Wow, this is a really neet adaptation: Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! The barreleye (Macropinna microstoma) has extremely light-sensitive eyes that can rotate within a transparent, fluid-filled shield on its head. The fish's tubular eyes are capped by bright green lenses. The eyes point upward (as shown here) when the fish is looking for food overhead. They point forward when the fish is feeding. The two spots above the fish's mouth are are olfactory organs called nares, which are analogous to human nostrils. Image: © 2004 MBARI
Amazing... I never heard of this fish before, thanks for sharing Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! P.S. Shouldn't this have been in Biology & Genetics ?
The green dooms are the lenses of the eyes, and in the picture the fish is looking through the top of his head.
I've never seen that fish before, but it's not super surprising. The ocean is full of interesting, exotic stuff. Go look up the vampire squid. That's a neat little creature there.
http://deepseanews.com/2008/10/the-27-best-deep-sea-species-3-flesh-eating-sponges/ pretty neat site for all the deepsea-weird-looking-creatures
Be neet to have one for the aquarium, way cool. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! In this image, you can see that, although the barreleye is facing downward, its eyes are still looking straight up. This close-up "frame grab" from video shows a barreleye that is about 140 mm (six inches) long. Image: © 2004 MBARI
NEET is a government classification, first used in the United Kingdom but whose use has spread to other countries, including Japan, China and South Korea. The classification is "Not currently engaged in Employment, Education or Training". Neat Slang. great; wonderful; fine: What a neat car!
Here's another picture that shows the eyes a bit better: Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! http://news.nationalgeographic.com/...ries/fish-transparent-head-barreleye-picture/ And (even better) a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM9o4VnfHJU Edit: Damn it Buffalo, you beat me to it Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
If you go to this site, at the bottom of the page is a video of the barreleye http://www.mbari.org/news/news_releases/2009/barreleye/barreleye.html or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM9o4VnfHJU
I cannot look at this fish correctly. Its like my brain and my eyes can't put it together. Its nostrils are its eyes and its eyes are its brain.
