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).