Gallery
Video:

Smiley Snailfish

Have you ever seen the unique deep sea snailfish? Our Corps of Exploration found this fish at almost 2,800 meters while exploring “Seamount 9” in the Pacific Remote Islands waters. It may look like a character from an animated film, but this “ugly cute” snailfish is actually a pretty common sight in the marine world. Belonging to the Liparidae family, these marine ray-finned fishes are widely distributed across the global ocean, both in latitude and depth. Some snailfish species have even been found in the Mariana Trench, over 8,000 meters deep! 

Learn more about this expedition funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute.