Uploaded July 2019 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
Video of the fish was captured during an expedition on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer to explore the unknown and poorly known deep waters of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Seen while exploring a ridge feature at a depth of ~2,500 meters, the fish measured about 10 centimeters long. It is in the same order (Ophidiiformes) as cusk eels, but belongs to a distinct family (Aphyonidae). According to the experts, this is the first time that a fish in the family Aphyonidae has ever been seen alive!
With its transparent, gelatinous skin, which lacked scales, and its highly reduced eyes that lacked pigment, the fish was truly a remarkable – and ghostly – find. In fact, some viewers noted it was basically the “fish version of Casper the octopus,” in reference to an octopus seen during a February expedition on the Okeanos Explorer off of Hawaii that was likely a new species.
Video courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas.
Video of the fish was captured during an expedition on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer to explore the unknown and poorly known deep waters of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Seen while exploring a ridge feature at a depth of ~2,500 meters, the fish measured about 10 centimeters long. It is in the same order (Ophidiiformes) as cusk eels, but belongs to a distinct family (Aphyonidae). According to the experts, this is the first time that a fish in the family Aphyonidae has ever been seen alive!
With its transparent, gelatinous skin, which lacked scales, and its highly reduced eyes that lacked pigment, the fish was truly a remarkable – and ghostly – find. In fact, some viewers noted it was basically the “fish version of Casper the octopus,” in reference to an octopus seen during a February expedition on the Okeanos Explorer off of Hawaii that was likely a new species.
Video courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2016 Deepwater Exploration of the Marianas.
