searching the world. We have neither turned every rock nor looked around every corner. There's more out there in the world for us to find and explore. And I think as we continue looking, we'll find more. The ocean is 36,000 feet deep, and we've only explored 5%. Unfortunately, the sunfish don't have the brightest future. With seals and sea lions preying on them (probably) for fun, doesn't make it look too good for them. The sea lions and seals rip off their fins. And this leaves them unable to swim do anything, except sink to the bottom of the ocean and die. I wish them the best.

Alice Sunfish Post

I believe the sunfish looks the way it does for survival purposes. The mouth that fuses together probably enables them to suck in a large amount of prey at the same time without having to worry about biting them. Sunfish preys on small marine creatures such as jellyfishes so strong, sharp teeth are not necessary. The fin attached to the end probably helps them dive. The article states that sunfish dives at approximately 2,000 feet which are quite the distance. The fin also helps the sunfish sunbathe, keeping it in place and floating. I think the new species appear as a result of evolutionary purposes. The other three sunfish are probably struggling to survive due to the ineffectiveness of their features; therefore a new species come out with better features for survival. I think the sunfish will become endangered soon if nothing is done to protect them. Like the article mentioned, seals tear off their fin which is an important aspect of the sunfish. Therefore, laws should be implemented to ensure that sunfish can come up to sunbathe without having to worry about attack from seals. If nothing is done, then the entire sunfish population will be at risk.

Sunfish

I think the sunfish looks the way it does so that it can more efficiently absorb the rays of the sun when it surfaces. For this reason, it evolved into a flat creature with abundant surface area for Vitamin D. Its fins help it to swim and dive long distances, and its flatness allows it to move through the water easier. I think new species appear because of random genetic mutations that gradually distinguish a new species. Their chance of survival is moderate considering they are helpless to violent seals and their bodily design is clumsy. However, other animals have survived under worse circumstances.

Sunfish

Sunfish

I believe that the sunfish looks that way it does because their features may help them survive. For example, in the article mentioned that their fins look like shark fins which might make people back off instead of going after it and killing it. In the article it also says that they have “ridiculously oversized fins” and this obviously helps swim better as if they had small ones with la large body weighing over 5,000 pounds. I think without these characteristics they would not survive. However, we see how they are still getting killed and their fins are getting ripped off, left to die showing that evolution needs to keep doing its job in order to protects itself.

I think the reason new species appear is because there can be possibilities of one type of species that is separated from all the others. Then that one species  might end up up mating with a different one making a new species appear with characteristics of 2 different species into one. Another reason may be because they have to adapt to their environment causing them have different features to survive.