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September 13, 2021: Toadfish

Many of these deep-sea fish had interesting characteristics, including this toadfish (Chaunax sp.) with its modified walking fins and particularly grumpy face, seen while exploring east of Vieques Island and to the south of St. Thomas.

Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, Océano Profundo 2018: Exploring Deep-sea Habitats off Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Download larger version (jpg, 1.2 MB).

During the Océano Profundo 2018: Exploring Deep-sea Habitats off Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the team encountered a high amount of fish diversity in the deep-sea habitats explored. They observed more than 30 species of demersal fish, including five sharks and a baby shark in an egg case. Fishes were present at every deep-sea habitat, from seamounts to ridges and from the shallowest (250 meters; 820 feet) to the deepest of depths (4,977 meters; 16,329 feet). Many of these deep-sea fish had interesting characteristics, including this toadfish (Chaunax sp.) with its modified walking fins and particularly grumpy face, seen while exploring east of Vieques Island and to the south of St. Thomas.