The deepest sections of the ocean are so different from the surface, they are home to a variety of strange and mysterious animals.
One of these alien-like creatures was captured on camera by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
A ‘ghost’ fish was seen on camera, marking the first time an Aphyonidae family fish has been spotted alive.
A ‘ghost’ fish has been caught on camera, marking the first time a fish in the Aphyonidae family has been seen alive. Video of the fish was captured during an expedition on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer to explore the unknown and poorly known areas deep waters of the Mariana Trench
The footage of the fish was taken during a NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer voyage to explore the uncharted and poorly understood deep waters of the Mariana Trench.
The Mariana Trench is the deepest part of the world’s oceans.
In an average person’s home or office, the atmospheric pressure is about 14.7 pounds per square inch (101 kPa) but at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, it is more than 16,000 PSI (110,000 kPa).
The pale fish looks almost like an alien creature with its yellow eyes.
‘This is the first time a fish in this family has ever been seen alive,’ said Bruce Mundy, fishery biologist with the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service. ‘This is really an unusual sighting.’
The fish was seen while studying a ridge feature at a depth of roughly 8,200 feet (2,500 metres). It was about 0.3 feet (10 centimetres) long.
It belongs to the same order (Ophidiiformes) as cusk eels, but to a different family (Aphyonidae).
According to specialists, this is the first time a fish from the Aphyonidae family has been spotted alive.
Seen while exploring a ridge feature at a depth of around 8,200 feet (2,500 metres), the fish measured about 0.3 feet (10 centimetres) long. The alien-like fish reminded some workers at the NOAA of a character from fantasy films
The discovery was exciting not just because it was the first time the fish had been seen alive, but also because it provided the first indication that this family of fish is a bottom-feeding family, according to the researchers.
This means the animal feeds on or near the bottom of a body of water.
Whether or not this family is bottom-feeding has previously been a topic of contention.
‘Some of us working with fish have wish lists, you know, a sort of bucket list of what we might want to see,’ Mr Mundy added.
‘And a fish in this family was probably first on those lists for a lot of us.’
The alien-like fish reminded some workers at the NOAA of a character from fantasy films.
‘Our interns think that the fish looks like Falkor, the dragon from the Neverending Story,’ one of the video’s narrators, a NOAA scientist, says.
Michael Ende’s The Neverending Story was a German fantasy novel first published in 1979 and afterwards adapted into many films.
Some viewers said it looked like a fish version of the ghost octopus observed on a February expedition.
The Mariana Trench is the deepest part of the world’s oceans. It is located in the western Pacific Ocean, to the east of the Mariana Islands. The trench is about 1,580 miles (2,550 km) long but has an average width of just 43 miles (69 km)
Some interns at NOAA said the fish (left) looks like Falkor, the dragon from the Neverending Story (film prop pictured right). The Neverending Story was a German fantasy novel by Michael Ende that was first published in 1979, then subsequently made into several films
Unlike most cephalopods, the little octopus found by the NOAA Deep Discoverer lacked pigment, making it ghostlike and mysterious, and every bit adorable.
On February 27, the discovery was made during Okeanos Explorer’s first operational dive of the 2016 season.
Necker Ridge geological samples were to be collected by researchers in order to evaluate its possible connection with Necker Island (Mokumanamana).
During its voyage, however, the remotely operated vehicle Deep Discoverer discovered something extraordinary: a little octopus perched on a rock.
During a recent deep-sea dive in the Hawaiian Archipelago, a remotely operated vehicle came across an unknown creature. Unlike most cephalopods, the little octopus found by the NOAA Deep Discoverer lacks pigment, making it ghostlike and mysterious, and every bit adorable