We know the deep sea is full of some exceptional animals—for proof, look no further than the gulper eel, lizardfish or snailfish. 

Today, we’re diving into another weird and wonderful deep-sea fish: the blob sculpin. Despite its somewhat lackluster name, the blob sculpin has flashy adaptations that allow it to thrive in the harsh conditions of the deep sea. Read on!

Blob sculpin (Psychrolutes phrictus) are found as deep as 2,800 meters in the waters of the North Pacific. They are part of the Psychrolutidae family, which includes blobfishes, toadfishes and other species of sculpin. The family includes 35 species across eight genra, with multiple species that live in the deeper ocean waters. The genus name Psychrolutes comes from the Greek word psychroloutes, which means “someone that has a cold bath”—perfect for a critter that lives in the deep, cold ocean. Off North America, their range stretches from the Bering Sea down to San Diego, California, which might seem like they would encounter a wide range of temperatures, but the waters are always cold when you live that deep in the ocean. 

Blob sculpin are carnivores, meaning they eat other animals. Since they live in deep-sea areas where food can be scarce, they can’t be too picky. They’re known to consume invertebrates like cnidarians, crustaceans and mollusks living on the sea floor. 

Now, you might see some similarities between the blob sculpin and another “blobby” deep sea fish: the aptly named blobfish. That’s because blobfish and blob sculpin are closely related! They’re both part of the genus Psychrolutes, and they both have jelly-like bodies that help them withstand the crushing pressure of the deep sea. Neither of them has swim bladders, an organ that many other bony fish use to help them stay buoyant in the water column. In the deep sea, the pressure would simply pop the swim bladder like a balloon, so instead they use their jelly-like gelatinous bodies to help them stay afloat. 

The blob sculpin is just one of many examples of animals getting creative to survive in the deep sea (Want more? Check out this blog on whale falls!) We’re only beginning to scratch the surface of discovering all the ways animals adapt to life in the ocean depths. It’s up to us to make sure the deep sea—and the rest of the ocean—is healthy to preserve these incredible communities. 

One way we can help blob sculpin and other deep-sea dwellers is by making sure the deep sea stays healthy and trash free. Act now and help Ocean Conservancy turn the tide on the plastic-pollution crisis.