Psychrolutes marcidus
| Blobfish | |
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| Drawing by Alan Riverstone McCulloch | |
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| Species: | P. marcidus
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| Binomial name | |
| Psychrolutes marcidus (McCulloch, 1926)
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The blobfish (Psychrolutes marcidus) is a deep sea fish of the family Psychrolutidae. Inhabiting the deep waters off the coasts of mainland Australia and Tasmania,[1] it is rarely seen by humans.
Blobfish live at depths between 600–1,200 m (2,000–3,900 ft) where the pressure is several dozen times higher than at sea level, which would likely make gas bladders inefficient for maintaining buoyancy.[1] Instead, the flesh of the blobfish is primarily a gelatinous mass with a density slightly less than water; this allows the fish to float above the sea floor without expending energy on swimming. Its relative lack of muscle is not a disadvantage as it primarily swallows edible matter that floats in front of it. Blobfish eat invertebrates like crabs and sea pens.[citation needed]
Blobfish can be caught by bottom trawling with nets as bycatch. Such trawling in the waters off Australia may threaten the blobfish in what may be its only habitat.[2]
The blobfish is currently facing extinction due to deep-sea fishing or bottom trawling.[3]
References
- ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2010). "Psychrolutes marcidus" in FishBase. February 2010 version.
- ^ "So you think you've had a bad day? Spare a thought for the world's most miserable-looking fish, which is now in danger of being wiped out". The Daily Mail. London. 27 January 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ^ Hough, Andrew (26 January 2010). "Blobfish: world's most 'miserable looking' marine animal facing exinction". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 30 September 2012.