Thursday, February 26, 2009

And now for something completely different


Meet the barreleye, Macropinna microstoma, a deep-sea fish with a clear head shield and remarkable eyes.

The eyes are actually the green orbs at the top of the head. The green barreleyes rotate to allow the fish to follow its meal -- it eats jellies and other critters. The clear, fluid-filled head-shield is also newly observed. (The small dark marks in front are actually not eyes, but some sort of sensory organ, think nostrils.)

Go here for more info and a video of this remarkable creature from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.

Isn't nature grand?

5 comments:

Marshall Scott said...

Way cool!

James said...

Way cool, yes, but too weird for words!

Göran Koch-Swahne said...

Always amazing!

Elizabeth said...

I am continually amazed with what "Mother Nature" comes up with.

Hey, I don't have to sign my name because my Google account finally got straightened out. :-)

Elizabeth

Anonymous said...

Reflecting the grandness of the Creator! ;-D

(I mean, by way of evolution, of course...)