It may be the new world record for fish filmed at the deepest depth. Exactly, the new mark would be established at 8,336 meters below sea level in the Izu-Ogasawara Trench, in southern Japan and the protagonist would be a juvenile specimen of snail fish (or slimy fish) of the species Pseudoliparis belyaevi. Until now, the maximum depth at which fish had been observed was 8,178 meters, in the Mariana Trench.
The new record is still provisional and its only published reference is statements to BBC News by Alan Jamieson, professor at the University of Western Australia (UWA), founder of the MInderoo-UWA deep-sea research center and director of this exploration. At the moment, no scientific study on this discovery has been published, nor have official data been released from either the UWA or the Tokyo University of Marine Sciences and Technology (Japan), a partner in the expedition.
The filming of the fish that is eligible for a review in the Guinness Book of Records was carried out with the help of a remote-controlled robot from the research vessel DSSV Pressure Drop.
To facilitate the presence of fish in the study area, those responsible for the expedition placed a structure with baits on the seabed. After several attempts, the fish approached the structure and devoured the food before the cameras of the underwater robot. In one of the images, according to the authors, a young fish that would beat the record is several meters below the rest, which eat before the camera,
Experts are aware of the existence of some 300 species of so-called snail fish or slimy fish, which receives these names due to its especially gelatinous surface. Specifically, the species Pseudoliparis belyaevi was described in 1993 by scientists.
The snailfish group has adapted to life in the cold waters of the Arctic and Antarctic, and also to the extreme pressure conditions that exist in the world’s deepest trenches.
Their gelatinous bodies help them survive in high pressures. Not having a swim bladder, the gas-filled buoyancy control organ found in many other fish, is an added bonus. Also, these fish are suction feeders and consume small crustaceans.
