Golomyanka is found in the lake. "Shark" of Baikal amazing facts about golomyanka

Golomyanka is the most amazing fish of Baikal: firstly, it is the only viviparous fish that lives here; secondly, it looks almost transparent, the spine and blood vessels are visible through the skin.

Golomyanka was first described by Peter Pallas in 1771: “Moreover, if there is something rare, and only found in Baikal, then a fish, which the Russians call a kolomenka; it appeared here not very long ago, although there is not the slightest doubt that it was there before, only they did not notice it. It is in itself as hard as a piece of bacon, and justly so fat that if you fry it, only the spinal vertebrae will remain, and everything else will blur. She never gets on the net, and she has never been seen alive. Here, not without probability, they conclude that it is kept in the deepest Baikal abysses only, which have been explored in the middle and on the northern stone side ... Whatever the reasons were in the sea, which would drive this fish to the surface, no one can say. Usually it is thrown out by strong weather from the upland side, in the summer most to the Posolsky Monastery and to Ust-Selenga. It is not uncommon to see her after great storms, where she floats on the surface in great herds, and in some years she was thrown out so much that they lay on the shore in a shaft, then the coastal inhabitants had a fair amount of profit from them to melt fat and sell to the Chinese ... " .

During one of the expeditions, Benedikt Dybowski discovered that golomyankas are viviparous. The discovery literally excited the scientific world. Prior to this, it was generally recognized that only fish in tropical waters are viviparous, and in temperate latitudes and in the north, fish spawn.

Two species of golomyanka live in the lake - the small golomyanka and the big golomyanka. At the same time, both of these species are of autochthonous origin and formed in the Baikal waters about two million years ago.

Big golomyanka ( Comephorus baikalensis). The body length is 22 cm. Almost a quarter of her body is a head with a huge mouth and teeth that fill it and grow, starting from the chin. Golomyanka in constant motion. This allows a weak fish to effectively hunt macrohectopus and fish fry. Vertical or inclined “floating” is achieved in the big golomyanka due to neutral buoyancy due to the high fat content (over 40%) in the muscles.

In the big golomyanka already at the fry stage, dark enough contrasting spots are formed. Then mostly top part body gradually darkens. In adult fish, the dark color of the body disappears, and females become translucent pinkish with a whitish tinge due to the high fat content.

Mating in the big golomyanka is observed in April-July, the gestation of embryos is in July-September, in the small golomyanka, respectively, in September-December and in March-April. The sexual cycle in the big golomyanka is predominantly one-time.

The age limit for females of the big golomyanka is 7 years, for males - 4 years. It performs diurnal vertical migrations: at night it rises to the surface of the water for food organisms, and during the day it descends to a depth of 50-100 meters, where food organisms also descend. At these depths, she may be hiding from diurnal predators, including her older brothers, who do not miss the opportunity to feast on her. The golomyanka spends most of its life at great depths, where light does not penetrate and, it would seem, it does not need eyes. But for quite a long time it also stays in the illuminated zone, where it gets its own food, hunting for planktonic organisms, and here it needs eyes.

Small golomyanka (Comephorus dybowski). The body length is 14 cm. Vertical or inclined “hovering” is achieved in the Lesser Golomyanka due to the huge pectoral fins, the total area of ​​which reaches 200% of the body area. The small golomyanka has a translucent body with a pink tint, on which rare dark pigment cells are located in a chain.

Despite the fact that this fish leads a solitary lifestyle, not straying into schools, the golomyanka makes up a huge percentage of the biomass of all fish in Baikal (about 200 thousand tons).

Baikal seal (Pusa sibirica)- one of the three freshwater seal species in the world, the only mammal that lives in Baikal. A scientific description of the seal was first made during the work of the 2nd Kamchatka, or Great Northern, expedition led by V.I. Bering. As part of this expedition, a detachment worked on Baikal under the leadership of I. G. Gmelin, who studied the nature of the lake and its environs in many ways and described the seal.

Until now, among scientists there is no single point of view on how this animal got into Baikal. Most researchers adhere to the point of view of I.D. Chersky that the seal entered Baikal from the Arctic Ocean through the Yenisei-Angara river system in the Ice Age, simultaneously with the Baikal omul. Other scientists do not rule out the possibility of its penetration along the Lena, which is supposed to have had a runoff from Baikal.

The average body length of an adult seal is 165 cm (from the end of the nose to the end of the hind flippers). Weight from 50 to 130 kg, females are larger than males. Linear growth in seals ends by the age of 17–19, and weight growth continues for a number of years and is possible until the end of life. The body shape of the seal is fusiform, without a pronounced neck. The limbs of the seal are flippers. The front flippers are very developed, with powerful claws. Live up to 55 years.

Nerpa is a good diver. She can dive to a depth of 400 m and stay underwater for up to 40 minutes. Its speed of movement under water is 7 - 8 km. in hour, maximum speed- 20 - 25 km / h. With greater speed, she swims when she moves away from danger. On a solid substrate, the seal moves rather slowly, flipping with flippers and tail. In case of danger, he goes to the races.

The seal finds food in a well-lit area (25-30 m) and, apparently, it does not need to dive deep. The seal is capable of diving up to 400 m, and can withstand a pressure of 21 atm. In nature, it happens under water for up to 20-25 minutes. - this is enough for her to get food or get away from danger.

Lives in the northern and middle parts of Lake Baikal. In June, on the shores of the Ushkany Islands, you can see especially many seals. At sunset, the seals begin a massive movement towards the islands. These animals are curious and sometimes swim up to drifting ships with their engines turned off, staying nearby for a long time and constantly emerging from the water. Nerpa is a good diver. She can dive to a depth of 400 m and stay underwater for up to 40 minutes. Its speed of movement under water is 7 - 8 km. per hour, maximum speed - 20 - 25 km / h.

The seal is fed by non-commercial fish (golomyanka, Baikal goby). For a year, an adult seal eats up to 1 ton of fish. The main food of the seal is golomyanka-goby fish. Omul is caught in the food of the seal by chance and in very small quantities, no more than 1-2% of the daily diet.

The seal gives birth to cubs in a specially prepared snow den. Most of the seals are born in mid-March. Usually a seal gives birth to one, rarely two cubs. Newborn weight up to 4 kg. The skin of the cubs is silver or silver-gray. A young seal cub is called a hubunk by the Buryats. For about 4-6 weeks, the cub spends exclusively inside the den, feeding on mother's milk. By the time the lair collapses, he manages to shed almost completely. The mother takes care of the baby, leaving only for the time of hunting.

With the transition to self-feeding by fish, seals molt, the fur gradually changes color to silver-gray in 2-3-month-olds, and then to brown-brown in older and adult individuals.

When the lake is ice-bound, the seal can breathe only through vents - vents - spare holes in the ice. The seal makes blows by raking the ice from below with the claws of its forelimbs. Around her lair there are up to a dozen or more auxiliary vents, which can be tens or even hundreds of meters away from the main one. The airways are usually round in shape. The size of the auxiliary vents is 10-15 cm (enough to stick your nose above the water surface), and the main vent is up to 40-50 cm. From the bottom, the vents have the shape of an inverted funnel - they expand significantly downward.

According to observations, the seal sleeps in the water, as it is in an immobilized state for quite a long time. Probably as long as there is enough oxygen in the blood. During the sleep of the seal, scuba divers swam close to it, touched it and even turned it over, but the animal continued to sleep.

Commercial hunting is carried out on the seal, about 6 thousand seals are shot annually. The meat of the seals is fed to Arctic foxes, hats are made from fur, used to pad hunting skis. Seal meat is eaten, and seal flippers boiled in water are considered a delicacy. Particularly tender meat in young seals - hubunks, whose meat does not smell like fish and tastes like chickens. There are a lot of vitamins in the seal's liver. In the old days, seal fat was used in leather production and in soap making. In 1895-1897. seal fat was mainly used in the Lena gold mines for lighting mines. locals seal fat is considered medicinal and used in the treatment lung diseases and peptic ulcers of the stomach.

According to the staff of the Limnological Institute of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, about 120,000 seals currently live on Lake Baikal.

The seal is included in the IUCN Red List as a species close to extinction.

Sources:

Volkov S.N. Along Baikal. - Moscow, AST, 2010

Kuzevanova E.N., Motovilova N.V. Baikal studies. – Irkutsk, 2006

Golomyanka is a small unusual fish that lives in Lake Baikal. It is slightly pink, transparent or translucent, and besides, it prefers deep waters and the bottom. But the lucky ones managed to film her moving under the ice near the surface of the lake several times. The fish belongs to endemics - local small species that live only in this area.

It is noteworthy that this Baikal fish of the Golomyankovye family does not have scales and consists of fat by one third. This compensates for her lack of a swim bladder. Both large and small species (Dybovsky's golomyanka; by the name of the naturalist Benedikt Dybovsky, who discovered the fish in 1830) are most often found at a depth of 0.5 to 0.25 km, but also live deeper - up to 1.6 km.

origin of name

Previously, the family was called "kolomenka", and then from the word "golomen", which means "uninhabited places", the final common name was obtained. In some sources, this word is translated as “open sea”, which is undoubtedly suitable for Baikal.

In addition to the sizes, which gave the basis for the names of the species, there are a number of distinguishing features:

• color (in large, the body is whiter, which is explained by the large amount of white fat under the transparent skin);
• the size of the eyes (in a small species, d is 2 times less than the width of the forehead);
• survival (large ones more often die during childbirth);
• the number of males (large ones have much fewer).

Food

The method of catching food is the opening of the mouth and frequent biting. The main diet of golomyanka is planktonic crustaceans of Baikal waters (cyclops, Jurassic amphipods, epishura). Large individuals often trade in cannibalism in their families or among young gobies. Interestingly, the golomyanka goes up for food at night, and during the day it hides from predators like omul or seal closer to the bottom. If, after a storm, the fish is washed ashore, it becomes the prey of local birds.

reproduction

The Baikal golomyanka is viviparous, it does not spawn, does not spawn and does not migrate. All this is incredible, because in cold waters, populations survive only on eggs. But the oily fish managed to overcome the forces of nature and become a legend of Baikal.

Before giving birth, she rises to the mark where plankton lives in order to provide food for the offspring. It was believed that the fish most often died during childbirth, but later studies have refuted this assumption. A large species breeds at the end of summer (the water is as warm as possible) and until mid-autumn. The small species prefers spring. The presence of travelers and swimmers does not bother the fish. In the process of childbirth, up to 2500 larvae appear at a time big view and about 1500 small larvae. The sexual cycle is usually one-time.

Spreading

Golomyanka loves the cold and can withstand temperatures from 0 to +8 degrees, and in warmer water she dies or hibernates.

Golomyanka is the most famous Baikal specimen, and it makes up the bulk of the lake:

• about 150 thousand adult fish and fry;
• over 65% of the Baikal fish biomass;
• the mortality and birth rate of fish is comparable, so a complete “reset” occurs periodically.

The Baikal fish brethren are well acquainted with the places of abundance of zooplankton, therefore, in the vicinity of the Barguzinsky Bay and the Small Sea, you will not meet the golomyanka. Predators arrive there, which the golomyanka is afraid of.

Defense mechanisms

The fish escapes from seals and other inhabitants of the lake with extremely poor body resources:

• constant movement;
• a thorn in the anal region (if any);
• avoidance of light areas.

There is no protection on the head, there are no special devices like an ink cloud.

Fishing

People rarely hunt endemics, because they are almost endangered species. In addition, the golomyanka is a meager trade, it gets into the nets only by accident, and does not react to the bait, hook and bait. It also rarely rises to the surface.

Fishermen are interested in the presence of golomyanka only because it is food for large schools of omul and other Baikal fish.

Late maturation (at 2-3 years of age) and early extinction (at 4-7 years) also do not contribute to directed fishing. Although in terms of calories, an adult is superior to a sturgeon. At one time, fish oil, rendered from outlandish fish, was sold and handed over to soldiers for war, and delivered to China.

The famous Baikal fish has repeatedly surprised scientists who continue to study it. Including placed in aquariums, where they create an imitation of pressure at great depths.

In particular, the fish is unique:

• a method of reproduction that is not typical for other Baikal fish (they spawn);
• a strange reaction to light (does not attract, but frightens, but the main thing is that visual pigments have not atrophied, which means they are used, albeit at depth, in darkness);
• transparency of the skin (you can even read through the tail);
• a meager ratio of females / males (the latter, as a rule, barely recruited 4%).

Individuals of a large species do not exceed 25 cm, and of a small species - 15 cm. The open mouth is 1.5 times the width of the carcass. Schooling is not inherent in golomyanka. It moves on its own, does not act in the interests of the population. Evolution on this fish also decided to take a breather, because no development is observed, there is stability in all life and other cycles.

Send a request for booking rooms from the site

There are more than two million freshwater and salt lakes in Russia. The largest lakes in the European part of the country include Ladoga (17.87 thousand km²) and Onega (9.72 thousand km²) in the northwest, Lake Peipsi (3.55 thousand km²) on the Estonian border, as well as the Rybinsk reservoir ( 4.58 thousand km²) on the Volga north of Moscow.

Narrow lakes from 160 to 320 km in length are located behind the dams on the Don, Volga and Kama. In Siberia, similar artificial lakes are located on the upper Yenisei and its tributary, the Angara, where the Bratsk reservoir, 570 km long, is one of the largest in the world. But they are all insignificant compared to Lake Baikal, the largest reservoir of fresh water on the planet. With a length of 636 km and an average width of 50 km, the surface area of ​​Lake Baikal is 31.72 thousand km², and the maximum depth is 1642 m.

There are countless smaller lakes, located mainly on the poorly drained lowlands of the Russian and West Siberian Plains, especially in more northern regions. Some of them reach significant sizes, in particular, Lake Beloe (1.29 thousand km²), Topozero (0.98 thousand km²), Vygozero (0.56 thousand km²) and Lake Ilmen (0.98 thousand km²) on the territory of the European north-west of the country, and Lake Chany (1.4-2 thousand km²) in south-west Siberia.

List of the largest lakes in Russia

We present to your attention the 10 largest lakes of the Russian Federation with a description, photo and geographical location on the map of the country.

Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland water body (area: 371 thousand km²). It is called a sea, not a lake, because the ancient Romans who arrived in this region discovered that its water was salty and named it the sea after the tribes of the Caspian who lived near the shores of the lake. The Caspian Sea borders the following five countries: Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Iran. The main river feeding the lake is the Volga, which provides about 80% of the inflow of the Caspian Sea, and the remaining 20% ​​falls on other smaller rivers.

The Caspian Sea is rich in oil and natural gas deposits, but these are under development. Also, the extraction process is hindered by the problem of dividing the natural resources of the lake between the five countries bordering it. About 160 species and subspecies of fish from 60 genera live in the Caspian Sea and the deltas of the rivers flowing into it. About 62% of the species are endemic.

Baikal

Baikal is the deepest (1642 m), the oldest (25-35 million years) and the most voluminous (23.6 thousand km³) of all lakes in the world, it is a superstar reservoir in the field of hydrology, geology, ecology and history. Today, Lake Baikal contains about 20 percent of the fresh water on the Earth's surface, which is comparable in volume to the entire Amazon River basin. Baikal has 27 islands, including one over 70 km long (Olkhon Island).

More than 1,500 species of animals live off the shores of the lake, 80% of which are found nowhere else on the planet. The most famous representative of the Baikal fauna is the seal, which lives exclusively in fresh water. According to some reports, the population of seals is about 100,000 individuals. Also near the lake there are such large predators as wolves, which occupy the top positions of the Siberian food chain, feeding on deer, birds, rodents and smaller predators.

Ladoga lake

Lake Ladoga is the largest freshwater lake in Europe, located in the north-west of Russia, 40 km east of St. Petersburg. The area of ​​the lake is 17.87 thousand km², the volume is 838 km³, and the maximum depth at a point to the west of Valaam Island it reaches 230 m.

The depression of the lake appeared under the influence of glaciers. northern shores mostly high and rocky, but also separated by deep, ice-covered bays. The southern shores have many sandy or rocky beaches, mostly low, slightly concave, overgrown with willow and alder. In some places there are ancient coastal embankments covered with pine trees. The largest tributaries are the Volkhov, Svir and Vuoksa rivers.

48 different species of fish were found in the lake, of which the most common are roach, carp, bream, pike perch, perch and smelt. Of the 48 species, 25 are of commercial importance and 11 are in the important food fish category.

Lake Ladoga also serves as a key stopping point for migratory birds of the North Atlantic Flyway, which typically mark the arrival of spring.

Lake Onega

Lake Onega- the second largest lake in Europe, located in the north-west of the European part of Russia, between Lake Ladoga and the White Sea. It covers an area of ​​9.72 thousand km², 248 km long and up to 83 km wide. The greatest depth is about 127 m.

The basin of the lake was formed by the movement earth's crust and glaciers. The high rocky shores in the north and northwest are composed of layered granite and covered with forest. There are deep bays in Petrozavodsk, Kondopoga and Pevenets. The southern shores are narrow, sandy, often swampy or flooded. Lake Onega has about 1650 islands, covering a total of about 260 km², usually in the northern and northwestern bays.

The lake is home to over 40 species of fish, including vendace (a small member of the salmon family), smelt, burbot bream, pike, perch, roach and salmon. Many types of fish have significant economic value.

Taimyr

Taimyr is the second (after Baikal) largest lake in the Asian part of Russia, located in the central regions of the Taimyr Peninsula. It is located south of the Byrranga mountains, in the zone.

The lake and tundra zone is a popular destination for birds such as geese, swans, ducks, buzzards, peregrine falcons and snowy owls. Lake Taimyr is home to a large number of fish, including grayling, muksun, char and whitefish. Although the area is relatively remote, depletion of stocks of certain commercial fish species is still observed.

Taimyr is famous for the largest population reindeer in Eurasia. Also in this region there are such animals as argali, arctic fox, wolf and lemmings. In 1975, the area was re-introduced.

Since 1983, the lake and its environs have been included in the Taimyr nature reserve. Scientists have discovered plutonium in the sediments of a lake believed to have entered Taimyr via wind-blown radioactive particles from nuclear tests conducted on Novaya Zemlya during the Cold War.

Khanka

Lake Khanka has an area of ​​4 thousand km², of which approximately 97% is located in Russia. The maximum depth of the lake is 10.6 m, and the average volume is 18.3 km². The lake is fed by 23 rivers, 8 of which are in China, and the rest in the territory of the Russian Federation. The only outflow is the Sungacha River, which flows east to the Ussuri River, which forms the international border, and flows north where it joins the Amur River.

Khanka is famous for being home to the highest diversity of birds in the entire temperate zone of Eurasia. At least 327 species of nesting, wintering and migratory birds have been sighted in the lake area.

Chudsko-Pskovskoe Lake

Lake Peipus-Pskovskoye is the largest transboundary and fifth (after Ladoga, Onega, Swedish Venern and Finnish Saim) lake in Europe, located on the border between Estonia and Russia. It occupies 3.6% of the total area of ​​the Baltic Sea basin. A total of 30 islands are located on Lake Peipus, and 40 more in the delta of the Velikaya River. Most of them rise only 1-2 m above the water level, and often suffer from floods.

About 54 species of coastal aquatic plants grow in the basin of Lake Peipus-Pskov, including reed, calamus, reeds and various herbs. 42 species of fish live in the waters of the lake, such as smelt, vendace, bream, perch, pike, roach and whitefish. Wetlands serve as important nesting and feeding grounds for migratory birds such as swans, geese and ducks that migrate from White Sea to Baltic Sea. The region is home to one of the largest swallow colonies in Estonia.

Ubsu-Nur

Ubsu-Nur is the largest lake in Mongolia in terms of surface area (3.35 thousand km²), as well as the largest salt lake in the country. The Ubsu-Nur basin is one of the most important biodiversity poles of Eurasia. Although most of the lake is in Mongolia, its northeastern shores are located in the Tyva Republic of the Russian Federation.

The lake is shallow, very salty, and is the remnant of a large sea that existed several thousand years ago. The basin covers an area of ​​about 70 thousand km² and is one of the best preserved natural steppe landscapes on the continent. It is here that the most Northern part desert and the most southern part tundra.

Reed and freshwater river deltas serve as resting and nesting sites for numerous migratory birds. Over 220 species of birds can be found around the lake, including the black stork, osprey, white-tailed eagle, whooper, and black-headed gull. About 29 different species of fish live in the waters of the lake, one of which is suitable for human consumption. The mountainous region is home to Mongolian gerbils, wild sheep and the Siberian ibex.

vats

Although Lake Chany is not well known outside of Siberia, it is one of the largest lakes in the country. Chany is a shallow lake with salty and constantly fluctuating water, the level of which can vary from season to season and from year to year. The lands of the lake basin serve as pastures for cattle.

In terms of area, Beloye is the second (after Onega) natural lake in the Vologda region, and the third (after the Rybinsk reservoir). It is one of the ten largest natural lakes in Europe. The lake has a relatively round shape with a diameter of 46 km. Its area is 1.29 thousand km², and the basin area is about 14 thousand km².

The lake is famous for its fish stocks, the most famous delicacy Belozersky smelt. The forage base and high level of oxygen create favorable conditions for the life of many species. The following fish species are common in the waters of the lake: perch, pike, bream, ruff, sabrefish, roach, bleak, burbot, chub, rudd, whitefish, ide, tench, asp, dace and gudgeon).

Table of 10 largest lakes in Russia

The unique and mysterious inhabitant of the waters of Lake Baikal - the golomyanka fish - is one of the special species that is not found anywhere else. For this, it was called endemic in this habitat. There are no scales on the fish bodies, and one third of the total weight is fat, which replaces the air bladder. In the largest lake on the planet, the number of golomyankas exceeds the biomass of all other individuals combined.

Biological characteristics

One of the features of the Baikal golomyanka is the complete absence of any hard formations on the body, including scales. The head, in contrast to the body, is rather massive, slightly flattened, with a very large, oblique mouth. On the inner and outer surfaces of the jaws there are bristle-like sharp teeth, which form 8 rows in adults.

Thanks to this structure of the mouth, the golomyanka fish is adapted to eating both small plankton and medium-sized individuals, including representatives of its own species.

On the back of the fish are two fins of different sizes, and on the chest - two large, fan-shaped. Large and small types of golomyanka differ in size: the first can reach 22 cm, the second - only 14-15. Maximum weight representatives of a small species - 18 grams, large - 70 grams.

In addition, there are other differences:

• eye size - the diameter of the eye holes in a small species is half the entire width of the forehead;
• survival rate - large ones die more often, including during childbirth;
• large golomyankas have an almost white body, due to the presence of fat hidden by a completely transparent skin;
• the number of males of a large species is several times less than the number of small ones.

  

  This endemic has an unusual physique and absolutely no scales.

  Initially, the golomyanka fish was called "kolomenka". The currently used name is derived from the word "golomen", which in translation means "uninhabited habitat" or "open space". Fish really prefer space, and Baikal with unique conditions and water parameters is perfect for it as a habitat.

  Another feature of golomyankas is the ability to vertical migrations. Such movements of fish are made regularly, living either in the upper layers, or in the lower ones.

  At the same time, they choose water, the temperature of which is most comfortable for them (4-6 degrees). In warm months, with good water heating, such an upper limit is at a depth of about 250 meters, so in summer it is impossible to see fish swimming near the surface.

  
  Golomyanka is hard to see in warm months, because She likes to be in fairly cool water.

  In winter, under the ice cover of the Baikal waters, a comfortable depth is up to 25 meters. Individuals can be seen directly under the very thickness of the ice.

  There are several explanations for vertical migrations. : either golomyankas move after migrating food, or escape from a predator - the Baikal seal or omul.

  Nutrition Features

  The diet of golomyanok is quite modest and limited. They themselves easily become the prey of predators living in Baikal, and can also eat their own young. In the autumn-summer period, the fish prefers:

  
  

  AT winter time almost 65% of the total diet is its young. The method of obtaining food is passive. At first glance, it seems that a small transparent fish of Baikal easily floats in the thickness dark water at depth, but she keeps her mouth open all the time, which allows her to grab prey instantly.

  Fish never form large flocks and aggregations, which makes them unattractive for fishing. But they are a very important link in the food chain.

  Large individuals can become food not only for seals or omul, but also for birds, when the fish is thrown onto the shore of the lake by a storm. Young gobies feed on gobies - longwing and yellowwing.

  Reproduction in nature

  One of the main distinguishing features golomyanok - the ability to live birth. Unlike others freshwater inhabitants, they incubate the eggs inside themselves, and not on any substrate. Females throw larvae into the water, the number of which at a time is from 2 to 3 thousand in small species and from 500 to 5 thousand in large ones. The process of reproduction begins in individuals who have reached two years of age: from April to July, mating takes place, from July to September - larvae are spawned in small fish. In autumn, representatives of a large species breed.

  
  Golomyanka is a viviparous fish, it can give offspring several times if it is not eaten by larger predators.

  The sexual cycle in the viviparous fish of Baikal practically does not repeat. The exception is females that managed not to fall into the mouth of a predator and reach their maximum size and age. In such individuals, secondary throwing of offspring is observed.

  According to rough estimates of scientists, every year a flock of 5-6 dozen fish brings about 30 billion larvae. Even despite the fact that the predominant part of spawning quickly perishes, the biomass of golomyankas in Baikal is huge and significantly exceeds the number of other inhabitants.

  Popular transparent fish Lake Baikal has repeatedly surprised scientists and amateur fishermen. For its detailed study, some individuals are even kept and bred in huge laboratory aquariums, where an imitation of high pressure is created, corresponding to the natural habitat. Golomyankas have special defense mechanisms that prevent them from falling into the mouths of predators:

  • incessant movement in the water column;
  • prickly thorn located in the anal region;
  • avoidance of bright places.
  
  Such an abundance of this species in Lake Baikal is due to good survival and the prohibition of hunting this endemic.

  The shyness of fish and their reaction to light proves the fact that they do not have atrophied visual pigments, which can be used both at shallow depths and in complete darkness. At the moment, golomyanka fishing is not popular.

  This species, despite its huge abundance within Baikal, is classified as endangered. Hunting for endemics is prohibited, and commercial catches are impractical.

  These inhabitants of the lake do not react to a bait with baits, and they are extremely rarely caught in the net. A trawl throwing out a net with an area of ​​100 square kilometers is capable of pulling 50-60 kg of fish at a time (provided that it is raised close to the surface). One of the ways to use fish is to render valuable fat from it for transfer to soldiers in battlefields and export to China.

  The famous Baikal inhabitant is under close attention of ichthyologists. They continue to study the behavior of golomyankas in natural environment and track evolutionary changes.
  

When we hear the word "lake", a picture arises in our imagination - beautiful place for recreation, where you can swim and fish. However, this is not always the case. Some lakes inspire fear and horror. And there are reasons for this.

Lake Empty (Russia)

Its location is the area of ​​Kuznetsk Alatau located in Western Siberia. Lake Pustoye is a fresh and environmentally friendly reservoir of continental origin, because it is completely absent chemical substances. Many scientists have repeatedly conducted studies of water from the lake, which have never confirmed the presence of any toxic components in it.

The lake has clean water, which is suitable for drinking, and resembles champagne, as it is dominated by perfectly safe bubbles of natural gases. However, the researchers could not determine the reason why there is no fish in the lake.

In the vicinity of Lake Empty has never been environmental disasters and emergency technical incidents polluting the reservoir. By chemical composition its water does not differ from the nearest reservoirs of the reserve, which are distinguished by an abundance of fish resources. Moreover, the reservoir feeds several fresh, clean reservoirs in the vicinity; the fact that there are fish in them will give a special mystery to what is happening in these dreams.

There were several attempts to launch unpretentious fish species of pike, perch and crucian carp into the reservoir. Each of them ended in failure, the fish died, the aquatic plants rotted. And today there are no grass and birds on the banks of the reservoir, there are no fish or fry in the water, the lake guards its mysteries.

Why are there no fish in the lake?

Samples from the Kuznetsk reservoir were studied by chemists from the USA, Great Britain and Germany. However, none of them could put forward a sensible version explaining the absence of fish in the reservoir. Scientists are not yet able to answer the questions of the inhabitants, what is happening with the Kuznetsk reservoir.

However, scientists repeat attempts to explain the unusual phenomenon of the Empty Lake with enviable frequency. There are many people who want to visit the shores of an unusual lake, tourists come here and stop for the night. Some of them dream of touching the mystery of nature and unraveling it.

Lake of Death (Italy)

Our world is amazing and beautiful, its nature can be admired and enjoyed endlessly. But besides this, there are places on our Earth that sometimes lead us into bewilderment. Among such places is the Lake of Death on the island of Sicily. This lake can be attributed to the number of phenomena and unique natural phenomena. The name itself suggests that this lake is deadly for all living things. Any living organism that gets into this lake will inevitably die.

This lake is the most dangerous on our planet. The lake is absolutely lifeless and there are no living organisms in it. The shores of the lake are deserted and lifeless, nothing grows here. Everything is connected with the fact that any creature, which falls into aquatic environment, dies immediately. If a person decides to swim in this lake, then in just a few minutes he will dissolve in the lake.

When information about this place appeared in the scientific world, a scientific expedition was immediately sent there to study this phenomenon. The lake revealed its secrets with great difficulty. The conducted water analyzes showed that the water environment of the lake contains a large amount of concentrated sulfuric acid. Scientists were not immediately able to figure out where sulfuric acid comes from in the lake. Scientists have put forward several hypotheses about this.

The first hypothesis was that there are rocks at the bottom of the lake, which, when eroded by water, are enriched with acid. But further study of the lake showed that there are two springs at the bottom of the lake, which emit concentrated sulfuric acid into the aquatic environment of the lake. This explains why any organic matter dissolves in the lake.

Dead Lake (Kazakhstan)

In Kazakhstan, there is an anomalous lake that attracts the attention of many people. It is located in the Taldykurgan region, the village of Gerasimovka. Its dimensions are not large, only 100x60 meters. They call this reservoir Dead. The fact is that nothing is found in the lake, neither algae nor fish. The water is unusually cold.

Low temperature water remains even when the strongest sun is outside. People are constantly drowning there. Scuba divers, for some unknown reason, begin to choke after three minutes of diving. Locals do not advise anyone to go there, and they themselves bypass this anomalous place.

Blue Lake (Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia)

Blue karst abyss in Kabardino-Balkaria. Not a single river or stream flows into this lake, although it loses up to 70 million liters of water every day, but its volume and depth do not change at all. The blue color of the lake is due to the high content of hydrogen sulfide in the water. There are no fish here at all.

The creepiness of this lake is given by the fact that no one has been able to figure out its depth. The fact is that the bottom consists of an extensive system of caves. Researchers have not yet been able to figure out what the lowest point of this karst lake is. It is believed that under Blue Lake is the world's largest system of underwater caves.

Boiling Lake (Dominican Republic)

The name speaks for itself. Located in Dominica, the beautiful Caribbean, this lake is actually the second largest natural hot spring on earth. The water temperature in the boiling lake reaches 90 degrees Celsius and there are hardly any people who want to check the temperature of the source on their own skin. Just look at the photos and it becomes clear that the water is almost boiling here. The temperature cannot be controlled because it is the result of a crack in the bottom of the lake through which red-hot lava erupts.

Lake Powell (USA)

Despite its common name (Horse Shoe), near the town of Mammoth Lakes, Lake Powell is a fearsome killer. The city of Mammoth Lakes was built on top of an active volcano, which is not the best location. However, for many years the lake was considered safe. But about 20 years ago, the trees around the Horseshoe began to dry up and die abruptly.

After ruling out all possible diseases, the scientists determined that the trees were suffocating from excessive levels of carbon dioxide slowly seeping through the ground from underground chambers of cooling magma. In 2006, three hikers took refuge in a cave near a lake and suffocated from carbon dioxide.

Lake Karachay (Russia)

Nestled in Russia's beautiful Ural Mountains, this deep blue lake is one of the most dangerous bodies of water in the world. During a secret government project, for many years, starting in 1951, the lake was used as a dumping ground for radioactive waste.

This place is so toxic that a 5-minute visit can make a person nauseous, and a longer visit of over an hour is guaranteed to be fatal. During a drought in 1961, the wind carried toxic dust that affected 500,000 people - a tragedy comparable to atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Definitely one of the most polluted places on earth.

Lake Kivu (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

This lake is located on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, with large layers of carbon dioxide at the base of the volcanic rock, as well as 55 billion cubic meters of methane at the bottom. This explosive combination makes Lake Kivu the deadliest of the three exploding lakes in the world. Any earthquake or volcanic activity can pose a lethal threat to the 2 million people living in this region. They can die from both methane explosions and carbon dioxide asphyxiation.

Lake Michigan (Canada)

Of the five Great Lakes on the border between Canada and the United States, Lake Michigan is the deadliest. The warm, inviting lake is a popular holiday destination for numerous tourists, despite its dangerous undercurrents that claim at least a few lives each year.

The shape of Lake Michigan makes it particularly prone to dangerous currents that come on spontaneously and abruptly. The lake becomes more dangerous in autumn, in October and November, when there are sudden and significant changes in water and air temperature. Wave heights can reach several meters.

Mono Lake (USA)

One of the most developed ecosystems in the world, Mono Lake is located in the California county of the same name. This ancient salt lake has no fish, but trillions of bacteria and small algae thrive in its unique waters. Up until 1941, this strikingly beautiful lake was healthy and strong. But Los Angeles intervened, which was just beginning its giant growth spurt. The city drained the tributaries of the lake, which began to dry up.

This scandalous destruction natural resources continued for nearly 50 years and when it was shut down in 1990, Mono Lake had already lost half its volume and its salinity had doubled. Mono has become a toxic alkaline lake overflowing with carbonates, chlorides and sulfates. Los Angeles has decided to correct its mistake, but the restoration project will take decades.

Lake Manun (Cameroon)

Located in the Oku Volcanic Field in Cameroon, Lake Monoun appears to be a completely normal body of water. But its appearance is deceiving, as it is one of the three explosive lakes on earth. In 1984, Monun exploded without warning, releasing a cloud of carbon dioxide and killing 37 people. Twelve of the dead were riding in a truck and stopped to look at the aftermath of the explosion. Just at that moment, lethal gas did its job.

Lake Nyos (Cameroon)

In 1986, Lake Nyos, located just 100 kilometers from Lake Monoun, exploded after a magma eruption and released carbon dioxide, converting the water into carbonic acid. As a result of a powerful landslide, the lake abruptly emitted a giant cloud of carbon dioxide, killing thousands of people and animals in local cities and villages. The tragedy was the first known major asphyxiation caused by natural phenomenon. The lake continues to pose a threat because its natural wall is fragile and even the slightest earthquake can destroy it.

Natron (Tanzania)

Lake Natron in Tanzania not only kills its inhabitants, but also mummifies their bodies. On the shores of the lake there are mummified flamingos, small birds, the bats. The most terrible thing is that the victims freeze in their natural poses with their heads up. It was like they froze for a moment and stayed that way forever. The water in the lake is bright red because of the microorganisms living in it, closer to the shore it is already orange, and in some places it is of a normal color.

Evaporation of the lake scares away large predators, and the absence natural enemies attracts a huge number of birds and small animals. They live on the banks of the Natron, multiply, and after death they are mummified. A large amount of hydrogen contained in water and increased alkalinity contribute to the release of soda, salt and lime. They do not allow the remains of the inhabitants of the lake to decompose.