The alien-like creature was recently sighted on a deep water mission off the coast of California in Monterey Bay.
Scientists captured rare footage of this creepy barreleye fishCredit: YouTube / MBARI
It’s see-through head helps it look directly above for preyCredit: YouTube / MBARI
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute published the clip (MBARI).
It was captured using a remote-operated vehicle in the “twilight depths” of the ocean.
That’s around 2,000 to 2,600 feet deep.
The critter you’re gazing at is a barreleye fish.
They can grow to be six inches long and hunt in the dark.
That’s why their eyes are so big.
The MBARI said: “MBARI’s remotely operated vehicles Ventana and Doc Ricketts have logged more than 5,600 successful dives and recorded more than 27,600 hours of video—yet we’ve only encountered this fish nine times!
“The barreleye lives in the ocean’s twilight zone, at depths of 600 to 800 meters (2,000 to 2,600 feet).
“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? MBARI researchers learned the barreleye can rotate its eyes beneath that dome of transparent tissue.”
The barreleye fish was most likely looking for the same jellyfish as the researchers were.
The fish can grow up to six inches longCredit: YouTube / MBARI
