Animal profile

Cusk-eel

ActinopterygiiSea floor and open water from shallow reefs to hadal trenches

Field profile

Cusk-eels are the family Ophidiidae, elongated tapering fishes usually with pelvic fins reduced to barbel-like rays under the chin. The family spans an enormous depth range. One member, Abyssobrotula galatheae, holds the record for the deepest fish specimen ever recovered.

Published field notes

2023-03-20

Cusk-eel

A cusk-eel came up from the Puerto Rico Trench

A specimen of the cusk-eel Abyssobrotula galatheae was collected at 8,370 metres in the Puerto Rico Trench in 1970, the deepest depth from which any fish has been physically recovered.

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