Bony fish · Scorpaeniformes · Psychrolutidae
Blobfish
Psychrolutes marcidus
It has not yet been assessed against the IUCN criteria. See full glossary
The blobfish is a scorpaeniform fish of the family Psychrolutidae. Because of the inaccessibility of its habitat it has rarely been photographed in the wild.
Size
20 cm – 35 cm
Diet
Carnivore
Feeds mainly on other animals.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Unknown
Fun facts
- GeneralIn its own habitat it looks perfectly ordinary: the famously gelatinous face is what decompression does to it on the way to the surface.
- In 2013 it was voted the world's ugliest animal in a poll run by the Ugly Animal Preservation Society, to draw attention to threatened species that lack charisma.
- It has hardly any muscle or skeleton: its gelatinous flesh, slightly less dense than water, lets it hover over the bottom without expending energy and without a swim bladder.
- Its gelatinous, drooping appearance is an artefact of the surface: at the pressure of its own habitat it is shaped like an ordinary fish, and it only deforms when hauled up quickly by the sudden drop in pressure.
- It has no swim bladder; instead its flesh is a gelatinous mass slightly less dense than water, which lets it hover above the bottom without spending energy on swimming.
- It has very little muscle, which costs it nothing because it feeds on whatever drifts past, mainly bottom-living crustaceans.
Life cycle & biology
- Habitat & environment
- Continental slope bottoms (600-1,200 m)
Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychrolutes_marcidus
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Blobfish — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
VulnerableGreat White Shark
Carcharodon carcharias
Shortfin Mako
Isurus oxyrinchus
Porbeagle
Lamna nasus
VulnerableGrayfish
Alopias vulpinus
Spotted Wobbegong
Orectolobus maculatus
Near ThreatenedBull Shark
Carcharhinus leucas
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about blobfish.
Comments
Share an experience, a fun fact or a tip for seeing the blobfish.
Be the first to comment.