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Cruising at a depth of 8,336 meters (more than 27,000 feet) just above the seabed, a young snail became the deepest fish ever filmed by scientists during an investigation into the abyss of the Pacific Ocean of the North.
Scientists from the University of Australia-Western and the University of Marine Sciences and Technologies of Tokyo published images of Snailfish Sunday in September by Sea Robots in deep trenches off Japan.
In addition to the filming of The Snailfish the deepest, scientists physically caught two other specimens at 8,022 meters and established another record for the deepest taking.
Previously, the deepest snails ever spotted were 7,703 meters in 2008, while scientists had never been able to collect fish under 8,000 meters.
“What is important is that it shows how much a particular type of fish will descend into the ocean,” said Marine Biologist Alan Jamieson, founder of the Mindero-Uwa Deep Sea Research Center, who directed the expedition.
Scientists run in the trenches off Japan as part of a 10 -year study on the deepest fish populations in the world. The snails are members of the Liparidae family, and although most snails live in shallow waters, others survive some of the greatest depths ever registered, said Jamieson.
During the two -month survey last year, three “moor” – automatic sea robots equipped with high resolution cameras – were deposited in three trenches – the trenches of Japan, Izu -Ogasawara and Ryukyu – at variable depths.
In the Izu-Ogasawara trench, images have shown that the deepest snail fish calmly hovering alongside other crustaceans of the seabed.
Jamieson classified the fish as a juvenile and said that the youngest snails in the deep sea often remain as deep as possible to avoid being consumed by greater predators who swim at lower depths.
Another clip drawn between 7,500 and 8,200 meters in the same trench showed a colony of fish and crustaceans to snack on bait attached to a underwater robot.
Images of the two captured snails – identified as Pseudoliparis Belyaevi – Give a rare overview of the unique characteristics that help deep sea species to survive the extreme environment.
They have tiny eyes, a translucent body and their lack of swim bladder, which helps other fish to float, works to their advantage, said Jamieson.
The professor said that the Pacific Ocean is particularly conducive to dynamic activity because of his warm southern current, which encourages sea creatures to go further, while his abundant marine life offers a good food source for background eaters.
Scientists would like to know more about creatures living at extreme depths, but the cost is the constraint, said Jamieson, adding that each theur cost them alone $ 200,000 to meet and operate.
“The challenges are that the technology is expensive and that scientists do not have much money,” he said.