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| <p>The <b>blobfish</b> (<i>Psychrolutes marcidus</i>) is a <a href="/wiki/Deep_sea_fish" title="Deep sea fish">deep sea fish</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Family_(biology)" title="Family (biology)">family</a> <a href="/wiki/Psychrolutidae" title="Psychrolutidae">Psychrolutidae</a>. It inhabits the deep waters off the coasts of mainland <a href="/wiki/Australia" title="Australia">Australia</a> and <a href="/wiki/Tasmania" title="Tasmania">Tasmania</a>, as well as the waters of <a href="/wiki/New_Zealand" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-fishbase_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-fishbase-1">[1]</a></sup></p> |
| <p>Blobfish are typically shorter than 30 cm (12 in). They live at depths between 600 and 1,200 m (2,000 and 3,900 ft) where the pressure is 60 to 120 times as great as at <a href="/wiki/Sea_level" title="Sea level">sea level</a>, which would likely make <a href="/wiki/Gas_bladder" class="mw-redirect" title="Gas bladder">gas bladders</a> inefficient for maintaining <a href="/wiki/Buoyancy" title="Buoyancy">buoyancy</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-fishbase_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-fishbase-1">[1]</a></sup> Instead, the flesh of the blobfish is primarily a gelatinous mass with a <a href="/wiki/Density" title="Density">density</a> slightly less than water; this allows the fish to float above the sea floor without expending energy on swimming. Its relative lack of muscle is not a disadvantage as it primarily swallows <a href="/wiki/Marine_snow" title="Marine snow">edible matter</a> that floats in front of it such as deep-ocean <a href="/wiki/Crustacean" title="Crustacean">crustaceans</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2">[2]</a></sup></p> |
| <p>Blobfish are often caught as <a href="/wiki/Bycatch" title="Bycatch">bycatch</a> in <a href="/wiki/Bottom_trawling" title="Bottom trawling">bottom trawling</a> nets.</p> |
| <p>The popular impression of the blobfish as bulbous and gelatinous is partially an artifact of the decompression damage done to specimens when they are brought to the surface from the extreme depths in which they live.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3">[3]</a></sup> In their natural environment, blobfish appear more typical of their <a href="/wiki/Superclass_(biology)" class="mw-redirect" title="Superclass (biology)">superclass</a> <a href="/wiki/Osteichthyes" title="Osteichthyes">Osteichthyes</a> (bony fish).</p> |
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