The incredible creature was among dozens of new species uncovered during the scientific voyage at depths of 2.5 miles below the surface.
Experts used nets, sonar and deep-sea cameras to study an area from northern Tasmania to central Queensland, dubbed the “most unexplored environment on earth”.
They came across the unusual 40cm faceless fish south of Sydney, which has only ever been recorded once before by the pioneering crew of HMS Challenger off Papua New Guinea in 1873.
Chief scientist Dr Tim O’Hara, speaking on board the ship, told the Guardian: “This little fish looks amazing because the mouth is actually situated at the bottom of the animal so, when you look side-on, you can’t see any eyes, you can’t see any nose or gills or mouth.
“It looks like two rear-ends on a fish, really.”
He said because of the darkness at such huge depths, creatures “often have no eyes or produce their own light through bioluminescence”.
Dr O’Hara added: “We’ve got 27 scientists on board who are leaders in their fields and they tell me that around one-third of what we’ve found are new species.
Music: "Sunday Dub" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Experts used nets, sonar and deep-sea cameras to study an area from northern Tasmania to central Queensland, dubbed the “most unexplored environment on earth”.
They came across the unusual 40cm faceless fish south of Sydney, which has only ever been recorded once before by the pioneering crew of HMS Challenger off Papua New Guinea in 1873.
Chief scientist Dr Tim O’Hara, speaking on board the ship, told the Guardian: “This little fish looks amazing because the mouth is actually situated at the bottom of the animal so, when you look side-on, you can’t see any eyes, you can’t see any nose or gills or mouth.
“It looks like two rear-ends on a fish, really.”
He said because of the darkness at such huge depths, creatures “often have no eyes or produce their own light through bioluminescence”.
Dr O’Hara added: “We’ve got 27 scientists on board who are leaders in their fields and they tell me that around one-third of what we’ve found are new species.
Music: "Sunday Dub" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Source: Guardian, The Sun, Stuff co
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