MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) | Snailfish are flabby, scaleless fishes adapted to thrive in the deep @MBARIvideo | Uploaded May 2021 | Updated October 2024, 3 hours ago.
Snailfishes (family Liparidae) are a diverse and thriving group of fishes with over 400 described species. They have tadpole-like bodies with broad pectoral fins and tiny tail fins. Their pelvic fins are modified to form a suction cup allowing them to fasten onto rocks, corals, or research equipment, and hold tight in strong currents. They have been observed clinging to crabs where they may lay eggs inside the gill cavity of their host.
Snailfishes are found globally in all ocean basins, from shallow intertidal waters to the deepest depths of the ocean. They are among the most common fishes living in deep-sea trenches. In fact, the Mariana snailfish (Pseudoliparis swirei) holds the record for the deepest-dwelling seafloor fish (down to 8,178 meters or 26,800 feet).
These flabby, scaleless fishes are well-adapted to a variety of habitats, including rocky outcrops, the muddy seafloor, and even the midwater. They play an important role as prey and predator in many ecosystems. Most snailfish species are small and feed on tiny invertebrates, but larger species may prey upon other fishes. MBARI has observed over a dozen species of snailfish in the past 34 years of exploration. We suspect there are dozens more out there waiting to be discovered.
Writer/Video editor: Kyra Schlining
Production team: Heidi Cullen, Madison Pobis, Nancy Jacobsen Stout, Susan von Thun
Music: The Perfection of Technology by MAD (MotionArray)
Mariana snailfish video courtesy of SOI/HADES/University of Aberdeen (Dr. Alan Jamieson)
References
Stein, D.L., J.C. Drazen, K. Schlining, J. Barry, and L. Kuhnz (2006). Snailfishes of the central California coast: Video, photographic and morphological observations. Journal of Fish Biology, 69: 970-986. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2006.01167.x
Gerringer, M.E., T.D. Linley, A.J. Jamieson, E. Goetze, and J.C. Drazen (2017). Pseudoliparis swirei sp. nov.: A newly-discovered hadal snailfish (Scorpaeniformes: Liparidae) from the Mariana Trench. Zootaxa, 4358(1): 161-177. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4358.1.7
Snailfishes (family Liparidae) are a diverse and thriving group of fishes with over 400 described species. They have tadpole-like bodies with broad pectoral fins and tiny tail fins. Their pelvic fins are modified to form a suction cup allowing them to fasten onto rocks, corals, or research equipment, and hold tight in strong currents. They have been observed clinging to crabs where they may lay eggs inside the gill cavity of their host.
Snailfishes are found globally in all ocean basins, from shallow intertidal waters to the deepest depths of the ocean. They are among the most common fishes living in deep-sea trenches. In fact, the Mariana snailfish (Pseudoliparis swirei) holds the record for the deepest-dwelling seafloor fish (down to 8,178 meters or 26,800 feet).
These flabby, scaleless fishes are well-adapted to a variety of habitats, including rocky outcrops, the muddy seafloor, and even the midwater. They play an important role as prey and predator in many ecosystems. Most snailfish species are small and feed on tiny invertebrates, but larger species may prey upon other fishes. MBARI has observed over a dozen species of snailfish in the past 34 years of exploration. We suspect there are dozens more out there waiting to be discovered.
Writer/Video editor: Kyra Schlining
Production team: Heidi Cullen, Madison Pobis, Nancy Jacobsen Stout, Susan von Thun
Music: The Perfection of Technology by MAD (MotionArray)
Mariana snailfish video courtesy of SOI/HADES/University of Aberdeen (Dr. Alan Jamieson)
References
Stein, D.L., J.C. Drazen, K. Schlining, J. Barry, and L. Kuhnz (2006). Snailfishes of the central California coast: Video, photographic and morphological observations. Journal of Fish Biology, 69: 970-986. doi: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2006.01167.x
Gerringer, M.E., T.D. Linley, A.J. Jamieson, E. Goetze, and J.C. Drazen (2017). Pseudoliparis swirei sp. nov.: A newly-discovered hadal snailfish (Scorpaeniformes: Liparidae) from the Mariana Trench. Zootaxa, 4358(1): 161-177. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4358.1.7
