WEBVTT - Why Is the Blobfish Blobby?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>Lauren vog O bomb here, it's probably for the best.

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<v Speaker 1>The smooth headed blobfish a scientific classification Psychroluti's microporous, doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>speak English and lives about three thousand, three hundred feet

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<v Speaker 1>that's a thousand meters under the ocean. Because it was

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<v Speaker 1>voted the world's ugliest animal by the Ugly Animal Preservation Society,

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<v Speaker 1>it was in fondness, but it still might have stung.

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<v Speaker 1>The blobfish's disgruntled visage became an overnight international sensation in

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<v Speaker 1>two thousand three when the North Fans Research Expedition pulled

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<v Speaker 1>up a large pink blobfish off the northwest coast of

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<v Speaker 1>New Zealand with a broad, smooth forehead, floppy snout in wide,

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<v Speaker 1>downturned mouth. It resembled the cartoon character Ziggy after a

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<v Speaker 1>month long bender or Teddy from Bob's Burgers. After the

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<v Speaker 1>same pick your cultural reference to make matters not better.

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<v Speaker 1>It had a parasitic cope pod hanging out of its mouth.

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<v Speaker 1>The crew called it Mr Blobby Stepped, a now famous photo.

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<v Speaker 1>Some would go so far to call it a mugshot

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<v Speaker 1>of this bulbous fish out of water. Part of the

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<v Speaker 1>blobfish is charm if you want to call it. That

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<v Speaker 1>lies in the Uncanny valley. Its face looks sort of human,

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<v Speaker 1>but not quite. But here's the thing, we were never

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<v Speaker 1>meant to see the blobfish like this. We spoke with

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<v Speaker 1>Gareth Fraser, a professor in the Department of Biology at

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<v Speaker 1>the University of Florida who studies the evolutionary development of

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<v Speaker 1>marine fishes. He said, blobfish are pretty normal looking underwater.

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<v Speaker 1>They only really become a blob when they transition from

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<v Speaker 1>the pressure at depth to the surface. In my opinion,

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<v Speaker 1>they were awarded the ugliest animal status unjustly. So why

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<v Speaker 1>is the blobfish so blobby? It's actually a very clever adaptation.

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<v Speaker 1>At the extreme depths of the blobfish calls home, they

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<v Speaker 1>go about their business experiencing about dred and twenty times

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<v Speaker 1>the pressure we do on dry land. Because of this,

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<v Speaker 1>they don't need very much bone or muscle to give

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<v Speaker 1>their bodies form. They just let the pressure of the

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<v Speaker 1>bottom of the ocean do all that work for them.

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<v Speaker 1>But up here in the air, there's nothing to keep

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<v Speaker 1>a blobfish's body from melting into a formless globular puddle.

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<v Speaker 1>Terra firma is definitely not where the blobfish shines. But

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<v Speaker 1>under the sea, the blobfish's jello like flesh is highly useful.

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<v Speaker 1>Lots of other fish can keep themselves at their preferred

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<v Speaker 1>depth thanks to handy little gas filled sacks called swim bladders,

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<v Speaker 1>but in the high pressures of the deep sea, a

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<v Speaker 1>swim bladder would just burst. The blobfish found a work around.

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<v Speaker 1>Their flesh has a buoyant, jellylike consistency that keeps them

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<v Speaker 1>cruising around at the depth at which they're most comfortable.

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<v Speaker 1>Although very little is known about the blobfish's life history,

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<v Speaker 1>another blobbish aspect of this animal is that it doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>seem to move around very much or have very many friends. Remember,

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<v Speaker 1>they have very little muscles, so it's not like they're

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<v Speaker 1>the most ferocious predators of the deep sea. Nobody has

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<v Speaker 1>ever seen a blobfish eat, but scientists think that they

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<v Speaker 1>most likely enjoy a diet of whatever just floats into

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<v Speaker 1>their mouths. In addition, every blobfish ever spotted by researchers

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<v Speaker 1>has been alone. They don't seem to school up, and

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<v Speaker 1>scientists are not sure how they reproduce, or how often

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<v Speaker 1>they encounter others of their kind. The scarcity of blobfish

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<v Speaker 1>in their known habitat has some scientists concerned. Although it's

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<v Speaker 1>possible they're being caught up in trawling nets at that depth,

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<v Speaker 1>it's not likely those nuts are big, but not that big.

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<v Speaker 1>But poses a bigger threat to the blob fish in

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<v Speaker 1>the long term is rising ocean temperatures. Blobfish seem to

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<v Speaker 1>need to live in very deep cold water, which will

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<v Speaker 1>be harder to find as ocean temperatures rise. By the way,

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<v Speaker 1>not everyone finds the blobfish is uncanny, seemingly frowning, head ugly.

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<v Speaker 1>Several stuffed animal manufacturers make arguably adorable blobfish toys, and

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<v Speaker 1>the house stuff Works editorial Stuff wants you to know

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<v Speaker 1>that you could buy enough of them to fill your

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<v Speaker 1>bathtub for just six and fifty dollars. We bring you

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<v Speaker 1>the facts. Today's episode was written by Jesselin Shields and

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<v Speaker 1>produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is a production of

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<v Speaker 1>I Heart Radios How Stuff Works. For more in this

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<v Speaker 1>and lots of other uncanny topics, visit our home planet

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<v Speaker 1>how stuff Works dot com and for more podcasts. For

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