Mariana Snailfish
Mariana Snailfish
Fish
A soft, pale fish that thrives in the crushing dark of the deepest trench in the sea.
💡 Fun Facts
- It lives deeper than any other fish we know of — nearly 8 kilometres down in the Mariana Trench — though some tiny shrimp-like animals are found even deeper.
- The pressure down there could crush a submarine, yet its soft, jelly-like body and a special protein-protecting chemical let it thrive.
- In permanent darkness its eyes barely work, so it hunts the little amphipods swarming the trench floor by sensing movement and smell.
Name Story
Pseudoliparis swirei
means “The 'false sleek-fish', named in honour of Herbert Swire of HMS Challenger.”
What does its name mean?
- Pseudo- — falseGreek pseudēsDecode this word →
- -liparis — sleek/oily (a related snailfish genus)Greek liparos 'sleek, oily'
- swirei — of Swire — Herbert Swire, navigating sub-lieutenant on HMS Challenger, whose 1872–76 voyage found the Challenger Deephonorific (personal name)
Pseudoliparis means roughly 'false sleek-fish', borrowing from a related group of snailfish, and swirei honours Herbert Swire, a young officer on HMS Challenger whose 1870s voyage first found the deepest part of the ocean.