The bright pink eelpout Pachycara priedei is one of six new fish species discovered during deep-sea trawls off the Crozet Islands in the oceans off Antarctica.

The species hunts along the ocean floor, seeking fish or whale carcasses where scavenging crustaceans gather, according to Peter Rask Møller, curator of fishes at the Natural History Museum of Denmark.

The fish's tiny eyes may pick up bioluminescent signals from squid and shrimp, while its snout is studded with sensory pits for detecting the movement of prey in the darkness, Møller said.

Deep-sea eelpouts have watery, jelly-like flesh, probably due to their sluggish lifestyle and as an adaptation to pressures exerted on their bodies, he added.

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