The Pacific barreleye fish (Macropinna) is mysterious a genus of ray-finned fish belonging to Opisthoproctidae as is the skin on its head and most of its face.It contains one species, M. microstoma. Its eyes are capped with bright green lenses, and surrounded by a fluid-filled shield.
Amazing “headgear,” barreleyes
These features enable it to see things more clearly. It’s the only animal known to have eyes below the skin inside its head. This odd design protects these vital organs, on which the fish’s life depends In addition to their amazing “headgear,” barreleyes have a variety of other interesting adaptations to deep-sea life.
Discovered in 1939
Marine biologist W. M. Chapman discovered in 1939 Macropinna microstoma in deep temperate waters off of the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans. The presence of this fish was mostly unknown until 2004.
Lives at depths of the northern Pacific Ocean
The barreleye lives at depths of up to 1km throughout the northern Pacific Ocean, where little light reaches.A new paper by Bruce Robison and Kim Reisenbichler shows that these unusual eyes can rotate within a transparent shield that covers the fish’s head.
With tubular eyes
It is recognized for a highly unusual transparent, fluid-filled shield on its head, through which the lenses of its eyes can be seen. It was originally believed that the tubular eyes of this fish were fixed in place and, therefore, only provided a tunnel vision view of what was seen above its head.
Using modern underwater robots
It seems M. microstoma is thought to be a pelagic spawner (the eggs are coated with a layer of oil that allows them to float on the closest surface of the sea until they hatch).
It is noteworthy that It is only with the advent of modern underwater robots that scientists have been able to observe such animals in their native environment, and thus to fully understand
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