This Squishy Deep-Sea Fish 'Melts' at the Ocean Surface (Video)

[Judi Lynn]

By Rafi Letzter, Staff Writer | September 10, 2018 04:51pm ET

Scientists found three new species of fish in one of the deepest parts of the ocean, and these animals are so soft and squishy that they disintegrate if brought to the surface. Researchers captured remarkable footage that shows the fish in their alien home environment.

The new species, all snailfish, are adapted for life in ultradeep water, where temperatures are intensely cold and pressures far higher than any human could survive. Scientists filmed the fish in their natural environment as part of an international expedition to remotely explore the Atacama Trench, off the coast of Peru, and the discovery will be presented at the ongoing Challenger Conference at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom.

"As the footage clearly shows, there are lots of invertebrate prey down there, and the snailfish are the top predator. They seem to be quite active and look very well-fed," Thomas Linley, a researcher at Newcastle University who was involved in the expedition, said in a statement. [In Photos: Spooky Deep-Sea Creatures]

In the conditions present about 4.7 miles (7.5 kilometers) below the ocean surface, a squishy body is helpful in withstanding cold and extreme pressures, Linley said. So, the hardest objects in the snailfishes' bodies are their teeth and the bones in their inner ears, and the creatures have only minimal structural body parts.

More:
https://www.livescience.com/63539-snailfish-atacama-melt-fish.html?utm_source=notification

[MFM008]

1. We need people

who can do the same.........

[LuvNewcastle]

2. Very cool. Looks like a ghostfish.

Or a fishghost. And I can't help but wonder what it tastes like.