blobfish

noun

blob·​fish ˈbläb-ˌfish 

plural blobfishes

: any of several marine sculpins (genus Psychrolutes of the family Psychrolutidae) chiefly of deep waters of Australia and New Zealand that have large fanlike pectoral fins and a gelatinous scaleless body that distorts into a somewhat shapeless mass when removed from deep depths

But the blobfish isn't all that "blobby" in its natural habitat. In the cold, dark depths of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans—between 1,970 to 3,940 feet deep—the blobfish looks quite different, more like a "normal" fish …

—Greta Cross

When a blobfish is taken out of water, decompression can make it expand and cause its skin to relax, distorting its features and giving it that characteristic big nose.

—Ian Taylor et al.

The blobfish … is practically all face—a pale, gelatinous deep-sea creature whose large-lipped, sad-sack expression seems to be melting toward the floor.

—Natalie Angier

Word History

Etymology

blob entry 1 + fish entry 1

First Known Use

1974, in the meaning defined above