Researchers discover peculiar fish species that melt when brought to surface

It is already known that a great quantity of underwater sea life has not yet been explored, however, with the help new innovations, researchers have recently discovered three new species of bizarre looking fish swimming under great depths of Pacific Ocean.

An international team of researchers have discovered three new fish species, dubbed as the ‘pink, the blue, and the purple Atacama snailfish’, living in the pitch-black waters of the Atacama Trench, which is one of the deepest parts of the Pacific Ocean.

Baited camera traps were deployed in the south east of the ocean to discover the mystery of what lies beneath the largely unexplored region of the ocean. The fishes were discovered 24,606ft below, regardless of the freezing temperatures and extreme pressure.

Among the various creatures discovered were three new species of snailfish, animals with soft, translucent bodies that are well adapted to life in such extreme conditions. One of the team members Thomas Linley said that at such depths the snailfish are able to live free of competitors or predators.

“As the footage clearly shows, there are lots of invertebrate prey down there and the snailfish are the top predator, they seem to be quite active and look very well-fed. Their gelatinous structure means they are perfectly adapted to living at extreme pressure and in fact the hardest structures in their bodies are their teeth and the bones in their inner ear which give them balance."

Video Courtesy: Newcastle University

He continued, “Without the extreme pressure and cold to support their bodies they are extremely fragile and melt rapidly when brought to the surface.” One of the traps, however, managed to capture a snailfish and bring it back to the surface, where its remains are being preserved and analyzed, reported Independent.

The team captured over 100 hours of footage via the camera. Along with the peculiar fish, researchers also spotted rarely seen long-legged isopods called ‘Munnopsids’ on the sea floor. These creatures swim backwards and upside down and can also walk along the seafloor like a spider, reported Daily Mail.