This Adorable Bumpy Snailfish Is One of Three New Species Discovered in the Deep-Sea

Thanks to advanced technology from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), researchers have discovered three new species of deep-sea fish.

Initially discovered in 2019, a collaborative team from MBARI, State University of New York at Geneseo (SUNY Geneseo), the University of Montana, and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, identified the three new species of snailfish, all found in the deep sea off the coast of California. Their findings are published in Ichthyology and Herpetology.

Finding the New Snailfish

While about 62 miles off California’s coast, the MBARI Biodiversity and Biooptics Research Team, led by senior scientist Steven Haddock, was exploring the seafloor around the outer Monterey Canyon. The team deployed the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Doc Ricketts to a depth of about 10,722 feet when they noticed an unfamiliar pink fish just above the seafloor.

Unsure of the species, the team collected the fish, an adult female that measured about 3.6 inches, and brought her back to the lab for further study.

Not too far away, off the coast of central California, a different MBARI research team, using the submersible Alvin, found two other unidentified fish species, each dark in color. These fish were at about 13,000 feet below the surface.

Read More: 99.999 Percent of the Deep Ocean Is Unexplored — Its Secrets Are Key to Understanding Our Planet

What Is Unique About Snailfish?

Snailfish, which are part of the Liparidae family, typically have jelly-like bodies that appear covered in loose skin, a narrow tail, and large heads, according to a press release. Most of the snailfish species have a disk-like appendage on their stomach. This allows them to stick to larger animals — like deep-sea crabs — as a hitch-hiker, or cling to the sea floor.

The snailfish that live in shallower waters have been observed clinging to rocks and seaweed where they appear to curl up like a snail.

According to the press release, researchers have identified over 400 species of snailfish. They range from shallow environments to the deep sea and apparently hold the record for the deepest-dwelling fish.

“The deep sea is home to an incredible diversity of organisms and a truly beautiful array of adaptations. Our discovery of not one, but three, new species of snailfishes is a reminder of how much we have yet to learn about life on Earth and of the power of curiosity and exploration,” said SUNY Geneseo Associate Professor Mackenzie Gerringer in a press release.

Identifying the New Sailfish

The research team named the new species the bumpy fish, the dark snailfish, and the sleek snailfish.

The pink fish — bumpy fish — has a large head and eyes, and bumpy skin. The dark snailfish has a round head, a slanted mouth, and a fully black body. The sleek snailfish is slightly different. It has a more compressed body and an angled jaw, is mostly black, but does not have a disk on its belly.

To identify the new species, the research team used a variety of methods, ranging from CT scans to genetic analysis, to distinguish them from the other snailfish species. The DNA analysis and CT scans helped prove that these fish are indeed three new species.

This new discovery is an exciting piece in understanding more of the deep sea.

Read More: Spiky, Star-Shaped Creatures Show the Deep Sea Is a “Connected Superhighway”

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