If it were not for the Internet critters like these would remain in some lab, in a bottle somewhere, or in some obscure journal on a dusty back shelf.
Fortunately we live in a more enlightened age.
What you are looking at is Macropinna microstoma, brought to you by our all time favorite underwater website/news archive Underwater Times - the grandaddy of all online underwater sites. Kudos and double kudos to Jeff Dudas for this story.
Macropinna is currently being studied at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute by researchers Bruce Robison and Kim Reisenbichler (another reason to live in California) using ROV's in the deep waters just offshore of Central California. This unlikely looking critter can be found at depths of 2,000 to 2,600 feet.
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