Mutant fish in our rivers

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:47

Today there is not a single person who does not know who mutants are. Even children have heard about these creatures. Some speak of them with irony, others with apprehension, some believe in their existence, while others are skeptical. Let's try to figure out if mutants really exist, and if so, where are they.

Where did the mutant fish in our world come from

The Internet and the media are increasingly full of reports that in different parts of the world people are discovering creatures whose appearance differs from the normal and familiar to us. Ugly animals, mutant fish, people with genetic abnormalities appear and fill our planet. Today, no one is surprised by the existence of the ugly inhabitants of the Earth. A special boom in their appearance occurred after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Then the first information began to emerge that mutant fish were found in the reservoirs of cities located in the vicinity of the nuclear power plant. Pripyat is one of these settlements, the level of radiation in which led to the modification of living organisms.

Fish mutation

The most dangerous mutation for nature is genetic. Because even after the elimination or disappearance of the factors that caused it, it will spread by inheritance. So, in the natural reservoirs of our country, fish larvae with two mouths, three eyes, two heads and even without internal organs are often found. Typically, these mutant fish do not survive to adulthood. But there are viable ones among them, despite their deviations.

In the Volga river basin, for example, there are more than 50 fish mutations. In these individuals, violations in the pigmentation of the scales and serious changes in the blood were found. And in the Moscow River, external deformities and diseases of some fish species reach 100%.

Causes and types of mutations in fish

Ichthyologists from different countries, concerned about this situation, studied the mutations of fish in the basins of various rivers and came to the conclusion that modifications occur not only due to chemical influences. The causes of mutation in the inhabitants of water bodies can also be adverse biological influences. For example, the appearance of extra fins in fish is associated with damage to eggs by parasitic microorganisms.

What abnormalities in fish are detected during mutation?

Genetics have established such a thing as phenodeviants, which means creatures with a deviation from the normal appearance.

Phenodeviants are distinguished by numerous displacements of scales, deformation and pug-shaped cranial bones, frequent deformities of fins and theirabsence, reduction and underdevelopment of the gill cover, fusion of the vertebrae, disturbances in the structure of internal organs.

So, terrible creatures swim near the coast of Japan, which have the head of pink salmon, the jaw of a shark and the body of an eel. Scientists have suggested that these mutant fish appeared as a result of exposure to radiation from the destroyed Fukushima.

Chernobyl finds

In artificial reservoirs, phenodeviants appear as a result of inbreeding. If the number of such individuals increases in the natural environment, then this is due to the presence of teratogenic and mutagenic substances in the rivers.

For example, mutant fish in Chernobyl have such a deviation as spinal curvature. This is due to the effects of radiation and poisons on the body. Adults with such deformities come across in Pripyat quite often.

Unexpected and terrible finds are made by people in the reservoirs of the "exclusion zone" and other cities. These are freak fish of enormous size, with a variety of growths and anomalies. These ugly creatures began to acquire myths and stories. And someone specifically talks about the terrible monsters that live in Chernobyl in order to intimidate us.

Environmental disaster

Interesting and unexpected was the catch of fishermen in the Rostov region. In the S alt Lake, they caught a giant piranha weighing more than 2 kg. How the inhabitant of the rivers of South America got into the Russian lake remained a mystery. However, the experts made the assumption that the toothy fish was released from the aquarium, andshe was raised in captivity. But whether they are telling the truth or in this way reassure the inhabitants, one can only guess. Perhaps they are right. But if the reason for the appearance of piranha is a mutation, then this is one of the signs of an impending danger for the inhabitants of the Earth.

Scientists say that fish anomalies are a reason to think, because the next person may be himself. Pollution of water bodies with radiation, mutagenic substances and chemical emissions is the beginning of an ecological catastrophe. And only reasonable human activity related to water purification can save us from serious danger and consequences. Mutant fish of Chernobyl make us worry and make a decision in time to eliminate this problem.