Tube-eye

Stylephorus chordatus

The tube-eye or thread-tail, "Stylephorus chordatus", is a deep-sea fish, the only fish in the genus "Stylephorus" and family Stylephoridae.
Composite: Tube Eye (Stylephorus chordatus) This is the Tube Eye (Stylephorus chordatus). The strange binocular eyes are believed to be an adaptation that helps the fish detect faint bioluminescence in the dark depths of the oceans. The light they might be looking for would be produced by small crustaceans that they like to eat. This species photographed during the DEEPEND project (www.deependconsortium.org). Deep Sea,Life in the dark,Stylephoridae,Stylephorus chordatus,Tube Eye,Tube-eye,bioluminescence,deep sea fauna,deep water species,mesopelagic species,midnight zone,modified eyes,specialized vision

Appearance

It is found in deep subtropical and tropical waters around the world, living at depths during the day and making nightly vertical migrations to feed on plankton. It is an extremely elongated fish; although its body grows only to 28 cm long, its pair of tail fin rays triple its length to about 90 cm. Its eyes are tubular in shape, resembling a pair of binoculars.

Naming

The phylogenetic position of the tube-eye has been controversial. It has been historically placed amongst Lampriformes, but a study involving mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences analysis suggested "Stylephorus" is instead a close parent of the Gadiformes order.

Food

It has a tubular mouth through which it sucks seawater by enlarging its oral cavity to about 40 times its original size. It then expels the water through the gills, leaving behind the copepods on which it feeds.

References:

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Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionChordata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderStylephoriformes
FamilyStylephoridae
GenusStylephorus
SpeciesS. chordatus
Photographed in
United States of America