''Psychrolutes occidentalis'', also known as the western Australian sculpin or western blobfish, is a species of

deep-sea fish Deep-sea fish are fish that live in the darkness below the sunlit surface waters, that is below the epipelagic or photic zone of the sea. The lanternfish is, by far, the most common deep-sea fish. Other deep sea fishes include the flashlight ...

of the family

Psychrolutidae The fish family Psychrolutidae (commonly known as blobfishes, toadfishes, flathead sculpins, tadpole sculpins,) contains over 35 recognized species in 8 genera. This family consists of bottom-dwelling marine sculpins shaped like tadpoles, with l ...

. It is a bathydemersal fish found along the

continental slope A continental margin is the outer edge of continental crust abutting oceanic crust under coastal waters. It is one of the three major zones of the ocean floor, the other two being deep-ocean basins and mid-ocean ridges. The continental margin ...

to the west of Australia.

Distribution

Individuals have only been discovered in the Eastern

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

, around the

Rowley Shoals The Rowley Shoals is a group of three atoll-like coral reefs south of the Timor Sea, about west of Broome on the northwestern Australian coast, centered on , on the edge of one of the widest continental shelves in the world. Each atoll cover ...

off of northwestern Australia and well as

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. They live in depths ranging from 350–700 meters deep. The discovery of psychrolutes occidentalis in this location was unusual as psychrolutes are not typically found in tropical waters.

Biology

The species is found on the continental slope, and is a demersal fish, living near the bottom of the ocean. It grows to standard length. The species has a soft reddish/brown body and head, with thin, loose skin covering all fins.

References

Psychrolutidae Deep sea fish Fish of the Indian Ocean Fish described in 1990 {{Scorpaeniformes-stub