Meet The Barreleye, One Seriously Cool Fish

The Barreleye fish is among the most intriguing fish we’ve ever seen. With a clear, glass-dome-like head that shields its eye, this fish’s head is completely transparent.

Also called the Spook fish, it lives more than 2,000 feet deep in the Pacific Ocean it’s highly advanced eyes contain both lenses and mirrors that are capable of seeing food in even the darkest of waters.

The yellowish globes that seem to float around in the fish’s head are actually its eyes. The dark slits just above its mouth are nostrils, despite looking like eyes.

Here’s an official description of the Barreleye’s odd head:

All species have large, telescoping eyes which dominate and protrude from the skull, but are enclosed within a large transparent dome of soft tissue. These eyes generally gaze upwards, but can also be directed forward. To better serve their vision, barreleyes have large, dome-shaped transparent heads; this allows the eyes to collect even more light and protects the sensitive eyes from predators.

For the first time ever, the fish has been filmed swimming in its native environment. Take a look at the video below.

 

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