Scientists filmed a ray-finned fish from the sea slug family (Liparidae) swimming at a depth of 8,336
Deep sea fish off the coast of Japan. Video: The University of Western Australia
The researchers failed to catch this fish toit is uniquely identified, but they believe that it also belongs to the genus Pseudoliparis. However, the record for the deepest fish ever caught was also broken. A few days later, in the Japan Trench, researchers trapped two fish, Pseudoliparis belyaevi, at depths of 8,022 m. This is the first "fishing" at a depth of more than 8 km, before that fish of the same species were caught at a depth of 7,703 m.
There are more than 300 species of the marine familyslugs, most of which are shallow and can be found in estuaries. But a few species have adapted to life in the cold waters of the Arctic and Antarctic, as well as the extreme pressure conditions that exist in the world's deepest trenches. At a depth of 8 km, they experience more than 80 MPa. They are helped to survive by their gelatinous bodies and the absence of a swim bladder.
Scientists used an autonomous descent vehicleto study underwater life in the Izu-Ogasawara Trench, the Japan Trench and the Ryukyu Trench. They suggested that due to the warm currents in the area, the fish would be able to descend to greater depths than the previous record holders found in the Mariinsky Trench. The discovery confirmed the hypothesis.
We predicted that there would be the deepestfish, and we predicted that it would be a fish from the linden family. It upsets me when people say we don't know anything about the depths of the sea. We know. Everything is changing very quickly.
Alan Jamison, deep sea researcher at the University of Western Australia in an interview with the BBC
The researchers believe that if a new record andis ever beaten, the difference will be only a few meters or tens of meters. They believe that the new discovery is made almost at the maximum depth at which conditions suitable for fish can exist.
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On the cover: fish found in the Izu-Ogasawara trench at a depth of 7.5 to 8.2 km. Image: The University of Western Australia