FROM THE JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2010 ISSUE

#41: The Freaky Fish With the See-through Head

The barreleye always looks up, through its own head, to find food.

By janet fang|Tuesday, January 26, 2010
barreleyemedia
barreleyemedia
Image courtesy of MBARI

The barreleye fish has eyes that gaze upward right through a transparent shield covering its head. This year ecologists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute studied the first-ever underwater video of the strange fish. They also managed to recover one alive and get a good look at that shield, which may protect its eyes as it steals prey from stinging jellyfish.

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