Scientists discover a new translucent Trippy fish at the bottom of the ocean

By showing how unknown the ocean is, three new fish species have been discovered in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. Forty scientists from 17 different countries have searched deep into the Atacama pit and returned with species of snail fish never seen before.

Right now, they are named after their colors – pink, blue and purple – but as members of the liparid family, they will soon be getting scientific names in academic articles.

Looking over 7,500 meters (7,500 meters) below the surface, scientists found fish that did not follow any preconceived notions of what deep-sea fish should look like. They are small, translucent and have no scales.

"There is something in the snail fish that allows them to adapt to a very deep life," says Thomas Linley, of Newcastle University, who participated in the study. "Beyond the reach of other fish, they are free of competitors and predators."

"As the pictures clearly show, there are a lot of invertebrate prey there and snails are the main predators, they seem to be very active and look very well fed," says Linley.

"Their gelatinous structure allows them to live to extreme pressures and the hardest structures of their body are the bones of their inner ear, which gives them a balance and teeth. Without the extreme pressure and cold needed to support their bodies, they are extremely fragile and melt quickly when they are brought to the surface. "

Finding fish in the trenches of Atacama, 6000 km long and over 8000 m deep along the coasts of Peru and Chile, is not an easy task. The team used two landers equipped with HD cameras and traps. These landing gear were placed on the side of a boat and dropped on the ocean floor, which took about four hours.

University of Newcastle

Giving the landers 12 to 24 hours to take samples, the scientists triggered an acoustic signal to the lander who released his weights. Floating to the surface, the lander was able to catch specimens of fish and capture video footage of life at the bottom of the ocean.

But even at this depth, fish are always confronted with human interference in their lives (beyond scientific study). The diet of molluscs includes amphipods, tiny crustaceans known to contain microplastics. Microplastics are even smaller plastic pieces that scientists have shown infiltrating all levels of the ocean.

"They would not be spared from any impact on a global scale," Linley told Earther.

Source: further