Fanged Blackfish Among Creatures Discovered in Eddy Off Coast of Sydney

Posted on July 23, 2015

This fanged scaleless blackfish is one of the creatures discovered in an eddy off the coast of Sydney. The scientists also found a cluster of extinct volcanoes during the expedition. The discovery was made during a hunt for larval lobster nursery grounds.

The team of scientists led by UNSW marine biologist Professor Iain Suthers found an eddy off Sydney that is a hotspot for lobster larvae and other creatures, such as the fanged blackfish pictured above. Suthers says they were not expecting to find these creatures thriving at this time of the year.

Suther says on the CSIRO news blog, "We had thought fish only developed in coastal estuaries, and that once larvae were swept out to sea that was end of them. But in fact, these eddies are nursery grounds for commercial fisheries along the east coast of Australia."

You can see more photos of the creatures found at the site here in a UNSW gallery. UNSW marine scientists say some of the larval fish would "look more at home in an episode of the Twilight Zone."

Gizmodo reports that two scientists have identified the sleek black fanged fish as an adult snaggletooth dragonfish.


More from Science Space & Robots