In all of the world’s oceans, the Mariana trench holds the record for being the deepest place in the world. The Mariana trench is located at “11″21′ North latitude and 142″ 12′ East longitude” (MarianaTrench.com) off the coast of Japan. From the surface to the bottom of this trench there is 35,802ft of water, which close to 7 miles. After about 1600ft humans can no longer see light under water, so at this depth it is completely pitch black. The pressure at this depth is so immense that its 8 tons per square inch, which is “the equivalent of an average sized women holding up 48 jumbo jets” (Nasa.gov). Also, the water temperature hovers at just above freezing at frigid 39 degrees Fahrenheit. Under such extreme conditions one would think that it would be impossible for life to survive here. However scientist have been learning more and more that not only does life exist at the bottom of Mariana trench but is quite diverse and complex.

Out of all the species that call the Mariana trench home, I am going to focus on one that was found at the deepest depths. This species is a new species of sailfish that has yet to be named. There isn’t much information on this species yet because it was only very recently discovered and has only been seen on video a few times. However this creature is extremely important to science because they are the deepest living known species to ever be found. This species was found at depth of 8,145 meters or 26,722 feet. What makes it remarkable that these animals live at these depths is the amount of pressure there is that deep down, which like I said is up to 8 tons per square inch.

Here is a video of some new species recorded in the Mariana trench, including this new snailfish

Snailfish are “a family of scorpaeniform marine fishes. Widely distributed from the Arctic to Antarctic Oceans including the northern Pacific, the snailfish family contains about 30 genera and 410 species” (WikiSnailFish). Most snailfish have elongated bodies that are scale less and make them look similar to tadpoles. It is also important to note that snailfish species tend to be quite small, between 2inches to 30 inches in length (WikiSnailFish). The particular species of snailfish that I’m focusing on here was found at a depth of 8,145 meters in the Mariana trench. One of the scientists that helped discover this new species described it saying “It is unbelievably fragile, with large wing-like fins and a head resembling a cartoon dog” (EarthSky.org). The fish also has translucent skin, its physical features caused the scientists to nick name it the “ghost fish”.

How can this fish live at such immense depth you may be wondering? Well it appears that there is a chemical that is found in most deep sea fish. This chemical is a piece of the puzzle that allows most species to live at such extraordinary depths. This chemical is known as trimethylamine oxide or (TMAO) and it “keeps the cell walls of the fish and amphipods flexible so they don’t get crushed or infiltrated with saltwater”(NPR.org). Also, according to pubmed.gov in a experimental study done on deep sea fish higher levels of TMAO where find in higher levels in the deeper the fish lived. This experiment was done on deep sea fish that where categorized into 3 groups based on the depth the fish lived at, shallow 150m, moderate 500-700m, and deep 1000-1500m (PubMed.gov). It’s important to note that the highest levels of TMAO where primarily found in the muscle tissue of these deep sea fish. What this study found is that TMAO is found in increasing quantities the deeper the species lives (PubMed.gov). This means that there is a correlation between the amounts of TMAO found in deep sea fish and there’s ability to live at extreme depths. Scientists are still working on figuring out what allows a lot of deep sea species to live at such incredible depths, and TMAO is currently one of the factors that many scientists think is the key to understanding these deep sea species.

Overall this new species of snailfish is incredible and fascinating for its ability to survive at such immense depths. The discovery of this fish and the importance of TMAO are some key pieces in the puzzle of figuring out how deep sea fish have the ability to live at such extreme depths.

Here are links to all of my sources:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12115917

http://earthsky.org/earth/new-video-shows-life-in-the-deepest-ocean

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2014/12/25/372894314/unexpected-life-found-in-the-oceans-deepest-trench

http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/OCEAN_PLANET/HTML/oceanography_conditions_1.html

http://www.marianatrench.com/mariana_trench-mariana_arc.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snailfish