The Macropinna Microstoma is known as the Barreleye because of its cylindrical eyes that are situated in the center of its skull. They are usually pointed straight up, but can also look forward thanks to its transparent membrane surrounding them. The two holes which look like eyes on the front of the fish are in fact nales, olfactory organs similar to human nostrils. The Barreleye generally lives in tropical-to-temperate waters at depths of 2,000-2,600 ft, and grow to be 3-4 inches in size. The footage above was taken off the shore of California by MBARI researchers Bruce Robison and Kim Reisenbichler using undersea robots called remotely operated vehicles (ROVs).

Note: The greenish glow is caused by the lights on the ROVs, not by the fish.

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1. da king Says:
   January 26th, 2011 at 10:42 am

   WOAH THAT IS FREAKIN SCARY!! O_O”