A team of fish biologists recently spotted a see-through fish in Alaskan waters which has been recognized as a rarely-seen blotched snailfish. The fish, called Crystallichthys cyclospilus, is a blotched snailfish.
Sarah Friedman, who is a fish biologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) tweeted an image of the fish with the caption, “Been hoping to see one of these in person for a long time! Blotched snailfish (Crystallichthys cyclospilus)”.
Been hoping to see one of these in person for a long time! Blotched snailfish (Crystallichthys cyclospilus) pic.twitter.com/RHxvxAeTog
— Sarah Friedman, PhD (@sarahtfried) June 19, 2022
“We found four or five so far, in a couple of weeks we’ve been out,” she said. Her team encountered these fish during a routine survey in the Aleutian Islands off the coast of Alaska. The NOAA conducts a routine survey every year in the Aleutian Islands off Alaska. During this year’s survey, the team encountered fish.
Describing the blotched snailfish, the scientist said that their transparent, reddish bodies are unique, and serve an important purpose. “It’s an adaptation deep sea creatures like the blotched snailfish use to camouflage themselves, based on the wavelengths of light that pass through water,” Friedman added.
This feature also protects the creature from predators since red light has the shortest wavelength and so it almost never reaches the deep waters, making it almost invisible to predators, media reports.
Speaking about another cool feature that blotched snailfish have, Friedman said, “They have suction cups at the bottom of their body. This helps them attach to rocks and hold tight in strong currents. The snailfish is one of few fish species that have this structure.”
The fish are rare and are found around 100 to 200 meters down, Friedman said. She stated that the general everyday person is never going to encounter one of these fish.
