Blobfish
| BLOBFISH (Psychrolutes marcidus) |
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| Pronounced: | sy-krow-loo-tees mark-i-dus | Order: | Scorpaeniformes | ||||||||
| Kingdom: | Animalia | Family: | Psychrolutidae | ||||||||
| Phylum: | Chordata | Genus: | Psychrolutes | ||||||||
| Class: | Actinopterygii | Species: | Marcidus | ||||||||
Blobfish live in the deep oceans around Australia and Tasmania. They can live up to a mile (800 m) underwater. At this depth, the water pressure is several dozen times higher than at the surface, so they adapted to withstand these pressures. They have no gas bladder, like most other fish have, which allows them to sink more easily.
They are slow moving and cartilaginous, and unfortunately, are often caught in fishing nets with lobsters and crab. But, they are inedible, so they are thrown back – usually, they die in the process. Their gelatinous body is just slightly lighter than the water density at their preferred depths, allowing them to float along the ocean floor. In this manner, they feed on drifting organic matter that has sunk from above.
They can grow to be about 30 cm long. Because of their depth, scientists have not studied this creature very much and we still have a lot to learn about the blobfish.
