輕松英語閱讀：透明的魚

The Barreleye fish lives at depths of 400 to 2,000 meters and is perhaps one of the strangest creatures in the sea. The fish are very rare. A dead specimen was first discovered in 1939. A live specimen was not seen until 2004. The one in the video below was photographed with a remotely controlled camera at a depth of 2,000 feet off the California coast.

The fish gets its name from its eyes that are shaped like barrels. The eyes have beautiful green lenses as you can see in the photo. Perhaps their most interesting feature is the dome of their head; it is completely transparent. This transparent dome was never seen until 2004, because it bursts when it is brought up to the lower pressures near the surface of the ocean.

The barreleye fish like to hunt just below the boundary between light and dark. The ocean is a very dark place below 200 meters. Their eyes are super sensitive and from the darkness they can look up and see the silhouettes of their prey. It is a very unique adaptation.

Find more information about the barreleye in the links listed below.