20 fascinating transparent animals

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By Jan Robertson, Espresso

Transparent animals are everywhere. Being invisible or hard to see is a great way to hide from predators or sneak up on prey, but camouflage isn’t the only reason to be transparent.

Glass frog

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The translucent skin of the glass frog offers a clear view of its internal organs, like the heart and liver. The creature’s near invisibility allows it to elude both predators and researchers by blending in with its surroundings.

Jellyfish

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Jellyfish are 98 percent water, making them almost invisible in the ocean. Their watery bodies pulse to create a current, pushing tiny animals across stinging cells on their outside layer.

Glass shrimp

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The glass shrimp, or ghost shrimp, is found in freshwaters throughout North America. Sometimes these animals are so clear you can see the food in their digestive tract.

Glasswing butterfly

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New research shows the tissue structure in the wings of the glasswing butterfly minimizes light reflection. Without reflecting light, the butterflies are invisible to predatory birds.

Glass catfish

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The glass catfish, or ghost catfish, has muscles that are completely transparent. This adaptation for invisibility might work the same as the glasswing butterfly’s light-absorbing wings.

Water flea

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Transparency is an excellent camouflage option for aquatic animals that live where light breaks through the water. This water flea’s complete transparency helps it hide from hungry dragonfly and beetle larvae.

Transparent jumping spider

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Jumping spiders are known for their excellent vision. The transparent jumping spider became an internet sensation with this video showing its moving retina.

Golden tortoise beetle

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The transparent shell of the golden tortoise beetle has three layers that fill with red pigment when it sees a potential mate. Light reflected through the shell layers gives off a golden metallic sheen.

Melibe engeli

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Known as the solar-powered sea slug, the delicate Melibe engeli actually has algae living inside it. In exchange for a home, the algae feed the slug sugars they make through photosynthesis.

Blue transparent tunicate

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Some tunicates are nearly invisible because the surface of their outer layer, or “tunic,” bends light to make it look just like water. The fluorescent blue tint in the blue transparent tunicate is from high concentrations of vanadium in its blood cells.

Salp

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Another almost invisible tunicate is the salp. This animal lives part of its life as a solitary swimmer and then begins to reproduce itself as a chain of “blastoids.” The chains are the reproductive phase of the salp and can be hundreds of individuals long.

Transparent leafhopper nymph

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Transparency is a camouflage tool for many insect nymphs. This leafhopper nymph will take on the green colouration of an adult as it moults into maturity.

Colourless rotifer

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The colourless rotifer is named after its double crown of cilia, which looks like a rotating wheel when it propels through water. These microscopic animals can be found almost anywhere there is water, including puddles, the surface of trees, and the underside of icebergs.

Palmato gecko

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Blood vessels and other internal organs are visible through the nearly see-through skin of the palmato gecko. This transparent quality helps it hide in the desert sand.

Bigfin reef squid

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Bigfin reef squid make the rest of their body transparent to show off their reproductive organs when they are ready to mate.

Harlequin ghost pipefish

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The harlequin ghost pipefish changes colour to hide in its surroundings, sometimes using transparency as part of its colour pattern. Mating harlequin ghost pipefish assume matching colour patterns.

Transparent goby

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A favourite food in the Mediterranean, the transparent goby is protected from being overfished by regulations. The transparent goby is also a popular aquarium fish.

Thornback ray

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The transparent nose and fins of the thornback ray help it become part of the ocean floor as it waits for prey.

Sea angels

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With their transparent bodies and wings, it’s easy to see how sea angels, also called sea butterflies, got their name. Sea angels are actually sea snails that have evolved to have no shell.

Semi-slug

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The semi-slug is also a snail in disguise, but its shell is so small the animal can’t retract into it like a snail would. The Puerto Rican semi-slug has a flap of skin that completely covers its shell.