Macropinna microstoma – Strange Fish With See Through Head

Ocean creatures are extremely wonderful when you see a new species and hard to know the head of Macropinna Microstoma fish. Even you can see his head right through it. Macropinna microstoma is the only species of fish in the genus Macropinna, belonging to the Opisthoproctidae, the barreleye family.

The magnificent transparent fluid-filled dome on its head makes this specie so fascinating. There are many types of cnidarians living in the deep-sea environment of microstoma. Among them are siphonophores (which can reach 30 feet in length).

The fish offers a glimpse of its beautiful eyes and small beady dots at the end of the fish face. However, the eyes are brownish tubes inside its head punctuated by the right green half spheres. This stunning creature is 6 inches long and lives far beneath the ocean at depth of 2600 feet.

Moreover, it doesn’t naturally swim and in its place hangs motionless in the water using its large, flat fins for stability. The fish points its eyes upwards to the silhouettes of prey when it finds something to eat like smaller fish or jellyfish. It shifts its body into a vertical position and rotates its eyes forward so that it won’t lose sight of the food.

In addition to being pelagic spawners, microstoma has a coating of oil on its eggs that allows them to float on top of the closest surface of the sea until hatching. Eggs are laid in the water by the female and sperm are released by the male. 

The fish was first photographed in 2004, but actually first discovered in 1939. So, researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute have captured the fish in action. M. microstoma has a minute mouth and most of its body is covered with large scales as it is usually destroyed when brought up from the depths.

They do not care for their young and there is no sexual dimorphism between the males and females. From the Bering Sea to Japan and Baja California, it is widely distributed in the northern Pacific Ocean.