Unique creatures – shrimp-like crustaceans cystisoma Cystisoma have recently been discovered in the depths of the ocean. According to The Guardian, they fit in the palm of your hand and live at depths of the ocean from 200 to 900 meters. An interesting feature is that most of the head of creatures is occupied by huge eyes.
Scientists from the Smithsonian Institution in Washington are studying these creatures. They were discovered long ago, but they were able to study them in detail recently. So, according to researcher Karen Osborne, the huge eyes of these creatures help them easily hide in the water and distinguish everything that happens around.
Thanks to the transparent body, crustaceans remain invisible. So, when scientists catch them with trawl nets and pour them into a bucket of water, they are almost impossible to see. After all, they have a transparent body, and the eyes remain invisible thanks to the unique retina, which hides them.
Scientists were able to study cystis under a microscope. They found that part of their little bodies are covered with tiny shaggy scales. The other part of the bodies resembles spherical shapes. According to the researchers, they are colonies of bacteria that are still unknown to science. And this is what ensures the “invisibility” of such creatures – the light passes through their bodies and is not reflected to predators.
Of course, cystisomes have internal organs. But they are positioned so that the creatures remain invisible to others. So, under the eyes is the digestive system, it has a golden hue and is barely noticeable to others. And eye masking is possible thanks to tiny red dots that absorb photons.
By the way, because of their invisibility, creatures cannot find each other in the ocean with the help of their eyes. Therefore, males seek females with the help of “smell”, even at a distance. To do this, they have antennas that pick up chemicals in the ocean.
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