BAC26210 2003. Acrylic on canvas, 1200 x 800mm, scale 3:1, signed and dated by artist.<P> Page 196 (Caulophryne polynema) The hairy seadevil is every bit as repulsive as its name suggests, for its vast, degenerate fins look as if they are rotting off the creature, while the tufts of `hairs' that coat its head and parts of its body also impart a sense of decomposition. Besides giving it a general air of morbidity, these features serve a purpose, for they, along with its incredibly complex lateral line system, assist in detecting tiny changes in water pressure that indicate the presence of predator or prey. It is a medium-sized fish for a deep-sea dweller, growing to twenty centimetres. Alone among its near relatives, the hairy seadevil has lost the luminous `bait' that tips the fishing rod in other deep-sea angler fish. In this case, the tip of the lure is clogged with a mass of pallid hairs, whose function remains obscure. Its elaborate tactile appendages and total absence of light-emitting organs indicate that, like Robert Louis Stevenson's pirate Blind Pew (he who delivered the `black spot' in Treasure Island), the hairy seadevil lives by touch, and an almost preternatural sense of changing water pressure. Floating in its frigid, dark world it waits, sightless, for passers-by. Then, when it senses some innocent creature to be within reach, the trap-like jaws open, and in a flash the baggy stomach is set to work. Afterwards, there is only an eternity of dark, silence, and digestion. $5000.00AUD
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