8 Animals That You Can Literally See Right Through

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Animals can come in an array of vivid colors. Their colors can span the hues of the rainbow, or include a plethora of prints, or make up an amazing camouflage. There are even some animals that are nearly see-through. This unique coloring — or lack of color — can make these creatures both beautiful to observe and naturally obscured from predators. Here are eight such transparent animals you can see right through. Check them out, though you may have to look close.

8. Glass Octopus

Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The aptly-named glass octopus is a nearly colorless and see-through gelatinous animal. This particular species lives in subtropical and tropical waters and can grow up to 18 inches long. While its eyes and digestive organs are visible, the glass octopus is able to lessen its shadow to remain inconspicuous to any predators swimming beneath it.

7. Sea Salp

Photo: Flickr/Lars Plougmann

A sea salp is a small, transparent jelly-like organism that feeds on phytoplankton. It begins its life as a solitary creature, reproducing asexually and forming a “chain” with the other individual salps. The chain can grow to become hundreds of salps that are linked together. They swim and feed while attached to each other until they mature and break apart.

6. Glass Squid

GlassSquid1_1000x523
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The glass squid is almost completely see-through with the exception of its digestive gland. Its pear-shaped body is filled with liquid ammonia, which helps it to float in the water. This squid species lives in open waters around the world, between 200 and 1000 meters below the surface.

5. Sea Angel

SeaAngels1_1000x523
Photo: Wikimedia Commons/רפאל גורי
Another creature of the ocean, the sea angel is a type of sea slug so named for its wing-like fins. While mostly clear and gelatinous, a few of their organs are visible. They live in the Arctic Ocean, are known to be hermaphroditic, and feed on other sea snails.

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