Psychrolutes marcidus

For the species known in meme culture as the "Blobfish", see Psychrolutes microporos.

Psychrolutes marcidus
Drawing of blobfish by Allan Riverstone McCulloch
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Psychrolutidae
Genus: Psychrolutes
Species:
P. marcidus
Binomial name
Psychrolutes marcidus
(McCulloch, 1926)
Synonyms

Neophrynichthys marcidus McCulloch, 1926

Psychrolutes marcidus, the smooth-head blobfish,[1] also known simply as blobfish,[1] is a deep-sea fish of the family Psychrolutidae. It inhabits the deep waters off the coasts of mainland Australia and Tasmania, as well as the waters of New Zealand.[2]

Blobfish are typically shorter than 30 cm (12 in). They live at depths between 600 and 1,200 m (2,000 and 3,900 ft), where the pressure is 60 to 120 times greater than that at sea level, which would likely make gas bladders inefficient for maintaining buoyancy.[2] Instead, the flesh of the blobfish is primarily a gelatinous mass with a density slightly less than that of water; this allows the fish to float above the sea floor without expending energy on swimming. The blobfish has a relative lack of muscle, but this is not a disadvantage, as its main food source is edible matter that floats in front of it, such as deep-ocean crustaceans.[3]

  • Artist's representation of two blobfish in situ
    Artist's representation of two blobfish in situ

References

  1. ^ a b "Psychrolutes marcidus – Names". Atlas of Living Australia. Retrieved 2019-03-28.
  2. ^ a b Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Psychrolutes marcidus". FishBase. February 2010 version.
  3. ^ Hearst, Michael (2012). Unusual Creatures: A Mostly Accurate Account of Some of Earth's Strangest Animals. Chronicle Books. pp. 24–25. ISBN 978-1-4521-0467-6.