Transparent Headed Fish

Macropinna microstoma via Discovery News' Born Animal Blog.





The common name for the fish is "barreleyes." It has tubular eyes and a see-through head. Monterey Bay Aquarium
Research Institute investigators recently figured out why this species
has such an unusual head. Its eyes can actually rotate within its
"skull," so the transparency allows the wary swimmer to keep a literal
eye on happenings above it, as well as to the sides and directly in
front.Although the fish has a tiny mouth, it possesses a large digestive
systems. Two net-caught individuals contained fragments of jellyfish,
which must have been their last meal.Such a potentially painful dinner requires incredible stealth, so it's
now thought that barreleyes carefully maneuvers its body near such
stinging organisms, keeping its "eyes on the prize," as the researchers
said, throughout the entire hunt. Its tiny mouth then picks at the
victim while a transparent shield protects the fish's eyes.To see more images of the transparent-headed fish, please visit this MBARI website.