The sea is still one of the places we know very little about. All you have to do is dive to a depth of several hundred meters and we may come across strange creatures whose lives are a mystery to many biologists. There is very little light and tremendous pressure in the deep sea, and the local creatures are adapted to such a life. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) was able to shoot a fascinating video in the deep sea with a fish with a transparent head.
What kind of fish is it?
The video was captured using a remote-operated vehicle (ROV). This is a barreleye fish (Macropinna microstoma) cruising off the coast of California. These fish live at a depth of 600-800 meters, so an ordinary diver would not be able to shoot her. The fish measures 15 centimeters and its usual location is the Bering Sea to Japan and Baja California. This fish consumes zooplankton, including crustaceans and siphonophores.
It is one of the most beautiful fish in the world. Two small indentations where eyes might normally appear on a fish are actually the barreleye’s olfactory organs, and its eyes are two glowing green orbs behind its face that gaze up towards the top of its head. These deep-dwelling fish can see through their own foreheads. It floats in deep water where there is almost no light.
Observations of Macropinna microstoma are rare
The video caption reads: “MBARI’s remotely operated vehicles Ventana and Doc Ricketts have logged more than 5,600 successful dives and recorded more than 27,600 hours of video — yet we’ve only encountered this fish nine times!”
Two small indentations where eyes might normally appear on a fish are actually the barreleye’s olfactory organs, and its eyes are two glowing green orbs behind its face that gaze up towards the top of its head. In 2009, MBARI researchers showed that the fish can rotate its eyes towards the front to see its food when eating. Before that, scientists believed that the barreleye’s gaze was fixed looking straight up. Researchers think that the fish hovers below a siphonophore’s tentacles to steal food.
Source: https://www.mbari.org/products/creature-feature/barreleye-landing-page/
Photo credit: MBARI
