I Can Read Your Mind

Have you ever wish that you can read someone's mind and know what they are thinking? I am bringing you guys for a DEEP sea diving this time, so gear up and Let’s Dive Deep!


As we reach a depth of 600 meters… in absolute darkness….


Suddenly this tiny little creature swim up towards us...looking closer....it’s a fish with a transparent head !!




Say hello to the Barreleye Fish!

When you look closely at the barreleye's eyes and there is a good chance you are looking at its nose. What appear to be eyes, those small round objects just above its mouth, are basically its nostrils, called nares, which are equivalent to human nostrils.

The eyes are actually those green demi-spheres inside the top of its head!





Its eyes are shaped like barrels and thus its name. Spherical eyes are not as well adapted for the dark deeps in which it the barrel fish lives and its eye can swivel inside its fluid-filled head to look up, forward, or and even to backwards through the top rear of its cranium to see if there is anything coming from behind and above. The eyes are covered by bright green lenses. The eyes point upwards while hunting for food, but point forward when it’s eating its prey.

A team from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Insitute sent remotely operated vehicles to the ocean floor to study the Barreleye and make the remarkable discovery that the fish had a transparent skull and could rotate its eyes through many angles. They also managed to capture a live specimen, and over several hours observed the fish rotating its eyes. Such feature of the eyes are very important for survival as it will be very difficult for them to capture prey with their small, pointed mouths.

Enjoy the barreleye video captured by Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute !!





In addition to their amazing "headgear," barreleyes have a variety of other interesting adaptations to deep-sea life. Their large, flat fins allow them to remain nearly motionless in the water, and to maneuver very precisely .

Their small mouths suggest that they can be very precise and selective in capturing small prey. On the other hand, their digestive systems are very large, which suggests that they can eat a variety of small drifting animals as well as jellies. In fact, the stomachs of the two net-caught fish contained fragments of jellies.

Most of the time, the fish hangs motionless in the water, with its body in a horizontal position and its eyes looking upward. The green pigments in its eyes may filter out sunlight coming directly from the sea surface, helping the barreleye spot the bioluminescent glow of jellies or other animals directly overhead. When it spots prey (such as a drifting jelly), the fish rotates its eyes forward and swims upward, in feeding mode.

Deep sea creatures are fascinating and absolutely surprising with many special adaptive designs… What’s more lurking in the dark deep sea water ?? Join me for more in the next adventure.

Love the ocean. Protect the ocean.

Peace & Cheerios !


For more information, visit :

http://www.mbandf.com/parallel-world/categories/science-and-technology/index.php?article=229

http://www.mbari.org/news/news_releases/2009/barreleye/barreleye.html

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