Weird New Fish Discovered off Antarctica

Weird Fish Discovered off Antarctica
    1 of 5   Next >>
February 19, 2008—This otherworldly creature was among a haul of strange new fish trawled from the bottom of the oceans of Antarctica.

The eelpout Pachycara cousinsi is one of six previously unknown deep-sea fishes caught at depths of 2.8 miles (4.5 kilometers) during a British research expedition to the remote Crozet Islands in the Indian Ocean between Antarctica and Africa.

Team member Nicola King of the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, recently announced the new species.

P. cousinsi is known from just a single, 1.35 foot (41 centimeter) long specimen caught during the 2005 to 2006 voyage. King named the fleshy-lipped species in honor of her fianci, geophysicist Michael Cousins.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the marine biologist said.

More Photos in the News
Today's Top 15 Most Popular Stories
Free Email Newsletter: "Focus on Photography"
—Photograph courtesy Nikki King/University of Aberdeen
 

EMAIL NEWSLETTER Photos and News of the Week

Get the top photos and news of the week from National Geographic News, plus occasional breaking-news alerts.

See Sample >>
Please enter a valid email address
Privacy Policy
NEWS FEEDS    After installing a news reader, click on this icon to download National Geographic News's XML/RSS feed. After installing a news reader, click on this icon to download National Geographic News's XML/RSS feed.

Get our news delivered directly to your desktop—free.
How to Use XML or RSS




 

Photo and Headline Widget

Put our latest news and photos on your Web page or desktop—automatically updates! See Sample