On September 10th 2018, a team of scientists from the University of Newcastle, announced that they have discovered three new species of snailfish. The discovery was made after a 7,500 foot dive into the Atacama Trench in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Chile and Peru. The new find is being tentatively being called the pink, the blue, and the purple snailfish. A member of the team, Dr. Thomas Linley said that it is rare to discover three new species at one time.
According to Dr Linley, the new species can be described as, "surprisingly active." The snailfish have long, translucent, gelatinous bodies that have no scales. Their eyes are beady, and unlike most deep sea predators, they don't have menacing teeth. It is believed that the new species would melt if brought to the ocean's surface, but the team was able to retrieve a specimen, in good condition, which they took back to their lab to be analyzed.
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