Any idea what this is? New species maybe?

Caught this 99% transparent minnow the other day in the Rigolets in Slidell, La. I was shrimping and saw this guy wiggling around in the net thinking it was a cigarette wrapper then realized it was a minnow. I tried researching this creature but came up empty. It's entire body/organs is transparent except for its eyes! Sorry for the blurry pics, you can make out it's eyes if you look closely. Reply on your thoughts!

http://i852.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/c640a28c.jpg
http://i852.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/a4588a5d.jpg

Idk but thats cool If its real!

Looks like bait to me...

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It's real, I wish I would've filmed it.

Thing is cool as hell, did you keep it? Take it to a professional!=)

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Originally Posted by Live Oceanic

Thing is cool as hell, did you keep it? Take it to a professional!=)

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No I let it go.
I should've!

Try and get in contact with a professional. Maybe a marine bio professor at a college near you. Send them the pics and see what they think. If its a new species you may get to name it!

It appears to lack the normal anatomy of a fish... I mean, transparent or not, the shape of the tail region doesn't much resemble a minnow's tail, and I see absolutely no sign of gills or any fins or other anatomical features of any sort...

Also, the wood directly beneath it is completely bone dry.

Gonna say it's a rubber bait...

I know its hard to believe. I fish there 2-3 times a week there and never seen anything like it. I'll do my best to catch another one and record it this time lol.

silicone....

Flatworm?

I did a little more research and ended up with "Glass Eel".
http://i852.photobucket.com/albums/a...y/b13135ce.jpg

Woah! That looks like it! :O

woah, those look really cool.

nature never seizes to amaze me, thanks for sharing.

Anytime dude!

Yes, that is a "glass eel".

Specifically, a glass eel is the young eel larva, referred to as leptocephali. The American Eel is a freshwater eel from the family Anguilidae that migrates to the ocean to bear its young. The leptocephali grow to their mid-stage form, known as glass eels, and begin to travel up estuaries to fresher water. Once they become more pigmented, they are then known as elvers and they begin to look more like eels.

It's impossible to know for sure, but depending on the area where you were shrimping, that particular specimen was probably Anguilla rostrata, the American Eel, or Anguilla obscura, the Pacific shortfinned eel, both of which are generally the most common species found in the US. :gj:

Yes, unfortunately at times, I am full of useless information..... :P

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Evenstar

Yes, that is a "glass eel".

Specifically, a glass eel is the young eel larva, referred to as leptocephali. The American Eel is a freshwater eel from the family Anguilidae that migrates to the ocean to bear its young. The leptocephali grow to their mid-stage form, known as glass eels, and begin to travel up estuaries to fresher water. Once they become more pigmented, they are then known as elvers and they begin to look more like eels.

It's impossible to know for sure, but depending on the area where you were shrimping, that particular specimen was probably Anguilla rostrata, the American Eel, or Anguilla obscura, the Pacific shortfinned eel, both of which are generally the most common species found in the US. :gj:

Yes, unfortunately at times, I am full of useless information..... :P

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Clearly the info isnt useless if it can be used to educate us when needed at times like these!
I bet its transparent so its harder for predators to spot it so not as many get eaten. I need a fishtank full of these guys!!!

HAH!!! I was scrolling to reply, thinking "I know what it is!!! I'll astound EVERYONE!" but was beaten to the punch.

Elvers(we called all baby eels from hatching to when they got about a 6-12 inches as "elvers") are really cool if you have them in a tank, because all you see swimming around are tiny eyes.

(commercial fished for eel for 20 years... they're fascinating critters)

Glass eel by chance?
http://thelifeyouandineverknew.blogs...glass-eel.html

I was thinking it looked like a fry of some kind. Guess I was right... sort of. :P