This is a short one. Do you know what is a Barreleye fish? I did not until the other day I saw an article about this fish with a transparent head (the reference below)!! It is a rare fish, living in the north pacific area: bearing sea, Japan and eventually all the way down to California. It is a bizarre fish, with green barrel eyes, fixed to look upwards. The eyes are not on the ‘surface’. They are inside the head, a head which is transparent!!! Yes you got it. This fish has a transparent head to let the eyes see and scan above. No don’t worry, we don’t see its brain.
Recently, scientist have seen and filmed one of them alive, as they are usually caught dead in fishermen’s nets. It lives in the depths of 400-800 m. Its eyes scan the surface above for the prey, and the fish can distinguish between sunlight and bioluminiscent light which often signals ‘food’.
I must admit, looking at the pictures and videos of this fish, it makes me think of ‘Head Up Display’ in an airplane cockpit, or a submarine with lit windows. I find there is something philosophical about this fish: its head is clear (transparent) to allow its eyes see through darkness and deceit (other fish camouflage).
The video is not a Pixar or a Dreamworks 3D animation, it is a real fishy film
Paris, September 19, 2022
Zeejay