Deepest-ever fish caught alive on camera

Washington, Oct 8 : Researchers have captured on camera the deepest fish caught alive ever, the ghostly snailfish, at the depth of 4.8 miles (7.7 kilometers) beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

According to a report in National Geographic News, the record-breaking video was shot in the Japan Trench by researchers who used dead mackerel to lure the abyssal creatures toward waiting cameras.

The fish belong to a species previously known only from five pickled specimens trawled up by Russian scientists in the 1950s, according to Monty Priede, director of Oceanlab at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, which co-sponsored the expedition.

"Not only have we shown these fish alive for the first time, but we have multiplied by five the total number known to science," Priede said.

The fish are able to withstand pressures equivalent to "1,600 elephants on the roof of a Mini," according to a press release.

The largest of the 17 snailfish observed measure more than 12 inches (30 centimeters) long.

Various shrimps, deep-sea prawns, and colorful crustaceans called amphipods were also recorded as part of Oceanlab's HADEEP project, a collaboration with the University of Japan.

"We think we've got two or three new species of amphipods from the samples we collected," Priede added.

ANI