The Blobfish Looks Like a Normal Fish Underwater — We Made It Ugly

More detail

The blobfish became an internet celebrity for its haggard, drooping appearance — the sunken face, the sagging jowls, the general air of existential disappointment. But this iconic image is an artifact of deep-sea depressurization, not the animal's actual appearance. Blobfish live between 1,970 and 3,940 feet below the ocean surface, where water pressure is up to 120 times greater than at sea level. Their bodies are adapted to that extreme pressure: instead of a gas-filled swim bladder, which would implode at such depths, they have soft, gelatinous flesh with a high fat and water content. This makes them slightly less dense than water, allowing them to float effortlessly near the seabed without expending energy. The problem comes when blobfish are accidentally caught in deep-sea fishing nets and dragged to the surface. The rapid pressure change causes massive tissue damage and causes the fish's features to sag and collapse into the famous blob shape. In their natural environment, they have a bulbous head, a tapered tail, and feathery pectoral fins — unremarkable by fish standards. Marine biologist Richard Arnott has called the viral image of the blobfish "a vast bullying campaign."