The canonical image of the blur fish leaves no one indifferent: a mixture of curious, friendly, terrifying, ugly … All thanks to its glistening meat and its incredibly human-looking nose. It is a fairly popular fish in Japan.
Apart from its curious appearance, researchers do not know much about this enigmatic species. Scientists infer their routines and diet from the physical characteristics of the puffer fish’s environment and the biological characteristics of other deep-sea fish. And it is that, this so peculiar animal lives in the depths of the ocean, where the pressure is tens of times higher than that on the surface.
The first reference in scientific literature to this family of fish dates back more than 150 years, but there was a specific individual that went viral around the world in 2003 when a team of researchers photographed both this fish and many other marine species during the NORFANZ research trip from Australia and New Zealand.
While tracking the ocean to conduct a biodiversity census, the crew captured the one dubbed ‘ Mr. Blobby’ at a depth of between 1,013-1,340 meters somewhere between New Caledonia and New Zealand, according to the Australian Museum, where he currently resides. fish.
The Psychrolutidae family contains eight genera and more than 30 species, of which the flagship could be the species represented by Micropore Psychrolutes. Each species tends to live in a relatively concentrated area (P. micropores is found exclusively between Australia and New Zealand), but other members of the family crawl on the soils of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Wherever this fish lives, it is cold, dark and empty. Water puts pressure on animals with more than 100 times the atmospheric pressure we feel on land, making their natural tools for controlling their buoyancy less practical for these deep-sea creatures. Rather, natural selection has equipped blotfish with uniquely incomprehensible parts, like water-filled cells and organs, not unlike most of our own. This construction makes the fish float neutrally, neither rising nor sinking, allowing them to float without moving while waiting for their prey, such as snails or other bottom dwellers. That is, they do not have – nor do they need – a swim bladder.
Away from the life-sustaining rays of the sun, deep-sea fish live in a world without many food options, which means energy efficiency is key to survival.
As such, many deep-sea dwellers avoid the oxygen-burning muscles and bones found in their more remote and more athletic cousins, such as tuna or swordfish. It has no bones or teeth. Deep-sea fish lead more lethargic lives, moving slowly and only when absolutely necessary. It feeds on edible matter that floats on water, preferably crustaceans from the seabed.
Protected by the depths of the sea
Aside from what researchers can infer from the few samples collected, almost everything else remains a mystery. And, unfortunately, scientists likely won’t learn much more about its biology in the short term. And the fact is that the depth at which they are found makes the expedition oriented to these fish very expensive.
There is something positive about this separation of worlds. This difficult-to-reach habitat also represents protection from the threat of extinction many animals face on the surface. Of the six species in the Psychrolutidae family that appear on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List, four are in the “Least Concern” category and two in the “Lack of data” column, meaning that there is not enough information to decide its status.
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