Gaby
This young specimen from the family Liparidae, commonly known as snailfishes, belongs to the genus Pseudoliparis. Currently, it holds the title of the deepest fish ever recorded. The previous record holder was also a snailfish, filmed in the Mariana Trench at a depth of 8,178 meters in 2017. Fresh footage of this snailfish was released by a team from the University of Western Australia and the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology. The newly crowned deep-sea champion was discovered in the western Pacific Ocean, in the Izu-Ogasawara Trench near Japan, which reaches depths of 9,780 meters. In addition to this remarkable fish, researchers found two other liparids that were filmed at 8,022 meters, just shy of the Mariana Trench record.
The team, led by Professor Alan Jamieson, founder of the Centre for Deep Sea Research, has spent the last decade capturing footage of the world’s deepest populations in the trenches near Japan. The researchers say most snailfishes live in shallower waters, but some manage to survive at extreme depths. Jamieson said younger liparids typically go as deep as possible to avoid larger predators that roam at shallower depths, CNN reported.
Globally, there are over 300 species of snailfishes, and scientists find them fascinating. Some live in shallower waters, while others have adapted to the harsh conditions of the Arctic and Antarctic. They’ve also adjusted to the immense pressure found in the world’s deepest trenches, as highlighted by the BBC. At a depth of 8 kilometers, the pressure reaches about 80 megapascals, roughly 800 times the pressure at the ocean’s surface.
Jamieson says these snailfishes have tiny eyes and semi-transparent bodies. They lack a swim bladder, a gas-filled organ other fish use to control buoyancy. Snailfishes primarily feed on crustaceans, which are abundant in the trenches. Professor Jamieson believes the Pacific Ocean’s warm southern current helps support active life there, encouraging marine creatures to explore the depths and find new food sources.
Researchers are eager to learn as much as possible about the fauna of these extreme depths, but such expeditions are expensive. For instance, operating each device that descends to the ocean floor to document life there costs around $200,000.
