A deep-sea fish species referred to as the barreleye fish (Macropinna microstoma) has been noticed with MBARI’s remotely operated automobile (ROV) Ventana in Monterey Bay off California, the United States.
The barreleye fish (Macropinna microstoma). Image credit score: MBARI.
Macropinna microstoma is a deep-sea ray-finned fish within the barreleye household Opisthoproctidae.
The species was found and described in 1939 by the U.S. marine biologist Wilbert McLeod Chapman.
It happens at decrease mesopelagic depths beneath temperate and subarctic waters of the North Pacific from the Bering Sea to Japan and Baja California, Mexico.
Macropinna microstoma measures round 15 cm (6 inches) in size.
It has a tiny mouth, most of its physique is roofed with massive scales, and its eyes are capped with vibrant inexperienced lenses.
It additionally has a extremely uncommon clear, fluid-filled protect on its head. This protects its delicate eyes from the nematocysts (stinging cells) of the siphonophores, one of many obvious sources of its meals.
“The barreleye lives in the ocean’s twilight zone, at depths of 600 to 800 m (2,000 to 2,600 feet),” MBARI scientists mentioned.
“Its eyes look upwards to spot its favorite prey — usually small crustaceans trapped in the tentacles of siphonophores — from the shadows they cast in the faint shimmer of sunlight from above.”
“But how does this fish eat when its eyes point upward and its mouth points forward?”
“In 2019, our researchers learned the barreleye can rotate its eyes beneath that dome of transparent tissue.”
Macropinna microstoma usually hangs almost immobile within the water utilizing its massive fins for stability.
“Dr. Tommy Knowles and his team from the Monterey Bay Aquarium were aboard MBARI’s R/V Rachel Carson with our ROV Ventana to collect jellies and comb jellies for the Aquarium’s upcoming Into the Deep exhibition when they spotted this fascinating fish,” the researchers mentioned.
“We stopped to marvel at Macropinna microstoma before it swam away.”