Researchers are baffled by a weird-looking fish they discovered in the depths of the sea near Alaska.
According to WDC TV News, a “bizarre-looking translucent, gelatinous fish with an uncommon suction cup on its stomach” was pulled up off the coast of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.
Researchers reportedly discovered the fish during a routine survey of the deep sea ecosystem.
The outlet noted the fish is called a blotched snailfish.
It lives within the North Pacific and can survive more than 2,723 feet under the ocean floor, as WDC TV News pointed out.
Check out a photo of the fish below:
Meanwhile in Alaska… pic.twitter.com/OcdMuDUbsR
— Marina Medvin ?? (@MarinaMedvin) July 8, 2022
Editor for Live Science, Mindy Weisberger, tweeted, “There’s a very good reason why the blotched snailfish has a body like a bag full of snot—its gelatinous form helps it navigate the crushing pressure of the deep sea.”
There's a very good reason why the blotched snailfish has a body like a bag full of snot—its gelatinous form helps it navigate the crushing pressure of the deep sea https://t.co/FzTnACcO3y
— Mindy Weisberger (@LaMinda) July 7, 2022
NOAA scientist and expedition crew member Sarah Friedman told Reside Science in an email the fish “dwell in comparatively distant areas and at deeper depths, so the typical individual won’t ever encounter this species.”
Friedman explained many animals “that dwell at deeper oceanic depths are translucent.”
It allows them to “mix in with the darkish background in a habitat with restricted gentle availability and few buildings to cover behind.”
According to Friedman, the suction cups allow the fish “to simply connect to rocks and corals on the ocean flooring and keep away from expending the vitality to always swim around, significantly in sturdy currents.”
