SAN DIEGO – A pink or lavender eel-like fish has been discovered off the coast of Costa Rica and it’s got researchers splashing with joy to learn about a new fish species.
UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography said the new species is called Pyrolycus jaco, and it lives in the eastern Pacific Ocean near the Central American country.
“It is a very mysterious and unique little fish, so we named it after the unique site and city of Jacó in Costa Rica, giving it the name Pyrolycus jaco,” said lead author Ben Frable, collection manager of the Marine Vertebrate Collection at Scripps Oceanography. “This discovery was made possible thanks to previous expeditions and insights made by Scripps marine scientists over the years, and is a great example of how far collaborative research can go.”
It is a member of the eelpout family and measures roughly 6 inches long with a light pink, lavender-colored body, according to Scripps. Researchers have been observing it nestling among tubeworms at depths of 5,741 to 5,906 feet.
Eelpouts are members of the ray-finned fish family Zoarcidae with eel-shaped bodies and in some species, they make a “pouting” expression on their mouths.
With Pyrolycus jaco added to the list of known species, there are now 13 eelpout species found on the planet on hydrothermal vents or methane seeps.
Hydrothermal vents are when chemical-rich water expels dramatically like a geyser, reaching temperatures above 752 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Scripps. While methane seeps, natural gas and other chemicals exit the seafloor at the same cold temperature as the surrounding water.
Pyrolycus jaco is now one of four eelpout species that are known to occur on hydrothermal vents in the Pacific Ocean.
Pyrolycus jaco is the first eelpout species to be seen on the Jacó Scar methane seep, an extreme environment that exhibits hydrothermal vent-like characteristics, with temperatures sometimes going up to 41.4 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Scripps.