It inspired 20,000 screams under the sea.<\/p>\n
Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water: Scientists have captured the \u201chorrifying and beautiful\u201d barreleye fish in 4K footage for the first time ever.<\/p>\n
Known for its translucent, submersible-like head, this six-inch deep-sea denizen is rarely seen as it inhabits the ocean\u2019s twilight and midnight zones, some 2,000 to 2,600 feet underwater.<\/a><\/p>\n The barreleye fish\u2019s skylight allows it to track the silhouettes of prey items. MBARI<\/p>\n However, researchers with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI)<\/a> encountered the rare critter on October 22 during an excursion 55 miles off Monterey Canyon aboard<\/a> the vessel David Packard. <\/p>\n They were reportedly documenting and collecting deep-sea critters<\/a> using the\u00a0remotely operated vehicle (ROV)\u00a0Doc Ricketts\u00a0when they spotted barreleye fish roughly 1,970 feet down. <\/p>\n The team ended up observing the nautical night terror for 20 minutes so they could film it in HD.<\/p>\n The resultant footage <\/a>shows the alien-like critter hovering in the depths, its bulbous green eyes clearly visible through its see-through dome.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is such an amazing creature, which looks like it was created by an imaginative child,\u201d exclaimed the expedition\u2019s senior scientist Steven Haddock, BBC Wildlife reported.<\/a> \u201cIf you compare historical drawings of trawled specimens, the transparent dome surrounding their eyes has been stripped away. I didn\u2019t even think they were illustrating the same species.\u201d <\/p>\n He added, \u201cSo to see it alive with the dome of its \u2018cockpit\u2019 intact is a real privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n MBARI researchers film a rarely seen deep-sea barreleye fish in 4K. Kyra Schlining\/MBARI<\/p>\n