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Very rare video of a living silver hatchet fish from the deep sea (Argyropelecus aculeates). It's bright and thin silver body is highly polished and reflects the slightest of ambient light, and is a surprising type of camouflage in the deep dark waters. Found at middle depths from 2000 ft (600m) to the sea bed, and migrating up at night, it has light organs outline its body (called photophores). It's thought that from below it can match light coming from the surface to make itself invisible ( counter illumination). They are thought to hunt prey from below with their upward turning mouth, that gives it a surprised look! You can see the light cells in the shots from underneath, but in the white light needed to film they do not glow. Very few people have ever seen a living deep-sea hatchet fish , although there are similar shallow marine and fresh water types that do not have light cells, but the freshwater ones are not closely related and thought to be convergent in their evolutionary design. Little is known of their life history but they are not thought to live for more than a year. Their spawning grounds are unknown. Likely found worldwide in the deep oceans.
