Blobfish

The Psychrolutes marcidus, aka blobfish, is a fish that adapted to the deep waters off the Australian coast.

Located 800 meters under water (roughly a half-mile down,) the pressure in the mesopelagic zone is 80 times greater than the pressure on sea level. Most fish use gas bladders to remain buoyant, but the pressure that far down would be too great for an average, gas-bladder equipped fish to efficiently survive. The blobfish’s advantage is that its body consists of a gelatinous goo that is slightly less dense than water. This allows it to simply float along without expending any energy on swimming. The fish, which resembles a candle that’s been burning for way too long, consumes whatever tasty morsels bob by its mouth, choosing to eat what’s served to it. The unsightliness of the blobfish probably hasn’t caused it to develop a complex, though. It lives in the oceanic equivalent of the sticks, so it doesn’t get many visitors.

Update: It appears the blobfish has a bit of a craft-inclined cult following: there’s a gentleman who knitted his friend a blobfish bath toy and there also appears to be a stuffed, plush blobfish floating around out there, too.

(thx caroline)

• deep sea creatures
• marine biology

New species of ghostshark uses its head

A new species of ghostshark was found off the coast of California. The odd-looking creature is a bit of an evolution-born exhibitionist: the males float through the deep with a club-like sex organ protruding from their heads. Scientists are unsure why this is the case, though some speculate that it is to grasp the female during mating. The Eastern Pacific black ghostshark joins the ranks of a special group referred to as “big black chimaeras.” This classification is reserved for an ever-growing clique of sea creatures that feature characteristics that aren’t found on other living creatures, though one could argue that the males of many species often combine their sex organs and their heads.

• marine biology
• nature
• species