It was another decade before it was formally described and identified. And even now, there are large gaps in our understanding of this enigmatic sea creature, despite a number of other samples being found in trawler nets.<\/p>\n
Despite the unknowns, the blobfish found widespread notoriety after another specimen was photographed in 2003, its gelatinous appearance making it a gift to early internet culture. Droopy, slimy and very easy to anthropomorphise, it was later named the ugliest animal in the world in a poll set up by the Ugly Animal Preservation Society<\/a>, a conservation group that argues it\u2019s not just the cute critters that deserve our protection. The 2007 specimen was nicknamed Mr Blobby.<\/p>\n Before finding fame as an internet meme, the blobfish was a scientific curiosity. A member of the Psychrolutidae family, it is sometimes referred to as a sculpin or (for obvious reasons) fathead. It is a deep-sea fish and its popular appearance is misleading: it only looks like a 1980s dessert when it\u2019s brought to the surface.<\/p>\n Blobfish species live in some of the deepest pockets of the ocean, at depths between 600 and 1,200m. Down there, the pressure can be more than 100 times what the atmospheric pressure you feel right now, and the fish has adapted accordingly. Its body is squishy, with soft bones and very little muscle.<\/p>\n When a blobfish is caught in nets and brought to the surface, decompression can make it expand and cause its skin to relax, distorting its features and giving it that characteristic big nose. And on land or the deck of a boat, its gelatinous tissue doesn\u2019t hold its structure, so it collapses into shapeless mass much like a washed-up jellyfish<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe image everyone knows about is really hideous because it\u2019s a dead one,\u201d says Simon Watt<\/a>, the biologist, comedian and science communicator who set up the Ugly Animal Preservation Society. \u201cIn the wild, they\u2019re not exactly beauty kings or queens but they\u2019re not quite so depressed-looking.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s the same as if we shoved a human to a depth of 1,200m without any protective gear or breathing apparatus. We would look pretty disgusting too!<\/p>\n At depth, a blobfish kind of just looks like a fish. They have slightly bulbous heads, pronounced black eyes and feathery pectoral fins. Their bodies, pinkish-grey in colour, taper to the tail a bit like a tadpole. Blobfish typically measure less than 30cm in length and weigh under 2kg.<\/p>\n With as little effort as possible. Like a lot of deep-sea fish<\/a>, the blobfish doesn\u2019t have a swim bladder, the air sac-style organ that helps fish closer to the surface control their buoyancy. If they did, they\u2019d be crushed under the pressure. Instead, the fatty body composition of the blobfish comes into play. It\u2019s actually less dense than the water it lives in.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you think about how oil floats on water, it\u2019s a bit like that: having high fat content means it makes them more buoyant,\u201d says Watt. Blobfish simply bob along in the water or on the sea bed, staying largely still and using as little energy as possible.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s labour-saving,\u201d Watt says. \u201cBeing lazy is a survival strategy, and being fatty to help being lazy is a survival strategy.\u201d We can all relate to that, surely.<\/p>\n Given their inherent lethargy, blobfish are thought to eat whatever passes right in front of them. Their neutral buoyancy means the water carries them along. When small crustaceans<\/a>, sea snails or other edible matter gets too close, they become dinner.<\/p>\n This lie-in-wait strategy is common among deep-sea predators.<\/p>\n Read more about the deep sea:<\/strong><\/p>\n The Psychrolutidae family is fairly widespread with species found in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. However, some species of blobfish \u2013 including the one nicknamed Mr Blobby \u2013 are found in fairly small territories.<\/p>\n Psychrolutes microporos<\/em> (and its closely related cousin Psychrolutes marcidus<\/em>) live in the waters around and between Australia and New Zealand, always at depths greater than 500m.<\/p>\n There are a number of fake pictures online, but it\u2019s not clear what baby blobfish actually look like.<\/p>\n Little is known about blobfish behaviour because it\u2019s hard to observe any creature when they live in the dark depths of the ocean. This includes mating, although marine biologists suggest that, given their limited movement, pairs might simply cling to each other.<\/p>\n Some Psychrolutidae species have been observed laying thousands of eggs, often on rocks that they patrol from nearby. Reports suggest that expectant mothers group together and nest near one another, presumably for protection.<\/p>\n![\""Three\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2021\/03\/shutterstock_editorial_3663842a-de8505d.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"Three\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>What is a blobfish?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Why does the blobfish look like that?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What does a blobfish look like underwater?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\""A\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2021\/03\/Blobfish-in-water-b448d13.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"A\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>How do blobfish swim?<\/h2>\n
What do blobfish eat?<\/h2>\n
Where do blobfish live?<\/h2>\n
![\""The\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/4\/2021\/04\/Psychrolutes-phrictus-blobfish-f825b72.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C464"\" "\\"\"The\\"")
<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>What do baby blobfish look like?<\/h2>\n