World’s Deepest Fish “Snailfish” Discovered (VIDEO)

A new species of snailfish is now considered the World’s Deepest Fish, having been found and captured on video five miles deep (eight kilometers) in the Pacific’s Mariana Trench.

The fish has a novel body form that has not been seen before. It stunned scientists because in other trenches, there is only one fish species at this depth–a snailfish; this fish is really different from any other deep-sea fish that scientists have ever seen.

The roughly six-inch-long (15 centimeters) snailfish sports broad, winglike fins that likely help it search for food, said expedition co-leader Jeff Drazen, a deep-sea ecologist at the University of Hawaii, Manoa.

VIDEO

The fish’s presence just goes to show that these deep trench communities are much more active and interesting than previously thought, Drazen explained.

The finding was part of an international expedition that also found many other new species at the extreme depths.