# Blobfish (*Psychrolutes marcidus*)

> The blobfish (Psychrolutes marcidus) is a deep-sea fish that lives on the sea floor off south-eastern Australia and Tasmania at depths of roughly 600 to 1,200 m. Growing to about 30 cm, it has soft, gelatinous flesh and few muscles, letting it hover just above the bottom under crushing pressure while it waits for food to drift by. It is a slow, passive feeder and is thought to live around 25 years, though its conservation status has never been formally assessed.

- **Category:** Fish
- **Conservation status (IUCN):** Not Evaluated
- **Range:** Deep waters off southern Australia and New Zealand at depths of 600–1,200 m.
- **Canonical page:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/blobfish/
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-07-16

## Scientific classification

- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Actinopterygii
- **Order:** Scorpaeniformes
- **Family:** Psychrolutidae
- **Genus:** Psychrolutes

## Facts at a glance

| Attribute | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Scientific name | Psychrolutes marcidus |
| Diet | Carnivore (passive sit-and-wait feeder) |
| Habitat | Deep sea, 600–1,200 m depth |
| Depth range | 600–1,200 m (2,000–4,000 ft) |
| Length | Up to about 30 cm (12 in) |
| Conservation status | Not formally assessed (IUCN) |
| Famous for | Voted world's ugliest animal in 2013 |

## Why it looks like a blob

The blobfish owes its infamous appearance entirely to being hauled up from the deep. In its natural habitat, the surrounding water pressure supports its soft, gelatinous body and it looks like an ordinary, if flabby, fish. When trawled to the surface, the sudden drop in pressure causes its tissues to expand and slump into the sagging, big-nosed shape seen in photographs. The famous image of a melted, frowning blob is essentially a fish out of its depth, not how it lives.

## Adaptations to the deep sea

Living at 600 to 1,200 m, where the pressure is dozens of times greater than at the surface, the blobfish has evolved to do without the features most fish rely on. Its flesh is a soft, gelatinous mass slightly less dense than seawater, so it floats gently above the bottom with almost no effort and needs no gas-filled swim bladder, which would be crushed at such depths. It has weak muscles and little skeleton, saving the energy that active fish spend swimming. These adaptations suit a world of cold, dark, high-pressure water where food is scarce.

## Diet and feeding

The blobfish is a sit-and-wait predator that lets its meals come to it rather than hunting them down. It hovers just above the sea floor with its mouth open, ingesting edible material that drifts within reach, such as crustaceans, sea urchins, molluscs, and other small invertebrates. This passive strategy costs almost no energy, which matters in the food-poor deep sea. Its sluggish lifestyle is well matched to an environment where a meal may be a long time coming.

## Habitat and range

Blobfish inhabit the deep waters of the continental slope off mainland Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand, at depths of roughly 600 to 1,200 m. This is a cold, perpetually dark zone far below the reach of sunlight, where few animals live. They stay close to the sea floor, drifting slowly rather than roaming widely. Because the habitat is so difficult to reach, the fish is rarely seen alive and is poorly studied.

## Fame and conservation

The blobfish became an internet celebrity after being voted the world's ugliest animal in a 2013 poll run by the Ugly Animal Preservation Society. That fame drew attention to a fish that is otherwise almost unknown to science, and it has since become a mascot for overlooked deep-sea creatures. Its conservation status has never been formally assessed by the IUCN, so its true numbers are unknown. The main concern is deep-sea trawling, which can catch blobfish as bycatch and disturb the slow-recovering habitats where they live.

## Frequently asked questions

### Does the blobfish really look like a blob?

Only out of water. At its natural depth the high pressure supports its soft body and it looks like a fairly normal fish. The melted, frowning blob shape appears when it is brought to the surface and its tissues expand as the pressure drops.

### Where do blobfish live?

Blobfish live in the deep sea off south-eastern Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand, at depths of about 600 to 1,200 m. This is a cold, dark zone on the continental slope, far below the reach of sunlight.

### What do blobfish eat?

Blobfish are passive, sit-and-wait feeders that hover just above the sea floor and ingest edible material drifting within reach. Their diet includes crustaceans, sea urchins, molluscs, and other small invertebrates, gathered with almost no effort.

### How does a blobfish survive deep-sea pressure?

Its body is a soft, gelatinous mass slightly less dense than seawater, so it floats above the bottom without a gas-filled swim bladder, which would be crushed at depth. Weak muscles and a reduced skeleton let it get by on very little energy.

### Why is the blobfish famous?

The blobfish shot to fame after being voted the world's ugliest animal in a 2013 poll by the Ugly Animal Preservation Society. The unflattering photograph that made it famous shows a specimen deformed by being brought up from the deep.

### Are blobfish endangered?

The blobfish has never been formally assessed by the IUCN, so its conservation status is officially unknown. The main concern is deep-sea trawling, which can catch blobfish as bycatch and disturb the slow-recovering seabed habitats where they live.

## Sources

- [IUCN Red List — Psychrolutes marcidus.](https://www.iucnredlist.org/search?query=Psychrolutes%20marcidus&searchType=species)
- [Animal Diversity Web — Psychrolutes marcidus. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.](https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Psychrolutes_marcidus/)
- [Wikipedia — Blobfish.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychrolutes_marcidus)

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Source: Global Animal Guide (https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/blobfish/). Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 — free for non-commercial reuse with attribution.