Footage Captured Of Rare Fish With Completely Transparent Head

A rare fish that has a transparent head has been spotted while researchers were diving. You can watch a video of it here:

The barreleye fish (Macropinna microstoma) was discovered by Tommy Knowles and his team while they were on a research vessel.

The team were collecting jellyfish for an upcoming exhibition called 'Into the Deep' in California. They'd reached depths of 600 to 800 metres and were in complete darkness.

The fish that was discovered can grow up to 15 centimetres, according to indy100, and live on a diet of zooplankton.

Twitter/@MBARI_News

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) revealed how the fish has only been seen nine times despite logging more than 5,600 dives and over 27,600 hours of video footage.

Taking to Twitter, to show people the fish, the MBARI wrote: "I spy with my barreleye, a new #FreshFromTheDeep! During a dive with our education and outreach partner, the @MontereyAq, the team came across a rare treat: a barreleye fish (Macropinna microstoma)."

They added: "The @MontereyAq team was aboard MBARI’s R/V Rachel Carson with our ROV Ventana to collect jellies and comb jellies for their upcoming #IntoTheDeep exhibition when they spotted this fascinating fish. The team stopped to marvel at Macropinna before it swam away."

Twitter/@MBARI_News

Giving those interested some information about the fish, the MBARI said: "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.

"Its eyes look upwards to spot its favourite prey—usually small crustaceans trapped in the tentacles of siphonophores—from the shadows they cast in the faint shimmer of sunlight from above.”

Responding to the posts on social media, one person wrote: "Beautiful, Amazing. And thank you for this glimpse into what we are missing."

Twitter/@MBARI_News

Another person added: "Thankyou so much for the privilege of seeing this. These creatures need to be studied- their secrets may enlighten us."

A third commented: "This might be the coolest thing I've ever seen."

Someone else wrote: "Just when I thought I saw everything and nothing can surprise me..."

Topics: Animals, News, US News

Rebecca Shepherd

I'm Becky - a journalist at LADbible. I graduated with a First Class BA in Journalism before going on to cover criminal court cases, medical tribunals and breaking news for the national media. Can often be found rocking a bag for life - which I made a thing long before Rihanna. You can contact me at [email protected]

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