{"id":71459,"date":"2017-11-29T16:05:31","date_gmt":"2017-11-30T02:05:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=71459"},"modified":"2020-05-08T12:01:26","modified_gmt":"2020-05-08T22:01:26","slug":"theres-a-deeper-fish-in-the-sea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2017\/11\/29\/theres-a-deeper-fish-in-the-sea\/","title":{"rendered":"There&#8217;s a deeper fish in the sea"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 3<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><div class=\"responsive-video-wrap\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"676\" height=\"380\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Fxkun3DpBno?rel=0\" title=\"YouTube video player\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>The ocean\u2019s deepest fish doesn\u2019t look like it could survive in harsh conditions thousands of feet below the surface. Instead of giant teeth and a menacing frame, the fishes that roam  the deepest parts of the ocean are small, translucent, bereft of scales&#8212;highly adept at living where few other organisms can.<\/p>\n<p>Meet the deepest fish in the ocean, a new species named the Mariana snailfish by an international team of researchers, including scientists from the University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span> at M\u0101noa\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.soest.hawaii.edu\/soestwp\/\">School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology<\/a> (SOEST) who discovered it.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_71470\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-71470\" style=\"width: 676px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/manoa-soest-mariana-snailfish.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"676\" height=\"231\" class=\"size-full wp-image-71470\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/manoa-soest-mariana-snailfish.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/manoa-soest-mariana-snailfish-300x103.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-71470\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A specimen of the new species, Mariana snailfish. Photo credit: Mackenzie Gerringer\/University of Washington, University of <span aria-label=\"Hawaii\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Mariana snailfish (<em>Pseudoliparis swirei<\/em>) thrives at depths of up to about 8,000 meters (26,200 feet) along the Mariana Trench near Guam. The team published <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mapress.com\/j\/zt\/article\/view\/zootaxa.4358.1.7\/13080\">a paper describing the new species in the journal <em>Zootaxa<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This is the deepest fish that\u2019s been collected from the ocean floor, and we\u2019re very excited to have an official name,&rdquo; said lead author <a href=\"https:\/\/mackenziegerringer.wordpress.com\/\"><strong>Mackenzie Gerringer<\/strong><\/a>, a graduate student at <abbr>SOEST<\/abbr> at the time of this work and current postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington&#8217;s Friday Harbor Laboratories. &ldquo;They don\u2019t look very robust or strong for living in such an extreme environment, but they are extremely successful.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Snailfish are found at many different depths in marine waters around the world. In deep water, they cluster together in groups and feed on tiny crustaceans and shrimp using suction from their mouths to gulp prey. Very 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.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_71466\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-71466\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/manoa-soest-mariana-snailfish-ct-scan-300x169.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-71466\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/manoa-soest-mariana-snailfish-ct-scan-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/manoa-soest-mariana-snailfish-ct-scan-630x353.jpg 630w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/manoa-soest-mariana-snailfish-ct-scan.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-71466\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A <abbr>CT<\/abbr> scan of the Mariana snailfish. The green shape, a small crustacean, is seen in the snailfish&#8217;s stomach. Image credit: Adam Summers\/University of Washington<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This new species appears to dominate parts of the Mariana Trench, the deepest stretch of ocean in the world that is located in the western Pacific Ocean. During research trips in 2014 and 2017 aboard the <a href=\"https:\/\/schmidtocean.org\/\">Schmidt Ocean Institute\u2019s<\/a> R\/V <em>Falkor<\/em>, scientists collected 37 specimens of the new species from depths of about 6,900 meters (22,600 feet) to 8,000 meters (26,200 feet) along the trench. <abbr title=\"deoxyribonucleic acid\">DNA<\/abbr> analysis and 3D scanning to analyze skeletal and tissue structures helped researchers determine they had found a new species.<\/p>\n<p>Since then, a research team from Japan has recorded footage of the fish swimming at depths of 8,178 meters (26,830 feet), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jamstec.go.jp\/e\/about\/press_release\/20170824\/\">the deepest sighting so far<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Snailfishes have adapted to go deeper than other fish and can live in the deep trenches. Here they are free of predators, and the funnel shape of the trench means there\u2019s much more food,&rdquo; said co-author <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncl.ac.uk\/nes\/staff\/profile\/thomaslinley.html#background\">Thomas Linley<\/a> of Newcastle University. &ldquo;There are lots of invertebrate prey and the snailfish are the top predator. They are active and look very well-fed.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>Accessing the deepest ocean<\/h2>\n<p>A handful of researchers have explored the Mariana Trench, but very few comprehensive surveys of the trench and its inhabitants have been completed because of its depth and location, Gerringer said. These research trips involved dropping traps with cameras down to the bottom of the trench. It can take four hours for a trap to sink to the bottom.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_71469\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-71469\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/manoa-soest-mariana-snailfish-traps.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/manoa-soest-mariana-snailfish-traps-300x170.jpg\" alt=\"researchers hauling up a trap onto the deck of the ship\" width=\"300\" height=\"170\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-71469\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/manoa-soest-mariana-snailfish-traps-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/manoa-soest-mariana-snailfish-traps.jpg 672w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-71469\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Researchers recover the trap after it landed on the bottom of the Mariana Trench. Photo credit: Paul Yancey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After waiting an additional 12 to 24 hours, the researchers sent an acoustic signal to the trap, which then released weights and rose to the surface with the help of flotation. That allowed scientists to catch fish specimens and take video footage of life at the bottom of the ocean.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;There are a lot of surprises waiting,&rdquo; said Gerringer. &ldquo;It\u2019s amazing to see what lives there. We think of it as a harsh environment because it\u2019s extreme for us, but there\u2019s a whole group of organisms that are very happy down there.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Mariana snailfish\u2019s location was its most distinguishing characteristic, but researchers also saw a number of differences in physiology and body structure that made it clear they had found a new species. With the help of a CT scanner at the Friday Harbor Labs, the researchers could look in close digital detail to study elements of the fish.<\/p>\n<h2>Science is a collaboration<\/h2>\n<p>The authors, including <abbr>SOEST<\/abbr> oceanography faculty <a href=\"http:\/\/www.deepseafishecology.com\/\"><strong>Jeffrey Drazen<\/strong><\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.soest.hawaii.edu\/oceanography\/faculty\/goetze.html\"><strong>Erica Goetze<\/strong><\/a>, acknowledge the broad collaboration needed for deep-sea science, particularly in this discovery, and decided the new fish\u2019s scientific name should reflect that collaborative effort. The fish&#8212;<em>Pseudoliparis swirei<\/em>&#8212;is named after a sailor, Herbert Swire, an officer on the HMS <em>Challenger<\/em> expedition in the late 1800s that first discovered the Mariana Trench, and in recognition of the critical role of crewmembers on board research vessels.<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8212;By Marcie Grabowski<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>An international team of researchers discover a Mariana snailfish, which thrives at depths of up to about 8,000 meters (26,200 feet) along the Mariana Trench near Guam.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":71470,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[175,158,92,9,56],"class_list":["post-71459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-marine-biology","tag-publication","tag-school-of-ocean-and-earth-science-and-technology","tag-uh-manoa","tag-video-2","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/manoa-soest-mariana-snailfish.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71459"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71459\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":117872,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71459\/revisions\/117872"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/71470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}