Blobfish
Encyclopedia
The blobfish is a deep sea fish
of the family
Psychrolutidae
. Inhabiting the deep waters off the coasts of mainland Australia
and Tasmania
, it is rarely seen by humans.
Blobfish live at depths between 600 – where the pressure is several dozen times higher than at sea level
, which would likely make gas bladder
s inefficient for maintaining buoyancy
. 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 pen
s.
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.
The Blobfish is currently facing extinction due to deep-sea fishing.
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
of the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Psychrolutidae
Psychrolutidae
The fish family Psychrolutidae contains the fatheads or fathead sculpins, including the blobfishes. There are 9 genera and about 30 species. This poorly known family consists of bottom-dwelling marine sculpins shaped like tadpoles, with large heads and bodies that taper back into small, flat tails...
. Inhabiting the deep waters off the coasts of mainland Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, it is rarely seen by humans.
Blobfish live at depths between 600 – where the pressure is several dozen times higher than at sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
, which would likely make gas bladder
Gas bladder
The swim bladder, gas bladder, fish maw or air bladder is an internal gas-filled organ that contributes to the ability of a fish to control its buoyancy, and thus to stay at the current water depth without having to waste energy in swimming...
s inefficient for maintaining buoyancy
Buoyancy
In physics, buoyancy is a force exerted by a fluid that opposes an object's weight. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus a column of fluid, or an object submerged in the fluid, experiences greater pressure at the bottom of the...
. Instead, the flesh of the blobfish is primarily a gelatinous mass with a density
Density
The mass density or density of a material is defined as its mass per unit volume. The symbol most often used for density is ρ . In some cases , density is also defined as its weight per unit volume; although, this quantity is more properly called specific weight...
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
Marine snow
In the deep ocean, marine snow is a continuous shower of mostly organic detritus falling from the upper layers of the water column. It is a significant means of exporting energy from the light-rich photic zone to the aphotic zone below. The term was first coined by the explorer William Beebe as he...
that floats in front of it. Blobfish eat invertebrates like crabs and sea pen
Sea pen
Sea pens are colonial marine cnidarians belonging to the order Pennatulacea. There are 14 families within the order; they are thought to have a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical and temperate waters worldwide...
s.
Blobfish can be caught by bottom trawling
Bottom trawling
Bottom trawling is trawling along the sea floor. It is also often referred to as "dragging".The scientific community divides bottom trawling into benthic trawling and demersal trawling...
with nets as bycatch
Bycatch
The term “bycatch” is usually used for fish caught unintentionally in a fishery while intending to catch other fish. It may however also indicate untargeted catch in other forms of animal harvesting or collecting...
. Such trawling in the waters off Australia may threaten the blobfish in what may be its only habitat.
The Blobfish is currently facing extinction due to deep-sea fishing.