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Blobfish

Blobfishes are most famous for being the some of the “ugliest” fish in the sea, but this reputation is an unfair judgement! While these fish may look like a “blob” when disfigured and dragged to the surface, down in their deep-sea home, the immense pressure gives it a more typical fish shape.

 

Blobfish are super deep dwellers! There are several species of fish known as the “blobfishes,” all within the genus Psychrolutes. One of them, Psychrolutes phrictus, also called the blob sculpin, lives and over to southern California and Mexico. This fish lives mostly in dark, cold waters at depths between 500 and 2,800 meters (1,640 to 9,186 feet), with much of their range extending to below where sunlight reaches. It can grow to be up to 70 centimeters (27.6 inches) long and has a head, tapered body, and scaleless skin. In their natural environment, the blobfishes’ helps them withstand the pressure of the deep sea. As they are just slightly less dense than water, blobfish can float just above the seafloor without expending much energy.

When brought to the surface, however, the rapid change in pressure — combined with potential damage from equipment — causes the blobfish’s body to lose its structure, giving it the saggy, “melting” appearance it is best known for, despite its inaccuracy. In the deep ocean, it feeds on sea pens, crabs, and mollusks. These fish are known to nest in aggregations along the ocean floor, with a parent attending its nest.

 

 

Blobfish are not well studied, and their population status is not fully understood. More research is needed into these unique deep-sea fish to learn about their lives and how they may best be protected.

 

 

Protecting and restoring our oceans benefits wildlife around the world. By speaking up and working together, we can create real, measurable change for oceans and marine life. Learn more about Oceana’s campaigns to protect and restore marine biodiversity and abundance here.

 

 

Aguirre-Villaseñor H, Cruz-Acevedo E and Salas-Singh C (2016) New eastern Pacific Ocean record of the rare deep-water fish, Psychrolutes phrictus (Scorpaeniformes: Psychrolutidae). Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 87: 1141-1145. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rmb.2016.06.013 

Drazen JC, Goffredi SK, Schlining B and Stakes DS (2003) Aggregations of Egg-Brooding Deep-Sea Fish and Cephalopods on the Gorda Escarpment: a Reproductive Hot Spot. Biol. Bull. 205: 1-7.  

FishBase 

Jamieson AJ, Singleman G, Liney TD and Casey S (2020) Fear and loathing of the deep ocean: why don’t people care about the deep sea? ICES Journal of Marine Science 78(3): 797-809. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsaa234 

NOAA: Layers of the Ocean 

Weis, JS (2011) Do Fish Sleep: Fascinating Answers to Questions about Fishes. New Brunswich, New Jersey, and London: Rutgers University Press.  

 

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