14 Amazing Transparent Animals

Jellyfish with neon glow light effect
© VictorHuang/iStock via Getty Images

Written by Patrick MacFarland

Published: April 30, 2024

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The animal kingdom is a fascinating set of unique, beautiful species of creatures. Each one that resides on this Earth is amazing in its own special way. Some animals are humongous and some animals are small. Some animals are various colors, and others are transparent. When you see these transparent creatures, you think they are out of this world. You don’t believe that they are from this planet, but they are. The following animals are stunning creatures, but also pretty weird. Let’s take a look at 14 amazing transparent animals.

Barreleye

The barreleye fish is colloquially called spook fish.

©3DSam79/Shutterstock.com

This has got to be one of the most strange-looking fish in the ocean. The barreleye fish has a transparent forehead. These creatures have eyes that can look in any direction including upward.

Crocodile Icefish

Whiteblooded Pikes

Called the white-blooded fish, these creatures have heads that resemble crocodiles.

©AlexanderZam/iStock via Getty Images

The crocodile icefish is one of the weirdest-looking creatures on this planet. They usually live in the Antarctic waters and their blood is invisible, which is why they look transparent. This fish can also live with hemoglobin because of the temperatures in the ocean where they roam.

Deep Sea Anglerfish

The deep sea angler fish can swallow other creatures twice its size.

©Neil Bromhall/Shutterstock.com

Have you ever seen Finding Nemo? The deep sea anglerfish is one of those scary-looking, monster-like fishes that the lovable Disney characters run into. These creatures have teeth that are sharp and huge eyes.

European Eel Larvae

fish on white background - young specimen of european eel

The young European eel larvae use the Gulf Stream to push them back to Europe.

©nattapan72/Shutterstock.com

These strange-looking creatures live in European waters. They are eels that are transparent when they are young (as larvae), but as they grow they become more of a greenish-brown color. Typically, these eels lay their eggs in the Sargasso Sea, and once the little larvae are born, they have to make their journey back to Europe.

Ghost Shrimp

Ghost Shrimp - Palaemonetes sp

The ghost shrimp can live without oxygen for a whopping six days.

©boban_nz/Shutterstock.com

This is one of the most psychedelic creatures ever. The ghost shrimp is also quite common if you keep them in an aquarium. They are usually bottom feeders and love living in more tropical waters.

Glasswing Butterfly

A macro shot of a beautiful glasswing butterfly on a plant

The wings have created a good camouflage to protect themselves from predators.

©Wirestock Creators/Shutterstock.com

These beautiful butterflies are probably one of the most unique creatures on Earth. They are native to Central and South America and their wings are transparent. Glasswing butterflies are incredibly strong, being able to carry around 40 times their own weight.

Glass Frog

Weirdest Animal: Glass frog

There are more than 100 species of glass frogs in the world.

©petrdd/Shutterstock.com

The glass frog hails from the jungles of Latin America and they are unique creatures that have fascinated scientists throughout history. These frogs live in the trees and leap around 10 feet in the air.

Glass Squid

One of the species of glass squid is called the cockatoo squid, which can change from transparent to another color.

©The original uploader was Kils at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons - Original / License

This amazing creature is transparent to ensure its protection against other predators in the ocean. There are a total of 60 species of glass squid in the world.

Jellyfish

Jellyfish have no eyes, heart, brain, or even bones.

Everyone knows what a jellyfish is. They were featured in the movie Finding Nemo, but you can also see them out in the ocean. Sometimes they’ll come out to shore by accident, so you have to be careful if running on a beach because of their deadly stings.

Juvenile Cowfish

Juvenile Longhorn Cowfish - Lactoria cornuta

The fish is also called the transparent boxfish.

©Mike Workman/Shutterstock.com

The juvenile cowfish hails from the coasts of Kona in the Hawaiian islands. However, because this fish loves warm waters, it also lives in other tropical regions in the Pacific. The juvenile cowfish has two horns above its eyes, which is what makes it special. Over time, the fish becomes a more gray-green color.

Salps

a huge salp chain somewhere in the Catalina channel

These creatures can be found in many oceans, especially near Antarctica.

©Timmothy Mcdade/Shutterstock.com

Salps are these plankton-like tunicates that float in the ocean. They are also known as sea squirts. Scientists believe they are the fastest-growing multicellular creature on the planet because they can increase their body size by a whopping 10% each hour.

Transparent Sea Cucumber

Exotic transparent sea cucumber during low tide

Scientists discovered the transparent sea cucumber around 2010.

©Kim Pin/Shutterstock.com

This creature was discovered by scientists in the Gulf of Mexico. It is one of those out-of-this-world types of creatures that has confounded scientists. This creature has a visible digestive tract.

Tortoise Shell Beetle

Tortoise Shell Beetle,Golden Tortoise Beetle

The inner part of the shell can be of many different colors.

©Tran The Ngoc/Shutterstock.com

This is another one of the creatures that have a somewhat transparent shell to camouflage themselves from predators. The tortoise shell beetle isn’t transparent, but some parts of it are.

Translucent Snail

Cave Bisevo, Croatia

The translucent snail, which was found in Croatian caves, is blind.

©bkolodziej/Shutterstock.com

You won’t find these types of snails on a menu in Paris! Translucent snails are found in the caves of Croatia. Unlike other snails, translucent snails have to rely on water to move to other places.


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About the Author

Patrick Macfarland is a writer at A-Z Animals primarily covering travel, geography, and history. Patrick has been writing for more than 10 years. In the past, he has been a teacher and a political candidate. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from SDSU and a Master's Degree in European Union Studies from CIFE. From San Diego, California, Patrick loves to travel and try new recipes to cook.

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