Abyssobrotula galatheae
| Abyssobrotula galatheae | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Ophidiiformes |
| Family: | Ophidiidae |
| Genus: | Abyssobrotula |
| Species: | A. galatheae |
| Binomial name | |
|
Abyssobrotula galatheae J. G. Nielsen, 1977 |
|
Abyssobrotula galatheae, is a species of cusk eel in the family Ophidiidae. It is the deepest-living fish known; one specimen, trawled from a depth of 8,370 m (27,460 ft) in the Puerto Rico Trench in 1970, holds the record for the deepest fish ever captured. The first examples of this fish were misidentified by Staiger as Bassogigas profundissimus, before being described as a new species by Jørgen G. Nielsen in 1977. The species name refers to the research ship Galathea, which captured the first specimens during the second Galathea expedition.
Though uncommon, this species is known from all tropical and subtropical oceans. It occurs in the abyssal and hadal zones below a depth of 3,110 m (10,200 ft). It is bottom-dwelling in nature, although one individual has been captured from the water column in the Gulf of Panama. Its diet consists of polychaete worms and crustaceans, such as isopods and amphipods. Reproduction is oviparous, possibly with pelagic eggs floating in a gelatinous mass as in other members of the family.
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