X-Ray Mag

January 2006

The red eyes are the spookfish's tubular eyes that point upwards, the black bumps on the side of its head are the diverticular eyes that point downwards so do not reflect the flashlight

Spookfish has mirrors for eyes

18 years ago By Main minion

"In nearly 500 million years of vertebrate evolution, and many thousands of vertebrate species living and dead, this is the only one known to have solved the fundamental optical problem faced by all eyes - how to make an image - using a mirror," said Professor Julian Partridge, of Bristol University.

The brownsnout spookfish has been known for 120 years, but no live specimen had ever been captured until last year, when one was caught off Tonga, by Professor Hans-Joachim Wagner, of Tuebingen University.

Thomas Peschak

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edited by Gunild Pak Symes
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Thomas Peschak
Thomas P. Peschak
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Thomas P. Peschak is a marine biologist based at the University of Cape Town’s Marine Biology Research Institute, where he conducts scientific research on kelp forests, illegal fishing and the ecology of sea otters. He is an experienced field biologist and professional diver who has worked extensively in Africa, Central America, the Middle East and the South Pacific.