Details
Psychrolutes marcidus
Blobfish is a deep-sea psychrolutid fish from waters near Australia, famous for its distorted low-pressure appearance. It is known from trawl bycatch, but real population information is limited.
Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)
It lives near deep seafloors off southeastern Australia and Tasmania. Main habitat types in this guide are ocean.
Typical length 25-40 cm, weight 500 g-2 kg. In deep water its soft body is supported by pressure and can collapse after being brought to the surface.
It is active in repeated bouts across day and night and usually solitary. It is thought to conserve energy while hovering or resting near the deep seafloor.
It is carnivorous. Small crustaceans and other invertebrates passing nearby are likely eaten.
Breeding is poorly known, but related deep-sea sculpins lay eggs on the seafloor.
Information is limited, and distribution or population status remains difficult to assess. It is known from trawl bycatch, but real population information is limited.
