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barreleye

Macropinna microstoma

Classification

Barreleyes, also known as spookfish (a name also applied to several species of chimaera), are small deep-sea argentiniform fish comprising the family Opisthoproctidae found in tropical-to-temperate waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. These fish are named because of their barrel-shaped, tubular eyes, which are generally directed upwards to detect the silhouettes of available prey; however, the fish are capable of directing their eyes forward, as well. Description The morphology of the Opisthoproctidae varies between three main forms: the stout, deep-bodied barreleyes of…

Distribution

(c) Kim Reisenbichler, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC-BY-SA
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Countries in the Picchu catalog
United States of America · 5Canada · 2