An international research group led by Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology and others has succeeded in photographing fish swimming in the Izu-Ogasawara Trench at a depth of 8336,<> meters.
According to the group, it will be the deepest fish ever identified, and experts say it is "considered to be close to the limit where fish can live."
Groups from Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology and the University of Western Australia succeeded in filming, and a team from NHK's nature program "Darwin Has Come!" participated in the research cruise.
On August 8 last year, we took a picture of the fish swimming near the bottom of the Izu-Ogasawara Trench at a depth of 15,8336 meters using observation equipment equipped with cameras and other equipment, and succeeded in photographing the fish swimming.
From the video, this fish is milky white and about 30 cm long, and it seems to be a member of the deep-sea fish called "snailfish".
The fins are translucent and the body appears to be covered with soft gelatinous substance.
According to the group, the deepest depth ever confirmed by live fish was 8178 meters in the Mariana Trench, but this time it is 158 meters deeper.
It is thought that fish as vertebrates become difficult to survive when the water depth is deeper than about 8200 to 8400 meters due to the influence of water pressure.
Dr. Hiroshi Kitasato of Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, leader of the Japan side of the international research group, said, "It is amazing that the world's deepest fish has been discovered in the ultra-deep sea at a depth of more than 8000,<> meters. Based on the body structure that is known now, it is considered to be a place close to the limit where fish live."