Deep-Sea Footage of a ‘Smiling’ Snailfish

While exploring the deep waters near Kingman Reef and Palmyra Atoll, an ROV launched from the E/V Nautilus captured the amusing sight of what seemed to be a smiling sailfish at 2,800 meters (9,186 feet) underwater.

Our Corps of Exploration found this fish at almost 2,800 meters while exploring “Seamount 9” in the Pacific Remote Islands waters.

This ray-finned fish is not rare. It can be found throughout waters of varying depths and temperatures. Yet its ugly yet adorable appearance makes the creature a wonderful sight to see.

Belonging to the Liparidae family, these marine ray-finned fishes are widely distributed across the global ocean, both in latitude and depth. Some snailfish species have even been found in the Mariana Trench, over 8,000 meters deep!