Fish · GBIF taxon 9627685
Mariana Snailfish
Pseudoliparis swireiAlso known as Mariana Hadal Snailfish
Mariana snailfish rule as top predators in the pitch-black depths of the hadal zone, thriving under crushing hydrostatic pressures exceeding a thousand atmospheres. Their translucent, scale-free bodies lack swim bladders and feature flexible, poorly ossified skeletons stabilized by high cellular concentrations of the osmolyte trimethylamine N-oxide. Females produce remarkably large, nutrient-rich eggs up to nearly a centimeter in diameter to give their larvae a head start in an environment where food falls are sparse.
Deep SeaMarineCarnivorous
—observations
—countries
—peak records
Not EvaluatedConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXNot Evaluated — not placed on the risk ladderRed List categories, explained →
Diet & prey
- Bathycallisoma schellenbergi
- Hirondellea gigas
- Macrourid carrion
ThreatsDeep-sea pollution, benthic microplastics, and future deep-sea mining activities
HabitatsHadal trench benthic zones and sediment plains between 6,198 and 8,076 meters deep
Life span5–15 years
Classification
- OrderScorpaeniformes
- FamilyLiparidae
- GenusPseudoliparis
- SpeciesPseudoliparis swirei
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskLow
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is low
- Safe to observe; restricted to extreme ocean depths inaccessible without specialized submersibles.
Responsible observation
- Observation Equipment: View via research footage from deep-towing camera sleds or autonomous landers.
- Specimen Study: Examine fluid-preserved holotypes in marine natural history research collections.
Image unavailablePrey 
Close Relative (c) Alan Jamieson at The University of Western Australia Oceans Institute, Minderoo-UWA Deep Sea Research Centre under Creative Commons license, some rights reserved (CC BY) · cc-bySame Family
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