Psychrolutes marcidus

Psychrolutes marcidus, the smooth-head blobfish,[1] also known simply as blobfish,[1] is a deep-sea fish of the family Psychrolutidae. It inhabits the deep waters off the coasts of mainland Australia and Tasmania, as well as the waters of New Zealand.[2]

"Blobfish" redirects here. The term may also refer to a number of other species in the genus Psychrolutes

Psychrolutes marcidus
Drawing of blobfish by Allan Riverstone McCulloch
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Scorpaeniformes
Family: Psychrolutidae
Genus: Psychrolutes
Species:
P. marcidus
Binomial name
Psychrolutes marcidus
(McCulloch, 1926)
Synonyms

Neophrynichthys marcidus McCulloch, 1926

Blobfish are typically shorter than 30 cm (12 in). They live at depths between 600 and 1,200 m (2,000 and 3,900 ft), where the pressure is 60 to 120 times greater than that at sea level, which would likely make gas bladders inefficient for maintaining buoyancy.[2] Instead, the flesh of the blobfish is primarily a gelatinous mass with a density slightly less than that of water; this allows the fish to float above the sea floor without expending energy on swimming. The blobfish has a relative lack of muscle, but this is not a disadvantage, as its main food source is edible matter that floats in front of it, such as deep-ocean crustaceans.[3]

Blobfish are often caught as bycatch in bottom trawling nets. It was first discovered around the Norfolk and Lord Howe islands, which are located between Australia and New Zealand. The discovery was made by a team of two dozen scientists during their exploration of submarine habitats. The team towed gear on the ocean floor in order to net and study different species. Among the new species the caught was Psychrolutes marcidus.[4]

The popular impression of the blobfish as bulbous and gelatinous is partially an artifact of the decompression damage done to specimens when they are brought to the surface from the extreme depths in which they live.[5] In their natural environment, blobfish appear more typical for their superclass Osteichthyes (bony fish).

  • Artist's representation of two blobfish in situ
    Artist's representation of two blobfish in situ
  • Individual after suffering apparent decompression damage
    Individual after suffering apparent decompression damage

References
  1. "Psychrolutes marcidus – Names". Atlas of Living Australia. Retrieved 2019-03-28.
  2. Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2010). "Psychrolutes marcidus" in FishBase. February 2010 version.
  3. Hearst, Michael (2012). Unusual Creatures: A Mostly Accurate Account of Some of Earth's Strangest Animals. Chronicle Books. pp. 24–25. ISBN 978-1-4521-0467-6.
  4. Lidz, F. (2015). Behold the Blobfish. Smithsonian, 46(7), 19–24.
  5. Taylor, Ian (4 April 2021). "The blobfish: a bloated guide to the world's ugliest animal". Science Focus. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.