As the deep-sea fish was pulled back by the current, it appeared to be swimming backwards
Marine researchers have shared footage of a bizarre backwards-swimming fish along with other elusive creatures caught on camera in Greenland.
To study the marine diversity of the Inglefield Bredning Fjord, northwest Greenland, they set up a video camera with red lights and an underwater microphone (hydrophone) 260 metres deep on the seabed and left it for around a week.
They pointed the cameras upwards to prevent sediment from gathering on the lens and to give them a better chance of filming narwhals, which typically approach this type of equipment from above. The setup helped them capture 37 hours of footage documenting the life just above the seafloor. The findings are published in the scientific journal PLOS One.
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“Arctic glacial fjords are hotspots of marine life, but they are understudied as a result of their remoteness and difficult access, particularly their seafloor ecosystems,” write the authors in the study.
They filmed many different animals swimming in front of the camera, including fish, shrimp, jellyfish, bristle worms, copepods, comb jellies and narwhals, as well as some unidentified creatures.
They even saw a snailfish, which appeared to swim backwards as it drifted past the camera with the current.
“It curled its tail and remained motionless for at least 16 s before disappearing from view,” the authors write.
“Overall, the results show that portable moorings with video recorders are an important tool for exploration of the Arctic seafloor.”
Image and video credit: Podolskiy E.A., et al., PLOS One, May 6, 2026
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