They are filming in Japan the deepest fish ever recorded

(CNN) – At 8,336 meters below the sea floor, a tiny snailfish has become the deepest fish scientists have ever photographed during an investigation into the abyss of the North Pacific Ocean.

Scientists from the University of Western Australia (UWA) and the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology on Sunday released images of snailfish captured last September by marine robots in deep trenches off Japan.

In addition to filming the snailfish at a deeper depth, the scientists physically captured two more specimens at 8,022 meters and set another record for the deepest catch.

Previously, the deepest snail fish was seen at 7,703 metres, in 2008, while scientists had never been able to catch fish below 8,000 metres.

“What’s important is that it shows how deep a particular type of fish can go in the ocean,” said marine biologist Alan Jamieson, founder of the Mindero-UWA Center for Deep Sea Research, who led the expedition.

These two fish were caught at a depth of just over 8,000 meters in the Japan Trench in the North Pacific Ocean. (Credit: University of Western Australia)

Scientists film trenches in Japan as part of a 10-year study of the world’s deepest fish stocks. Snailfish are members of the snail family lebarida While most of them live in shallow waters, Jamieson explained, some survive some of the deepest depths ever recorded.

During two months of study last year, three Landing – Automated marine robots with high-resolution cameras – at different depths in three trenches: Japan Trench, Izu-Ogasawara Trench, and Ryukyu Trench.

In the Izu-Ogasawara Trench, the deepest images showed snailfish frolicking peacefully alongside other crustaceans on the sea floor.

Jamieson classified the fish as small and said that the younger, deep-sea snailfish tend to stay as deep as possible to avoid being eaten by larger predators that swim at shallower depths.

Another video filmed between 7,500 and 8,200 meters in the same trench showed a colony of fish and crustaceans nibbling on bait attached to an underwater robot.

Pictures of the two fish that were caught – known as Pseudoliparis belyaevi– A rare glimpse into the unique features that help this deep-sea species survive in a harsh environment.

They have small eyes, a transparent body, and lack a swim bladder, which helps other fish float, making them a favorite, according to Jamieson.

The professor noted that the Pacific Ocean is particularly conducive to fish activity because of its warm southerly current, which encourages marine creatures to venture farther away, while the abundant marine life provides a good food source for fish that feed on it at the bottom.

Scientists would like to know more about the creatures that live at great depths, Jamieson said, but the cost is the limit, adding that simply assembling and operating each probe It cost them $200,000.

“The challenges are that the technology was very expensive and the scientists didn’t have a lot of money,” he said.