Cartoon creature found more than 3,000 meters under water

The deep oceans are home to some pretty darn cute creatures, too, like the Lumpy Snailfish.

The new species of Lumpy Snailfish is incredibly cute for a deep-sea creature, and looks nothing like the dark, sleek snailfish. It may seem odd that snailfish in the same region would vary so much in color, but when you're so far below the surface, color doesn't matter much.

There's no sunlight at depths of thousands of meters, so color becomes less important for camouflage. These snailfish are thought to sense each other and their surroundings in other ways, including:

Sensing vibrations in the water
Smelling
Taste of the environment.

It's already known that many fish can actually taste using their fin rays. Even though there's no sunlight at these depths, flashes of light caused by bioluminescence can be seen. Scientists still don't know whether these species use vision and how often, but it could be a great topic for future research.

Equally curious is that the tuberculate snailfish has as many as 22 fin rays. Scientists didn't understand why they needed so many, but it turns out that they bring many benefits. Researchers observed the snails and found that the fish use them for swimming, turning, and perceiving their surroundings.