Sep 30, 2022
The Barreleye Fish : A rare Fish with transparent head
Scientists have caught a rare glimpse of a fish with a transparent head and glowing green eyes that are visible through its forehead.
In the ocean’s shadowy twilight zone, between 600 and 800 metres beneath the surface, there are fish that gaze upwards through their transparent heads with eyes like mesmerising emerald orbs. These domes are huge spherical lenses that sit on a pair of long, silvery eye tubes – hence its common name, the barreleye fish (Macropinna microstoma).
The barreleye fish's eye pigment allows them to distinguish between bioluminescence and sunlight, which disguise prey's silhouette and protect them.