Ghosts These see-through animals are masters of disguise.
Ghost Fish Deep in the ocean, you see two green dots bobbing in the water. T e dots are eyes. T ey don’t seem attached to a body at all. T ey are, though. Meet the spookfish. T is fish has a ghostly head. It’s see-through. T is may seem spooky, yet its looks aren’t
meant to scare. Its head is a weird adaptation. It helps this fish survive. A spookfish lives 800 m under the surface
of the ocean. Here, its clear head and dark gray body blend into the dark water. It’s hard to spot the fish as it floats almost motionless.
spookfi sh
Ghost Shrimp A spookfish isn’t the only ghostly sea critter. We spot our next one on a sea anemone. It’s hard to see it, though. T at’s because a ghost shrimp’s body is mostly clear. T e shrimp uses its body as camouflage. It
can blend in wherever it goes. Other critters see what it’s standing on. T ey don’t see the shrimp, though. So it can hide from predators. T ere’s a downside to being clear, though.
T is shrimp isn’t so ghostlike when it nibbles algae. Its food shows through its body. A ghost shrimp is nearly invisible as long as it doesn’t eat.
Ghost Frog Another ghostly creature lives in a rain forest. Here, a squeaky “peep” fills the air. It sounds like it’s coming from a pale green leaf, but there’s no critter on the leaf. Or is there? Suddenly, a bump on the leaf wriggles. It’s a
T is fish’s clear skin is like a window. T e
fish can see through it. T at’s good because its round, green eyes are tucked under its skin. Its eyes move under its skin as it searches for
prey. T e fish points them forward so it can see in front of its face. T en it points its eyes up. Now it’s looking out the top of its head. T e fish spots a jelly floating above. Small
silver fish are trapped in the jelly’s stinging tentacles. T e spookfish darts up to steal one. It swims headfirst into the tentacles. It can’t close its eyes to protect them from stings. Yet it doesn’t have to. T ey’re safe, covered by skin.
4 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXTREME EXPLORER
frog. Like the other ghostly creatures, this frog is a master of disguise. It was almost invisible until it moved. It blended in with the leaf. It’s not the same color as the leaf, though. Like the shrimp, a glass frog blends in because it has almost no color at all. T e skin on its belly is clear. Its back is pale
green. T e bright green of the leaf shines right through this frog. It makes the frog look like part of the leaf. T at helps this glass frog hide from its predators. Most of the time, this frog blends in. Flip
the frog over, though, and you can see its insides. You can see its heart pumping blood. You can watch food squeeze through its guts.
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