Home Animals Have you ever come across such a strange animal? The strange creature was as transparent as glass, with tiny, black eyes

Have you ever come across such a strange animal? The strange creature was as transparent as glass, with tiny, black eyes

Posted November 13, 2023 by NTN1111

It looks slimy and scary, but this is actually a quite familiar animal that people often call glass eel or glass eel.

The glass eel (scientific name is Leptocephalus – thin head) is a larva with a flat and transparent shape. They are called larvae because this is the first stage when the eggs hatch, but when they mature, they are no longer transparent but have color.

According to Featuredcreature , the life cycle of eels seems to be quite arduous and complicated, entering the river and going to the sea to become adults.

This species of eel usually lives in rivers, dams, lagoons, and freshwater lakes then moves to the sea to reproduce. When the females mature, their bodies change from transparent to opaque white, their eyes widen, etc. they will move to the sea to lay eggs in waters about 300m deep. After the females lay their eggs, they die at sea.

After about 2 – 10 days, the eggs will hatch into transparent larvae, flattened on both sides, looking quite strange that most people will not recognize them. Thanks to the impact of the current flowing towards the coast, these tiny, transparent glass eels (called glass eels) are washed onto the coast and into estuaries.

Since then they have moved into wetlands, lakes, and freshwater tributaries and continued to grow. Gradually, glass eels will have color and then people will call them elver. Just like that, their life cycle repeats.