One theory says the fish come together in areas with sinking water, which brings in a steady stream of slightly warmer water with lots of food.Scientists say the blobfish evolved from fish that had air sacs but had to compete with many others for food. Consider the naked mole rat, which is nearly as repulsive as the blobfish. “I’d guess they lock in a clinging, rather conjugal embrace.”Is a blobfish edible? “If Mr. Blobby had an air sac, he would collapse under the extreme pressure,” McGrouther says. However, looks do not matter much when you live 1,000 meters under the ocean surface.The blobfish, whose scientific name is Psychrolutes marcidus, grows to as much as a foot long and contains almost no muscle at all. Swimming takes energy. Blobfish mostly eat little tiny mollusks. Becoming trapped in nets for other fish species is the direst threat to the species. Among the catch were corals, sea cucumbers, gulper eels, fangtooths, coffinfish, prickly dogfish, viperfish, slickheads, giant sea spiders and the fossilized tooth of an extinct megalodon—a shark many times the size of the great white. We are assuming that there are male blobfish out there, but that there is a specific mating season, and the males only come out during that time. This is the country that’s home to the so-called pitch drop viscosity experiment, the longest-running—and most tedious—lab test of all time. By Smithsonian Magazine To date, more than 31,000 “watchers” have logged into the live webcam that monitors the drips. Schoolchildren were encouraged to leave mash notes. The fish is exceptionally rare and is found off … If the tank is large enough for the fish it contains, with a male and female of breeding age, they will likely spawn. Very little is known about the reproductive behaviors of blobfish because research is quite difficult. The fish sometimes become caught in the nets of trawlers which is how they are brought to the surface.
The most memorable: “You remind me of my teacher.”McGrouther says Mr. Blobby is part of the museum’s permanent collection. The Ugly Animals: We Can't All Be Pandas Has there ever been crueler proof that alcohol changes the way you look?Of the hundreds of deep-sea critters hauled in on the New Zealand expedition, the Psychrolutes microporos was the breakout star. When it comes to reproduction, fish are among the weirder types of animals out there. The famous downturned grin is gone, the tiny currant eyes have receded in deep alcoves, and the nose—which once evoked Ziggy of comic strip fame—is shaped less like a turnip than a fallen soufflé. By losing the air sacs and going with a gelatin body instead, the fish could go much deeper, where competition is less fierce.The lack of swimming is another adaptation. What Strange and Wonderful Things Will He Become?”, memes (“Go Home Evolution: You’re Drunk”) and even a song by children’s book author Two years ago the blobfish was voted the earth’s most hideous species in an So Mr. Blobby is a bit of a self-promoter. The majority of the nests had brooding fish within 10 feet, often sitting directly on or touching the eggs. He’s quite comfortable in his little watery grave.”...And yes it has a saddened look; perhaps it’s feeling down—The Ugly Animal Preservation Society asks why handsome, zoo display-worthy animals get the lion’s share of publicity, research, protective legislation, and public and private financial support. “Nobody knows,” McGrouther says. In an “interview” on a museum-themed website, the blobfish boasts about predicting the winners of the FIFA World Cup and the Australian Master Chef competition, and reporting live from the red carpet of the Eureka Prizes—the country’s most prestigious science awards event. “The fixation process tightened Mr. Blobby’s skin and collapsed his—or her—snout,” laments Mark McGrouther, the museum’s fish manager. We have other theories, too. Usually, these soft-bodied cephalopods die after a single, end-of-life reproductive blaze of glory. The smeary flesh of Mr. Blobby—as the photogenic blobfish is affectionately known—is no longer Bubblicious-pink.
The world’s most misunderstood fish reposes in pickled splendor on a shelf of the basement archives at the Australian Museum’s Ichthyology Collection, in Sydney. OK, a world-class self-promoter. Despite very little happening, the feed is still more compelling than most shows on Australian TV.That is, unless the show features Mr. Blobby. Eighty-eight years later, nine drops have fallen. The painfully still Blobfish Bros don’t so much bob in the ocean as hover over its floor.This story is a selection from the November issue of Smithsonian magazine.As often happens with celebrities, the story of the Beast From 650 Fathoms has taken on a life of its own.
A recent episode of “The Octonauts”—a kids’ cartoon program about the underwater adventures of Captain Barnacles and crew—involved Bob Blobfish and his brothers, Bob and Bob. Sea urchins look like spiky little balls, but believe it or not, they have legs and eyes!
Some stay alive for more than 100 years because of their lack of predators, and slow rate of growth and reproduction.
The area being fished is off the deep trenches of the continental shelf. Some stay alive for more than 100 years because of their lack of predators, and slow rate of growth and reproduction. In a very real sense, the Creature From Deep-Down Under has demonstrated how museums can publicize their physical objects in a digital world.Aussies embrace their blobs.