The smooth-head blobfish, a deep-sea fish of the waters off Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand, usually under 30 cm long. Its flesh is a jelly slightly less dense than water, so instead of swimming much it floats just above the seabed and eats what drifts past.
Quick answers
What is it?Fish
Carnivore?Yes
Dangerous?No
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Day & night
Hibernates?No
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?No
At a glance
Found inOceans, Australia, New Zealand
HabitatOpen ocean
ColoursPink, Grey
SizeSmall
LengthUsually under 30 cm
LegsNone
Covered inSkin
Lives alone
Lives for20–100 years
Can swim
Lays eggs
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Deep water off mainland Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand, 600–1,200 m down.
- What it eats
- Edible matter that floats in front of it, such as deep-sea crustaceans.
Did you know
Its jelly-like body floats just above the seabed, 600–1,200 m down, without swimming.
It lives where the pressure is 60 to 120 times that at sea level, too deep for a swim bladder to work well.
The famous photo of "Mr Blobby" shows a related species, Psychrolutes microporos.
Often confused with
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