SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- A new species living at extreme ocean depths in Monterey Bay Canyon was discovered by researchers with Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI).
Photographs and videos shot by MBARI along the ocean floor were released this week. They reveal a deep sea creature that looks like a fish combined with the color and cuteness of an axolotl.
The pink fish appears to be smiling as it swims past a high-tech camera 10,722 feet below the ocean's surface.
"MBARI researchers encountered an unfamiliar pink snailfish swimming just above the seafloor. New research from MBARI collaborators has confirmed this individual represents a species previously unknown to science: the bumpy snailfish (Careproctus colliculi)," MBARI announced this week.
A bumpy snailfish (Careproctus colliculi) is observed with MBARI’s remotely operated vehicle Doc Ricketts deep in Monterey Canyon. (Image: 2019 MBARI)“It’s pretty adorable," Mackenzie Gerringer, a marine biologist at the State University of New York at Geneseo, told the New York Times.
The team also found two additional fish that were later confirmed to be new species. "The deep sea is the largest living space on Earth. The inky waters beneath the ocean’s surface teem with life, including many species unknown to science," MBARI wrote.
The bumpy snailfish was first captured on camera by MBARI's research team in 2019. MBARI Senior Scientist Steven Haddock and his expedition team were exploring the outer regions of Monterey Canyon, 62 miles offshore from Central California, when their remotely operated vehicle, Doc Ricketts, observed the small pink fish.
A bumpy snailfish (Careproctus colliculi) is observed with MBARI’s remotely operated vehicle Doc Ricketts deep in Monterey Canyon. (Image: 2019 MBARI)The snailfish survives in an extreme environment with crushing pressure, frigid cold water temperatures, and perpetual darkness in the ocean’s depths.
The team collected the adult female fish, which is just 3.6 inches long, to continue studying in their laboratory.
"The bumpy snailfish has a distinctive pink color, a round head with large eyes, wide pectoral fins with long uppermost rays, and a bumpy texture," MBARI wrote.
MBARI researchers also found two other mysterious types of fish in 2019 during an expedition with the submersible Alvin offshore at a depth of 13,100 feet offshore from Central California.
For the past six years, scientists from SUNY Geneseo, University of Montana, and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, studied the images of the three fishes. They published their findings in a scientific journal, Ichthyology and Herpetology, in August.
"Using microscopy, micro-computed tomography scanning, and careful measurements, the team collected detailed information about the size, shape, and physical characteristics of the three fishes, distinguishing them from all known species. They also sequenced the DNA of the specimens to compare these animals to other snailfishes and determine their evolutionary position in the family Liparidae. Their examination confirmed that all three snailfishes were new to science," MBARI wrote.
In addition to the bumpy snailfish, the dark snailfish (Careproctus yanceyi) and the sleek snailfish (Paraliparis em), are new to science.
About 400 different species of snailfish exist worldwide, and one snailfish holds the world record for the deepest-dwelling fish.
Gerringer said, "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."
Within the past four decades, MBARI researchers based in Moss Landing have helped discover more than 300 new species.
Haddock said, “MBARI seeks to make ocean exploration more accessible by sharing our data and technology with our peers in the science community."
Hence then, the article about is that an axolotl new species discovered by mbari deep sea researchers was published today ( ) and is available on KRON4 ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Is that an axolotl? New species discovered by MBARI deep sea researchers )
Also on site :