The photo above is taken from a recording at a depth of 8,336 meters in the Izu-Ogasawara trench, southeast of Japan. This fish belongs to the species of snailfish, known in Latin as Pseudoliparis belyaevi. They lack scales, their skin is covered with mucus, and they have a tadpole-like shape. Their dorsal fin is large and extends to connect with the anal and caudal fins. They have very small eyes, and their bodies narrow towards the tail. Of particular interest is their pelvic fin, resembling a snail’s foot, which aids in their bottom-dwelling behavior, allowing them to adhere to the seabed at great depths. They lay their eggs in stones or cold-water corals at these depths. The average lifespan of these fish is about one year. They primarily feed on gammarids, decapods, crustaceans, and fish.
The discovery of this species suggests the possibility of more fish species living at depths below 8,000 meters. Due to the difficulty in capturing and studying this species, one researcher devised a method of creating a model using a condom and a robot to mimic its movements, facilitating further study.
