The Abyss - Tube Eyes
Written by Jonathan C. Wojcik - Photo credits unknown or from public news articles unless otherwise
noted. If you know their sources and need them credited or removed, please e-mail me.
The peculiar "tube eye" or "threadtail," Stylephorus chordatus,  is the only known member
of the
Stylephorus genus, and one of my personal favorite fish. Its jaws are enclosed in a
membrane with only a tiny opening, creating a powerful suction when the jaws are
expanded. The whole structure is remarkably similar to a
bellows, and can expand an
incredible 38 times its original volume. I have to wonder who thought it should be named just
for its eyes or tail. I nominate
hooverface for a new common name.

The body of
HOOVERFACE is less than a foot long, but the whiplike extension on its tail fin
more than
triples its overall length.
Illustration by Richard Ellis for his wonderful book, Deep Atlantic.