You Can Literally See Through the Head of This Fascinating Fish

It's not hard to know what's going on in the head of a Marcopinna microstoma fish…because you can see right through it! The fascinating creature is instantly recognizable thanks to the transparent and fluid-filled dome on its head, which also offers a glimpse of its eyes–and they aren't what you'd expect. You might think that they're the small, beady dots at the end of the fish's face, but those are actually its nostrils. The real eyes are the brownish tubes inside its head, punctuated by the bright green half spheres.

The six-inch-long M. microstoma lives far beneath the ocean at depths of 2,000 feet to 2,600 feet. It doesn't typically swim and instead hangs motionless in the water using its large, flat fins for stability. The fish points its eyes upwards to help sense the silhouettes of prey. When it finds something to eat (like a smaller fish or jellyfish), it shifts its body into a vertical position and rotates its eyes forward so that it won't lose sight of the meal.

The discovery of the M. microstoma was first documented in 1939, but it was only in 2004 that it was photographed alive. Since then, researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute have captured the fish in action. Scroll down to see the video, below.

Above photo source: Imgur

Photo source: HideMe

Photo source: Gag Daily

Photo sources: Imgur | Gag Daily

 

via [The Dodo]

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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