Scripps Oceanography researchers discover new species of deep-sea fish

Scripps Oceanography researchers discover new species of deep-sea fish

Source: lajollalight

2/12/2023

Credit: ROV SuBastian / Schmidt Ocean Institute

A team of researchers led by UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla has discovered a new species of fish. And while excited about the discovery, it’s the where, not the what, that piqued researchers’ curiosity.

The newly identified species, Pyrolycus jaco, is the first fish species to be described from the hydrothermal seep site known as Jaco Scar, located at a Pacific tectonic plate margin off Costa Rica. The small eel-like fish, measuring roughly 6 inches long with a light pink to lavender-colored body, has been observed nestling among tube worms at depths of 5,700 to 5,900 feet.