New species of deep-sea fish
October 30 , 2022
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- Scientists have recently discovered a new species of deep-sea fish in the Atacama Trench.
- They recorded three types of hadal snailfish, one of which is never known to science.
- The new species, christened Paraliparis selti, was discovered some 6,000 to 7,000 meters deep.
- With its large eyes and unique colour, it resembled snailfish living in shallower waters.
- It belongs to genus Paraliparis.
- Species of this genus is mainly found in Southern Ocean of the Antarctic and rarely found deeper than 2,000 meters.
- This is the first time that the Paraliparis genus was recorded in the hadal zone.
- The name Paraliparis selti means blue in the Kunza language of the indigenous people living in Atacama Desert.
- The new species has evolved from the cold-adapted species of the Southern Ocean.
- Its discovery opens new questions related to the connection between cold temperature and high-pressure adaptation.
- The Atacama Trench or the Peru-Chile Trench is an oceanic trench in the eastern Pacific Ocean situated some 160 km off the coast of Peru and Chile.
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