The world’s deepest fish has been captured on film by scientists from the University of Hawaii, Schmidt Ocean Institute and the University of Aberdeen using a diving vehicle called Hadal-Lander.
This snailfish (bottom-left of the image) at 8,145 meters is a record for the deepest fish ever filmed; small amphipods are visible in the center. Image credit: University of Aberdeen.
The video footage shows a type of snailfish at depths of 8,145 meters deep – the greatest depth a fish has ever been observed, beating 2008 record by nearly 500 meters.
“This really deep fish did not look like anything we had seen before, nor does it look like anything we know of,” said team member Dr Alan Jamieson of the University of Aberdeen.
“It is unbelievably fragile, with large wing-like fins and a head resembling a cartoon dog.”
Dr Jamieson and his colleagues completed almost 100 deployments of deep-sampling equipment across the entire depth range of the Mariana Trench: 5,000 m – 10,600 m.
They also filmed the ‘supergiant’ amphipod, an extremely large crustacean that was recovered by traps off New Zealand in 2012.
“Knowing these creatures exist is one thing, but to watch them alive in their natural habitat and interacting with other species is truly amazing, we have learnt a great deal,” Dr Jamieson said.
“Rarely, do we get a full perspective of the ocean’s unique deep environments. The questions that the scientists will be able to answer following this cruise will pave the way for a better understanding of the deep sea, which is not exempt from human impact,” said Dr Wendy Schmidt from the Schmidt Ocean Institute.
The goal of the 30-day expedition was to characterize the environments, animals, ecological and geological processes of the deepest area of the world’s ocean.
“Many studies have rushed to the bottom of the trench but from an ecological view that is very limiting. It’s like trying to understand a mountain ecosystem by only looking at its summit,” Dr Jeff Drazen of the University of Hawaii.
Aside from the new deepest fish record and supergiant observations, the biologists filmed many other species of fish, setting new depth records for three other fish families.
They also successfully reached the bottom of the Sirena deep at 10,545 m, solidifying the Hadal-Lander as the UK’s deepest diving vehicle.
“We are particularly proud of this vehicle given it was designed and almost entirely built in villages in Aberdeenshire in the Northeast of Scotland,” Dr Jamieson said.
