BARRELEYE FISH: See-Through Fish Caught In Photos (SLIDESHOW, VIDEO)

Every now and then, nature serves up a weird animal that you can't not stare at. Well, here's one for you -- the barreleye fish, with its funky transparent face:

Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute recently solved the half-century-old mystery of a fish with tubular eyes and a transparent head. Ever since the "barreleye" fish Macropinna microstoma was first described in 1939, marine biologists have known that it's tubular eyes are very good at collecting light. However, the eyes were believed to be fixed in place and seemed to provide only a "tunnel-vision" view of whatever was directly above the fish's head. A new paper by Bruce Robison and Kim Reisenbichler shows that these unusual eyes can rotate within a transparent shield that covers the fish's head. This allows the barreleye to peer up at potential prey or focus forward to see what it is eating.

Check out these photos of the barreleye:

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From MBARI: The barreleye (Macropinna microstoma) has extremely light-sensitive eyes that can rotate within a transparent, fluid-filled shield on its head.

It had been difficult to figure out what these fish actually looked like in life because catching them and keeping them in tact were mutually exclusive, until recently:

Most existing descriptions and illustrations of this fish do not show its fluid-filled shield, probably because this fragile structure was destroyed when the fish were brought up from the deep in nets. However, Robison and Reisenbichler were extremely fortunate--they were able to bring a net-caught barreleye to the surface alive, where it survived for several hours in a ship-board aquarium. Within this controlled environment, the researchers were able to confirm what they had seen in the ROV video--the fish rotated its tubular eyes as it turned its body from a horizontal to a vertical position.

MBARI also captured video of this strange creature. WATCH:

Comments

[johnie2xs]

It's amazing how I can see the hand of God, in a creature like this and exult in it. And at the same time can understand the importance of science and the mysteries it unravels. Holding both these ideas in my mind at the same time, without contradiction, one of the other, makes me two things.
Human, and a progressive.
Yes, I admit it. I'm a Democrat ;).

[AZ4thatone]

Simply wonderous!

[anthonytaurus]

wow.. crazy that we spend billions of dollars looking into space while we don't even know our own planet yet.

[KayWrites]

There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. -Hamlet

Freaky cool! -Kay

[izmunuti]

Mesmerizing! And fragile looking. Would be cool to see it capture food from a jellyfish.

[forpeace]

*

WOW ........... I've never seen anything like this before!!!!!

It's amazing and cute too.

*

[Deepscan]

As a creationist I see no problem here. So what would everyone like to argue with me about this species? There are more unique life forms than this waiting to be discovered. Oh yes by the way, Darwin became a Christain in his later years.

[Exusian]

Darwin was a Christian long before he decided not to become an Anglican country Parson and instead to sail on the Beagle as ship's naturalist, and he remained a Christian throughout his entire life.

There is no inherent incompatibility between Christianity and belief in God vs science and the theory of evolution, there is only incompatibility between religious dogma and literalism vs science and evolution.

[Realityism]

The majority of Christian denominations do not promote Creationism, but rather acknowledge the evolutionary process as the work of God. Darwin becoming Christian does not mean he rejected his theory.

You belong to a small and loud subset of Christians, which include those who came up with such theological anomolies as "the rapture," a concept invented in 19th century America.

[pk4obama]

Evolution lives!!!....


There are so many new species that will be found over the decades and I'm thrilled to see this one... fantastic!!

Sorry deepscan....I can't agree with you on the "creationist" stance........we are all creatures that evolved million and millions of years ago.....

[aristippe]

Dude where are the dinosaurs?

[OldKnute]

Oh Distbunnies,,,

I disagree,, with respect to you,, But Charles Darwin was raise in a Christian family, was baptized,,, went to a “Christian” parochial school in his youth, and even at one time, considered entering the clergy. My Gosh,, he attended not only Edinburgh University where,,, at the time studies of Theology were mandatory as were weekly attendance at Church. Further, he went on to gain a batulars of arts from Cambridge University an institution under the near complete rule of the Anglican Church of England

His most famous quote comes from his Grandfather, doctor and founder of the Luminary Society in England, friend and contemporary of James Watt.

“Mark the footsteps of God in measure and tempo, and you may well walk your way into haven.”

Darwin was not the first in his family to champion the integrations of Natural Sciences and theology. What we call today,, “Intelligent Design”. Darwin’s Grandfather was the first in his family to speculate of the “TOOLS of the Divine”.


Born Christian, Educated as a Christian, Baptized and Married in the Christian Faith and Buried a Christian.

Any late life misgivings stemmed from the fear that his wife would not be forgiven by God and find her way to everlasting peace.

Please,, I am not trying to offend you, But your information is incomplete and inaccurate.

Darwin fully believed in a Grand Creator and a First Cause.

With respect

All the best

Knute

[Deepscan]

I'm a creationist, so what's the problem?

[Subterfuge]

Deprecated eye sockets.

[jnik]

Dam! I'd have sworn those nostrils were its eyes! But I can't recall a fish with eyes in front of its face, either!
Wonder how it tastes? ( In your face, PETA)!

[SamKnause]

If you weren't already buzzed you would be after seeing a fish like that. That is truly the strangest of all the fish I have ever seen. I'll good one step further and include animals in on the list. What a wild and strange imagination you would have to have to think up that fish. Truly unbelievable.

[crayola 08]

wow! that's truly amazing. sometimes i wonder if we really will be shocked at what alien life looks like when we find it because we have some pretty mind-blowing forms of life right here on our own planet.

[mamacat]

I wish Darwin could have seen this fish. I think he would have laughed out loud.

[Tommygun264]

Man, that is one freaky looking fish. So VERY COOL!

[Exusian]

So much for the creationist argument that eyes are too complex an organ to have developed independently of divine design.

[Anonnie Muss]

I will never understand why people like you feel as if it is worthwhile to try to argue with creationists. You wouldn't try to reason with a small child who told you they passionately believed in the tooth fairy, would you? Maybe you would. I wouldn't, and I don't see why creationists should be taken any more seriously. I feel like it is giving those nutbags far too much legitimacy to treat them as being worthy of arguing with. They have bizarre, wildly out of touch views and ought to be treated accordingly. And everything for them is about faith, not about facts that can be argued, so it's not as if you'll ever get anywhere.

[StringOfLights]

Because they're mucking up science education in schools.

[Exusian]

Funny, I don't see any creationists around here to argue with.
So your point was?

[Deepscan]

I'm a creationist so what's the problem??

[V4Vendetta]

Isn't nature amazing?