Very demure. Very mindful. 💕 In 2012, MBARI researchers were the first to publish observations of the red coffinfish (Chaunacops coloratus) in their natural, deep-sea habitat. In addition to documenting these fish walking on the seafloor and fishing with their built-in lures, the researchers discovered that they change color from blue to red as they mature. This species was first described from a single specimen collected off the coast of Panama during an expedition in 1891. For the next 100 years, marine researchers collected deep-sea fish using trawl nets and dredges, so this anglerfish was never seen alive. That changed in 2002 when researchers from MBARI, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, and the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary used the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Tiburon to explore Davidson Seamount—an extinct volcano off the coast of Central California. As a result of MBARI’s ROV observations, researchers also learned that red coffinfish can live as deep as 3,300 meters (10,827 feet) below the ocean’s surface. Given the great depths these fish inhabit, it is no surprise that they had never been seen alive. It is a testament to the usefulness of ROVs, which have provided marine scientists with a new window into the deep sea. MBARI has pioneered the use of ROVs to study animals, discover new species, document previously unknown behaviors, and observe individuals in their native habitat.
