New species of fish found in the depths of the Pacific turn into jelly when they are brought to the surface

For now, they are simply called pink, blue and purple.

Researchers at the University of Newcastle recently discovered three new species of molluscs in the deep trench of Atacama, off Peru.

The fish are small and transparent. They come from one of the deepest parts of the Pacific Ocean and, brought to the surface, they turn into drops of jelly and disappear.

Thomas Linley, associate researcher at Newcastle University, spoke with As it happens animate Carol Off about the discovery.

Here is part of their conversation.

Atacama Trench, which lies off Peru, is where you found these creatures. How deep is it?

Its deepest point is Richard's Deep and it lies just over 8000 meters. It is also a very big trench. It travels along the west coast of South America.

At the moment, the three new types of fish are called pink, blue and purple. (University of Newcastle)

Given what is happening in the world, both land and sea, this seems like a good place to go out and live.

By adapting to go further than any other type of fish, they have somehow found the place for themselves. They have escaped their predators and their competitors.

There is plenty of food there so that they can eat. You can see the arthropods in the videos and it's actually what they eat there. So, I think that once you engage in a trench and you adapt to go further, it's a proper life.

What happens when you bring these fish to the surface?

By adapting to live so deeply, it is really at the biochemical level. The molecules that compose them are intended to be held together at this extreme pressure.

So when we raise them to the surface, the pressure drop and the higher temperatures in the surface water cause the body to degrade very, very quickly.

We must work very quickly, either in a cold room or with cold sea water, to prevent the animal from melting and disappearing while we try to keep it and try to l & # 39; register.

It makes me understand how different the world they live in is from the one I live in – that they just can not share the same space with me without disappearing.

But it also reminds me how much I take the video of these animals in situ. I think that's how to do them justice. That's how to think about these animals.

An underwater camera captures the mysterious new species of snail fish and a school of anthropods devouring bait. (University of Newcastle)

They are so deep. How could you find them?

We have machines that do it on our behalf, really. Lowering something on a cable at this kind of depth would be a huge undertaking. This is certainly possible, but you need a very big ship. You go so far that the physics gets a little crazy.

Our equipment, we actually fall from the surface. We allow it to fall freely. We use a piece of bait to bring us animals rather than looking for them. And then, when that's done, he'll drop his ballast and go back to the surface where we can get it back.

It's really effective. This means that we can return these vehicles and always have one on the bottom of the recording while we refill and download the other.

A scanner of new species. (University of Newcastle / Natural History Museum Administrators / Center for Imaging and Analysis)

Here you have three new species of these fish and you call them pink, blue and purple. Will it stay their names?

I really hope not. It does not do them justice. But we did not expect to find as many.

We suspected that there was one in the trench. We had received photos during a previous expedition, but only a few. So, we really came back hoping to find that animal, and we did it. It's the one we call blue.

But then, two more came and, in the frenzy of trying to make us understand in the lab, we gave them very fast brand names. I hope they do not care, but it is always the easiest way to talk about it.

Written by Sarah Jackson and John McGill. Produced by Sarah Jackson. Q & A has been changed for length and clarity.