Have you ever heard of the blobfish? The blobfish is an underwater creature that can be found in the oceans at a depth of 1000 meters. Blobfish is one of the most mysterious and little-studied species of deep-sea inhabitants of the ocean. Belongs to the Psychrolutes family. The blobfish’s scientific name is Psychrolutes marcidus.
What a blobfish looks like, and that such a species exists in general, the world learned only about 100 years ago. The first description of a strange creature caught by Australian fishermen dates back to 1926. At that time, underwater life was not well studied. By the way, the underwater world has not been fully explored even today.
The first specimen of the species caught was named Psychrolutes marcidus. The puzzles start from the very name. It combines two languages at once. If translated literally, it will turn out to be a lover of cold baths (from the ancient Greek “psychrolutes”) and weakened (from the Latin “marcidus”). In Russia, this fish is often called a drop, in Australia – an Australian goby, and in the UK – a toadfish.
It would seem that almost a century has passed, and mankind has not unraveled the secrets of the blobfish: where exactly does it live, why does it look so strange, at what maximum depths can it breed, what factors influence the choice of a partner. This is because she lives at a great, almost kilometer depth, to which scuba divers cannot dive.
In water, Psychrolutes marcidus is almost immovable, and when raised to the surface, it begins to swim. The fact is that a blobfish in its natural environment, being at great depth, experiences great pressure from the water column. It was because of this that she had to evolve in such a peculiar way. The assumption that being special, not very mobile, and also devoid of protection in the form of scales and sharp teeth, Psychrolutes marcidus preferred to lie down in the literal sense of the word, is not devoid of logic.
The blobfish gained the greatest popularity due to its unsightly appearance, and even became a popular meme and “movie actor”. The blobfish received its world fame in 2003 when one of the representatives of this family was caught off the coast of New Zealand by ichthyologists who were on a research voyage.
How a Blobfish Looks Like Underwater
There are no people indifferent to the appearance of the blobfish. This is either “Oh, what is that?”, or “God, what a freak.” It seems that a creature with a drop-shaped body and huge lips with lowered corners and a generally dull look is not a fish at all. The blobfish strongly resembles a jelly-like clot. She has small spike-like outgrowths on her body, a small tail, and small lateral fins. But all this is so weakly expressed that it is quite difficult to understand that you have a fish in front of you at first glance.
You can watch the video below and see what the blobfish looks like underwater.
The blobfish owes its expression of universal sadness to the peculiarities of the structure of the anterior part of the head – its interorbital space is wider than the diameter of the eyes. Therefore, it seems that she is about to cry. Her muzzle with a huge nose and small eyes most of all resembles an offended Moomintroll.
The color of fish of this species is very different: from whitish-brown and pink to gray-blue and gray-green. Interestingly, in most specimens, the color saturation in water is less bright, and when interacting with air and light, the color becomes more saturated. But the opposite also happens. Fishermen joke about this, saying that some blobfish turn pale with fear, while others blush with embarrassment.
Hence the question that scientists are very interested in: why the color palette of different individuals is so diverse? Some argue that it depends on the color of the bottom sediments in the habitat of the fish and it simply disguises itself as them. Others insist that it is impossible to see colors in the darkness of the water. However, young individuals have a lighter color, which darkens with age.
One way or another, thanks to such an extraordinary appearance, the blobfish, beats the ratings of the strangest creatures on the planet. The Internet community has highly appreciated the extraordinary appearance of the blobfish. Photos with her gave rise to many memes. And the film industry also made her an actress: the appearance of a blobfish appears in such cult films as X-Files and Men in Black.
Alive Blobfish
If you see a blobfish underwater for the first time, then you will definitely have a question, is this fish alive? Blobfish is so motionless that it often seems lifeless.
The habitat of this mysterious creature is the deep cold waters of the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Most often, blobfish can be found off the coast of New Zealand and in the depths of the waters off the southeast coast of Australia, near the island of Tasmania. Over the past two decades, blobfish have begun to be found off the coast of Japan, Indonesia, and even the northern coast of California.
At the same time, Psychrolutes marcidus is a “homebody fish”, it almost never leaves its home and rarely rises to a depth higher than 600 meters. And this means that it is quite difficult to study it. Ideally, in order to shed light on the mysteries of the blobfish, it is necessary to observe it in its natural habitat. But deep-sea research is expensive, and funds specifically for the study of blobfish are extremely reluctant. It hits the lens rather by accident.
Despite its hilarious appearance, the blobfish is by no means a harmless herbivore. She is a predator, though extremely lazy. Her muscles are not developed, and her speed is low. Therefore, in order not to die of hunger, this fish simply swims slowly or even lies still with its mouth open, waiting for small invertebrates and plankton to swim into its mouth.
The body length of a blobfish, as a rule, does not exceed 30 centimeters, but larger individuals are also found. The weight of the fish can reach 10-12 kilograms. The parameters are relatively small for an inhabitant of the ocean depths.
Pressurized Blobfish
Another amazing feature of the blobfish is the absence of a swim bladder. At a depth of 600 meters, the pressure is 60 times higher than that above sea level, and at 1200 meters (the maximum depth of a blobfish), it is already 120 times higher than on the surface.
Of course, not a single swim bladder can work normally under such depth. And these gelatinous fish manage to stay afloat without any expenditure of energy due to their body weight, the density of which is slightly lower than that of water in their natural habitats. This is one of the most important conditions for the survival of the whole species.
Blobfish are endemic individuals, they are characterized by binding to a specific habitat. The abyss, impenetrable darkness, and complete solitude are the ideal conditions for the life of a blobfish.
