Researchers break new record by recording the deepest fish in the world

Scientists find a snailfish at a depth of more than 8,000 meters and break the record.

Scientists from the University of Western Australia have released images of the deepest fish found at 8,336 meters depth, a juvenile snailfish belonging to the genus Pseudoliparis. The team explored the Izu-Ogasawara Trench on a two-month expedition in the North Pacific with the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology.

Juvenile snailfish tend to live at a greater depth than adults of the same species, unlike other deep-sea fish. “We’ve been researching these deep-sea snailfish for more than 15 years; there’s a lot more to them than just depth, but the maximum depth they can survive to is really amazing,” recounted Alan Jamieson, a professor at UWA and the expedition’s chief scientist.

In addition, the scientists set another record by collecting two more specimens (Pseudoliparis belyaevi) at a depth of 8,022 meters, making it the deepest ever caught. Previously no fish had ever been collected below 8,000 meters.

You can find more information on the subject on the UWA website.

🌊 Scientists from #UWA and Japan have set a new record for the deepest fish ever filmed and caught! 🐟 They discovered a snailfish at a depth of 8,336m in the Izu-Ogasawara Trench and caught two more from 8,022m during a two-month expedition. @minderoo https://t.co/RjJ7CxD97d pic.twitter.com/kRdYJsI3yU

— UWA (@uwanews) April 3, 2023