Researchers Capture Rare Deep-Sea Dragonfish On Camera

Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) have caught a particularly elusive deep-sea fish on camera.

The highfin dragonfish (Bathophilus flemingi) can grow to be seven inches long and usually lives at depths of 740 to 4,500 feet below sea level, according to NPR.

Dragonfish are a type of deep-sea predator that can grow to be up to 20 inches and live as far down as 14,800 feet below sea level, according to MBARI.

They typically catch their prey – usually fish or crustaceans – by staying still in the water and catching them as they swim by.

They are aided in this endeavor by their coloring: They are tinted with some of the blackest blacks in the natural world.

Like the black of its deep-sea cousins, the highfin dragonfish’s bronze might also help it to camouflage because it absorbs the bit of blue light that can still reach the fish’s habitat.