
Blobfish (Psychrolutes species) don’t need muscles – they have a feeding strategy that consists of sitting and waiting for something edible to go by. As well as that, their jelly-like flesh is slightly lighter than water, so they don’t need to expend energy or scarce oxygen to stop themselves from sinking towards the sea floor. This low-density flesh is an alternative to a gas-filled swim bladder, a feature of many fish in less deep waters. However, at 800 metres deep the pressure is about 80 times higher than at sea level, so any gas would be too compressed to serve the purpose. Also in this photograph is a small red snailfish, another deep-water species with a jelly-like layer.
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© NORFANZ
This image has been provided courtesy of the NORFANZ partners – Australia’s National Oceans Office and CSIRO and New Zealand’s Ministry of Fisheries and NIWA. The use of this image does not imply the endorsement of the NORFANZ partners of the content of this entry.
Comments
I have never seen such a
Patricia (not verified)
21 April 2012
hot!!
jordan (not verified)
15 September 2011
cute
mohamed (not verified)
05 July 2011
i think its kinda cute :)
saydeemcvay (not verified)
26 April 2011
Blobfish is a true New
scarfaceclaw (not verified)
19 January 2011
ampersand: Haha :D But the
måtteservice (not verified)
18 January 2011
OMG, you guys are mean.
ampersand (not verified)
08 January 2011
That scares me! For some
Izzy (not verified)
17 October 2010
hahahaha bloody hell that
Jessie (not verified)
18 July 2010
Over-fishing by the
Rusty (not verified)
29 June 2010
He (or she) looks kinda self
Mark (not verified)
29 June 2010
That's the most ugly thing
Blobby (not verified)
28 June 2010
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