The barreleye fish’s eyes are tubular, light-sensitive, covered with green lenses, and are able to swivel within the transparent, fluid-filled dome on its head. The eyes point up  when searching for food above, and forward when feeding (the green eyes are looking up in the image — photo credit: MBARI, Bruce Robison and Kim Reisenbichler).

The two indentations above the mouth look like eyes, but are olfactosensory organs (nares), which are similar to human nostrils.

The barreleye’s unusual, transparent head was first discovered by Researchers from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and photographed from MBARI’s remotely operated vehicle (ROV). The fish were found in deep waters (600-800 meters (2,000 – 2,600 feet) deep) off the central California coast.