The blobfish is a good name for the beast: it is a fish, and its body is fairly ‘blobby’, consisting of a primarily gelatinous body with very few bones. There is an excellent reason for this, as you will read in the next point. Blobfish is not a nickname, it is the actual legal and scientific name that is used for this type of fish. For the more discerning scientist, there is a Latin name for the blobfish (Psychrolutidae)– and each of the close relatives to our homely looking friend. But all ten species in the family are collectively also known as blobfish!
They are said to be critically endangered and that very few are ever seen, but only the last part of that statement is provably true. This is because of the depths at which they live: it is incredibly hard to get men or equipment down to that level to observe the blobfish in its natural habitat. The truth is, we have no idea at all about how many of the funny little fish that there are down there. They are not mentioned on any lists, because they are not categorised at all due to the lack of data available.
Blobfish are rare in that they are among a small number of fish who do not have a swim bladder. ‘Normal’ fish have these bladders and can inflate or deflate them to stay buoyant in the water, enabling them to swim about and go about their lives. If blobfish had these features, they would form a weak point in the fish’s physiognomy and could potentially collapse under the immense water pressure. Blobfish cope by being a density slightly less than that of water, so they can move relatively easily under the pressure of the water, without sinking down or bobbing up to the surface.
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