World’s Deepest-Dwelling Fish Discovered

Epoch Video
12/19/2014
Updated:
12/19/2014

Many consider the deep-sea just as fascinating and mysterious as space, as we have yet to develop an understanding of the kinds of species that dwell in our world’s deepest oceans.

[Transcript]

There is a new record for the world’s deepest fish. The species has yet to be identified. It was discovered more than 26,000 feet under the surface of sea. That number beat the previous record set in 2008 by approximately 16 hundred feet.

Researchers from the University of Aberdeen carried out the probe. One of the university’s scientists, Alan Jamieson remarked “This really deep fish did not look like anything we had seen before, nor does it look like anything we know of. It is unbelievably fragile, with large wing-like fins and a head resembling a cartoon dog.”

The fish was found during a 30-day expedition using the Hadal-Lander robotic sea vehicle. It was spotted in the Mariana Trench, which rests nearly 7 miles down in the Pacific Ocean. Not too many sea creatures are spotted in the Mariana Trench as its too cold and dark for most to survive.

In addition to the record-breaking fish, the crew also spotted supergiant amphipods.