📸 PhotoPhoto: Gerringer M. E., Linley T. D., Jamieson A. J., Goetze E., Drazen J. C. · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Mariana snailfish
Pseudoliparis swirei (Mariana snailfish · Mariana snailfish)
Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List yet.
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its maximum standard length of 22.6 cm is slightly longer than the short side of an A4 sheet of paper (21 cm) (Comparison).
- 💡 Its recorded depth of 8,178 m is close to the height of Mount Everest (about 8,849 m) (Comparison).
- 💡 Its egg diameter of 9.4 mm is just over one-third (1/3) the diameter of a Korean 500-won coin (26.5 mm) (Comparison).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The Mariana snailfish is a snailfish living at depths of 7,000–8,000 m in the Mariana Trench of the western Pacific. Video footage confirmed that many individuals live at these depths.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
The body is elongated with an oval cross-section and has 51–58 dorsal fin soft rays. Its eggs reach up to 9.4 mm in diameter, ranking among the largest eggs recorded for any bony fish.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
Large aggregations of individuals of different sizes attracted to mackerel bait were captured on video feeding on swarms of amphipods. None were found deeper than 8,200 m, which appears to be the physiological depth limit for bony fishes.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List: not evaluated (NE) — cross-checked with the Wikidata conservation-status entry
- • catalogueoflife.org — 4NZRR
- • wikidata.org — Q44096428
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Pseudoliparis swirei.png
- • fishbase.se — Pseudoliparis-swirei.html
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.