Most fish have eyes on either side of their head, but one scientist has claimed that a carnivorous anglerfish has eyes that face forward, just like us. This animal has a fleshy chin and cheeks, adding to its strange appearance. This strange animal, called Histiophryne psychedelica, appeared a year ago when divers who spent 30 minutes off the coast of Ambon Island, Indonesia, captured images of a previously undiscovered shallow-water fish in the area. This.

Ichthyologist Ted Pietsch of the University of Washington’s Burke Museum of Natural History received photos of it and guessed that it belonged to the Histiophryne family. He has now confirmed this using genetic and morphological data, and recognized this strange fish as a new species.

Frontal view of Histiophryne psychedelica, a new species of anglerfish, taken by David Hall on Ambon Island, Indonesia. (Photo: David Hall/seaphotos.com)

“This is a wonderful example of what natural selection can produce,” Pietsch told LiveScience. This is a very strange creature, and that’s enough to make it important.” Pietsch’s description of the animal, supported by the National Science Foundation, was published in detail in the journal Copeia.

Other strange things about fish: Its skin is gelatinous, fat, thick and loose, the entire skin is covered with white stripes radiating from the eyes to the back of the body. This skin color can help animals hide in colorful coral reefs on the seabed.

Leo Smith, curator of fish at the Museum of Reality in Chicago, said: “Psychedelic finfish are among a long list of harmless animals that have evolved to mimic the beauty of venomous animals. . Pietsch and colleagues share this view, and they say it looks exactly like the toxic corals found in their habitat.”

Side view of Histiophryne psychedelica, a new species of anglerfish near the coast of Ambon Island, Indonesia. (Photo: David Hall/seaphotos.com)

This fish also has some flexibility. “It seems to have the ability to push its face out and then retract it, so when it passes through a small crack, the eyes are on the sides and it pushes its face out,” Pietsch explains. It could also be hostile – when it shows an oval face with stripes, you might think it wants to scare something away.” The anglerfish Histiophryne psychedelica may have a sensory structure on the outer part of its face that functions as a protective antennae, allowing it to sense the interior walls of a small burrow or the space between corals. Other fish species that also have forward-facing eyes include arachnids and goosefish.

This animal’s jaws contain 2 to 4 rows of small irregular teeth, which it uses to eat smaller fish, shrimp, and other marine animals.

The new anglerfish, Histiophryne psychedelica, has primate-like forward-facing eyes, as well as a fat chin and cheeks. (Photo: David Hall/seaphotos.com)

Histiophryne psychedelica tends to come in pairs, often hidden very well, and they are only discovered when divers search beneath debris on the seabed. When discovered, it immediately tries to escape into small crevices or holes by violently contracting and turning its body while using its pelvic fins to control its position, much like how we use our hands . However, they later showed no signs of damage.

This animal swims by jet, or pushes water through holes in its body. The specimens Pietsch studied were collected by graduate student Rachel Arnold and photographed by David Hall.