Fish dance on sulphur cauldrons
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These fish thrive in conditions that would kill most other fish
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Scientists have witnessed the extreme lifestyle of tonguefish that like to skip across pools of molten sulphur.
The animals - a type of flatfish - were filmed on three expeditions to undersea volcanoes in the western Pacific.
Huge numbers were seen to congregate around the sulphur ponds which well up from beneath the seafloor.
Researchers from the University of Victoria, Canada, are trying to work out how the creatures survive in such a hostile environment.
"There are a lot of toxic heavy metals coming out of these active volcanoes," explained Dr John Dower, a fisheries oceanographer.
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As a visual spectacle, it's like something from another planet
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"The water is very warm, and it can be very acidic, the pH can be as low as two like sulphuric acid," he told BBC News.
As a visual spectacle, it's like something from another planet
"And yet here we've got a group that has not previously been seen in this type of environment and they're doing very well - they're actually thriving."
The fish have been studied with remotely operated submersibles, including the Jason II vehicle this year.
clipped from: news.bbc.co.uk 
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