Ever since the "barreleye" fish Macropinna microstoma was first described in 1939, marine biologists have known that it's tubular eyes are very good at collecting light.
However, the eyes were believed to be fixed in place and seemed to provide only a "tunnel-vision" view of whatever was directly above the fish's head. |
| photo credit Kim Reisenbichler |
Thanks to the underwater cameras we have a video of the fish with a transparent head at depths of up to 800 metres below the ocean.
The barreleye has large, flat fins that help it stay almost completely still in the water, then move through it very precisely.
Most of the time, the fish hangs motionless in the water, with its body in a horizontal position and its eyes looking upward. When it spots its prey (such as jellyfish), the fish rotates its eyes forward and swims upward, in feeding mode.
