Transparent Eel

[mchippo]

This is so cool!

 

http://www.wimp.com/transparenteel/

[Supreme Reefs]

Wow that Eel is amazing!

[Coral Hind]

very cool!

Edited June 29, 2011 by Coral Hind

[dakotasreef]

That is amazing! Thanks for sharing.

[Origami]

Cool. I followed the wikipedia link from the video site just because this was so cool. Here are a few excerpts from the article:

 

"A leptocephalus (meaning "slim head") is the flat and transparent larva of the eel, marine eels, and other members of the Superorder Elopomorpha. These fishes with a leptocephalus larva stage include the most familiar eels such as the conger, moray eel, and garden eel, ... These are all true eels of the order Anguilliformes.

 

"Leptocephali (more than one leptocephalus) all have laterally compressed bodies that contain transparent jelly-like substances on the inside of the body and a thin layer of muscle on the outside. Their body organs are small, and this combination of features results in them being very transparent when they are alive. They also lack red blood cells until they begin to metamorphose into the juvenile glass eel stage when they start to look like eels.

 

Leptocephali differ from most fish larvae because they grow to much larger sizes (about 60–300 mm and sometimes larger) and have long larval periods of about 3 months to more than a year.... Their food source was difficult to determine because no zooplankton, which are the typical food of fish larvae, were ever seen in their guts. It was recently found though, that they appear to feed on tiny particles floating free in the ocean, which are often referred to as marine snow. "

[lowsingle]

That is awesome.......thanks for providing the post!

 

Darren