These see-through animals are masters of disguise. Ghosts
Freaky Fish Deep in the ocean, two green dots glow. T e dots are eyes. T ey look like they’re bobbing alone in the water. T ey don’t seem attached to a body. T ey are attached, though. Meet the spookfish. T is fish has a ghostly head. T e skin on its head is see-through. It may seem spooky, yet its looks aren’t
meant to scare. Its head is an amazing adaptation. It uses its odd body part to survive in its environment. T is fish lives in the dark, as deep as 800 m (2,600 feet) under the surface of the ocean. Here, its dark gray body and clear head blend into the water. T e fish can be hard to spot as it floats in the water.
spookfi sh
Ghostly Frog A diff erent ghost lives deep in a rain forest. Here, a high-pitched “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 frog. Until it moved, this ghostly frog was almost invisible. It blends in with the leaf, but not because it’s the same color as the leaf. It blends in because it has almost no color at all. T e skin on the belly of a glass frog is clear.
Its back is a 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 is unique look helps a glass frog survive
in the rain forest. Plenty of predators would gobble up the frog if they could find it. Its clear camouflage helps it hide. Flip the frog over, though, and there’s a big
surprise. Its insides aren’t hidden at all. Its tiny heart pumps blood just under its clear skin.
As the spookfish looks for food, it uses
its clear skin like a window. Underneath its skin, its eyes wriggle. T e fish points its eyes straight up so it can see out of the top of its head. T en it points them forward, so it can see in front of its face. Suddenly, the spookfish spots a shadow
above it. It’s a jelly. T e jelly has trapped small silver fish in its stinging tentacles. T e spookfish darts up to steal a fish. It
swims headfirst into the tentacles. T e stings don’t bother its eyes. T ey’re safe under its skin. T at’s because this fish’s see-through head doesn’t just help it see prey. It also protects the fish’s eyes.
8 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER
Wandering Wings Another ghost lives in a rain forest, too. Like the frog, it’s hard to spot. Suddenly, a tiny brown twig flies by. Wait! T at’s not a flying twig. T is ghost is a glasswing butterf ly. Unlike other butterf lies, tiny colorful scales
don’t cover its wings. In fact, most of its wings have no scales. T ey’re clear, like a window. As this butterf ly f lies, its wings are an
almost invisible blur. When it stops to sip nectar, the f lower’s bright colors shine right through its wings. No matter where it goes, this butterf ly blends in. Like the other ghosts, it’s a master of disguise. From monsters to vampires to ghosts, all of
these critters may seem like living nightmares. T eir adaptations make them look and even act scary. Yet each adaptation has a purpose. T at’s why these animals are spooky survivors.
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