Scientists Have Found The Cousin Of ’World’s Ugliest Animal’ From Deep, Cold Australian Abyss

More than 100 rarely seen fish species were hauled up from a deep and cold abyss off Australia during a scientific voyage, researchers said Wednesday, including a cousin of the "world's ugliest animal" Mr Blobby.

Scientists spent a month last year on a vessel off the country's eastern seaboard surveying life lurking up to 4.8 kilometres (2.9 miles) below the surface, using nets, sonar and deep-sea cameras.

Over 42,000 fish and invertebrates were caught, some of which are potentially new species with scientists gathering in the Tasmanian capital Hobart this week to examine them more closely.

They include blob fishes, which are cousins of Mr Blobby, who was voted the world's ugliest animal in 2013 by the Ugly Animal Preservation Society and became a global media sensation.

Blobby, from the psychrolutidae family, was discovered off the coast of New Zealand in 2003 and affectionately named by the scientists who found it.

Other species unearthed during last year's voyage included bioluminescent cookie-cutter sharks with razor-sharp serrated teeth, a haul of frightening lizard fish, and graceful tripod fish, which prop themselves on the sea floor on long fins waiting for food to drift within reach.

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