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The ocean's deepest fish doesn't look like it could survive in harsh conditions thousands of feet below the surface. Instead of giant teeth and a menacing frame, the fish that roam in the deepest parts of the ocean are small, translucent, bereft of scales and highly adept at living where few other organisms can.
Meet the deepest fish in the ocean, a new species named the Mariana snailfish by the international team of researchers that discovered it. DNA analysis and 3-D scanning to analyze skeletal and tissue structures helped researchers determine they had found a new species. The Mariana snailfish (Pseudoliparis swirei) thrives at depths of up to about 8,000 meters (26,200 feet) along the Mariana Trench near Guam. Little is known about how these fish can live under intense water pressure; the pressure at those depths is similar to an elephant standing on your thumb.Image credit: Adam Summers/University of Washington
