The fish faces into the current, waiting for prey to drift by. Reproduction Each individual has male and female reproductive organs. If two tripodfish happen to meet, they mate. However, if a tripodfish does not find a partner, it makes both sperm and eggs to produce offspring by itself. Related and similar species At least 18 species included in the genus Bathypterois. Similar species are often observed in the same areas. A 2001 report included observations of Bathypterois dubius as far as 50°N in the Bay of Biscay. A striking parallel exists between some icefishes and the tripodfishes. The stance of Chionodraco is an even more striking parallel. Both icefishes and the tripodfish use a similar strategy of sitting motionless above the substrate with the attendant benefits that motionlessness brings to a nonvisual, particularly mechanosensory, function. The tripodfish is closely related to the spider fish Bathypterois longifilis, which is similar in appearances and habits but is smaller and has much shorter fin extensions. They are often found standing very close to each other. The family to which both fish belong, Inopidae, is called the family of tripod fishes or spiderfishes interchangeably. References External links Australian Museum page on Tripodfish Video showing a tripodfish at 1443m depth Ipnopidae Fish described in 1886