Did you know that some animals have found Harry Potter’s invisible cloak? Nope, we are not joking! And after seeing these transparent species, even you will believe that they might have an invisible cloak.
Surprisingly, these species were not like things from starting. They have gradually evolved and changed their bodies. You can scroll down to see unusual see-through animals that will make you want to touch them with your hands.
1. The Transparent Juvenile Surgeonfish
If you are wondering why this beautiful transparent fish looks familiar it’s because it is a member of the Dory family, Nemo’s companion from Finding Nemo. It is a juvenile surgeonfish and its species is called Acanthuridae. They live in tropical seas.
2. The Portuguese Man o’ War
The Portuguese man o’ war or Physalia physalis is not a jellyfish even if it looks like one, it has long tentacles and its sting is extremely painful and poisonous, lethal to both fish and humans. This creature took its name from its strange look. There are several types of man o’ war and the most popular one is the Atlantic Portuguese man o’ war which lives at the surface of the ocean near Portugal.
3. The Glasswing Butterfly
Unlike regular butterflies, this one is transparent instead of having bright colors. It is called Greta oto and is a member of the subfamily Danainae, tribe Ithomiini, and subtribe Godyridina. The glasswing butterfly, as it’s commonly called, uses its transparent wings as camouflage.
4. The Icefish
Chaenocephalus Aceratus is known as the blackfin icefish and it belongs in the crocodile icefish family and it lives mostly in the Antarctic. Its blood is translucent, as is its body, and it has a very weak ossified skeleton and creamy white gills.
5. The Sea Gooseberry
This cute creature that looks like a tiny glass ball is called Pleurobrachia pileus, but it’s is more well-known as the “sea gooseberry” and can be up to 2.5 cm big. It is a comb jelly that lives in open water. Its tentacles are twenty times longer than its body and are used to wrap around its prey.
6. The Ghost Shrimp
Palaemonetes paludosus is a creature best known as the ghost shrimp. It comes from the southeastern United States and is actually a transparent shrimp. It lives in freshwater, mostly in lakes and it feeds on plankton. Their transparency works as a great camouflage for them.
7. A chain of Salpa Maxima creatures bonded together
Salpa maxima is a barrel-shaped planktonic tunicate. Its actual name is just salp. Its gelatinous body structure helps it move by contracting and pumping water through it. Salp lives in cold waters and can be seen moving alone or in colonies forming long chains.
8. The Glass Frog
It’s really unusual to think there might be a transparent frog. It does actually exist in the southern USA, it’s called a Glass Frog and is from the amphibian family Centrolenidae. They are usually lime green, however, a large number of glass frogs are fully transparent and as a result, their organs, like their heart, are visible.
9. The Amphipod Cystisoma Neptuni
Amphipod Cystisoma Neptuni is an Amphipod creature from the deep sea that has a translucent body. Its camouflaged body protects it from predators and can only be seen in pictures because of the flash of the camera.
10. The Glass Octopus or Vitreledonella Richardi
The glass octopus, which is actually called Vitreledonella richardi, might look like a sculpture but it is real. It’s from the Amphitredidae family, it’s gelatinous and fully transparent and it can be found in tropical seas. It also doesn’t get that big with its mantle length varying from 11 to 45 cm.
11. The Pelagic Nudibranch
Pelagic Nudibranch is one of the most famous gastropods. It’s an open-ocean hunter that mirrors a fish in body plan and motion. To capture its victims, which are only jellies, it uses its horn-like rhinophires. It’s rather small in size too with his maximum length reaching only 5.5 cm.
12. The Juvenile Cowfish
13. The Golden Tortoise Beetle
This beautiful beetle that looks totally unreal is a Charidotella sexpunctata or as it’s best known, the golden tortoise beetle. It belongs to the leaf beetle family, Chrysomelidae. What is fascinating is that its color changes through the different stages of its life, as it grows, during mating, etc. Adult golden tortoise beetles turn from gold to red when they are stressed.
14. A Sea Angel
Sea Angels, Gymnosomata, or simply sea butterflyfish are mollusks that live in the Arctic Ocean. They are hermaphroditic and feed while fluttering through the water. They are fully transparent with pedal wings that make them look like flying angels when they move.
15. A Glass Squid
Cranchiidae is commonly known as the glass squid. There are about 60 different known species of the Cranchiidae family and their mantle length varies from 10 cm to over 3 m. They have semi-transparent skin which is used as a camouflage to protect them from predators and also help them catch their prey.