Blobfish
The blobfish (Psychrolutes marcidus) is a deep-sea fish of the waters off Australia and Tasmania, famous for its dripping, jelly-like look in photographs. At depth, under high pressure, it looks like a normal fish.
The blobfish (Psychrolutes marcidus) is a deep-sea fish of the waters off Australia and Tasmania, famous for its dripping, jelly-like look in photographs. At depth, under high pressure, it looks like a normal fish.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Blobfish in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Vertebrates lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
The Ugliest Animal? Pressure Makes a Difference
The fish in the famous picture was hauled up from about 900 meters, and the sudden change in pressure caused its tissues to expand and sag. In its own habitat it keeps a more fish-like shape. In 2013 it was voted the "world's ugliest animal" by an online poll.
Life Without a Swim Bladder
A gas-filled swim bladder would be compressed at such depth, so the blobfish instead has flesh that is slightly less dense than seawater. It floats just above the bottom and gulps up small crustaceans and invertebrates that drift by.
Caught by Trawling
The species is caught by bottom trawlers as bycatch. Because the deep sea recovers slowly, protecting such habitats is a concern.
Blobfish at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Psychrolutes marcidus |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Actinopterygii |
| Order | Scorpaeniformes |
| Family | Psychrolutidae |
| Field Guide group | Marine and Freshwater Fish |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Gelatinous low-density body lacking swim bladder and muscle, floats effortlessly above deep ocean floors under 120 atm pressure. |
| Family | Psychrolutidae |
| Depth | Roughly 600 to 1,200 meters |
See Also
- Vampire Squid — another deep-sea animal
- Giant Isopod — a deep-sea scavenger