Introduction

C. murrayi is virtually blind. The eye lacks a lens; the retina is reduced and continuous with a cornea. The eye is embedded within the gelatinous tissue of the head without connection to the surface. Nevertheless, the eye still functions as a simple photoreceptor that cannot form images (Aldred et al, 1983). This species is worldwide in distribution and occupies great depths primarily between 1500 and 4500 m (Nesis, 1982/87) although it has been captured at the surface in an ice hole in the Arctic Ocean (Aldred et al., 1983).

Diagnosis

A Cirrothauma ...

• with reduced eyes lacking lenses.