5 years after the previous encounter: the rare creature appeared again

Researchers encountered the rare barreleye fish again at a depth of 600 meters off the coast of California, after a previous meeting in 2021. The team documented it in 4K quality for about 20 minutes, as part of a research expedition by the MBARI Institute.

Researchers from the MBARI marine research institute encountered again a rare fish with a transparent head and rotating green eyes, known as the barreleye fish. The meeting took place at a depth of 600 meters off the coast of California, during a research expedition aboard the ship 'David Packard'. The researchers used an underwater robot named Doc Ricketts, and after completing their research activities and beginning to retrieve the robot, one of the researchers spotted the fish and asked to stop. The team observed the fish for about 20 minutes and documented it for the first time in 4K and 3D. Over nearly four decades, the institute conducted about 7,000 dives and accumulated more than 41,000 hours of footage, but encountered this fish only 11 times; the previous meeting was in 2021. The fish is not a new species, but encounters with live individuals are extremely rare. Its transparent head structure and green eyes allow it to detect prey in the ocean's twilight zone. The researchers did not collect the fish and it remained in its natural environment.