Larval fish are the freakiest baby animals on the planet

EcoWatch

Fish are weird, beautiful, alien things.

They move through Earth's streams, lakes, and oceans, displaying an astonishing range of colorations, forms, and lifestyles.

They also share some striking similarities to Pokemon. Hear me out — just about every fish starts off looking almost nothing like it will as an adult. Those baby, larval swimmers can be almost totally transparent or so tiny that it's hard to believe they're related to their adult forms.

Here are eight particularly bizarre (and beautiful) examples.

A 'leptocephalus,' or larval eel, looks like a clear plastic ribbon. Below is a conger eel.

Wikimedia commons

Here's what the conger eel looks like as an adult

NOAA Photo Library

The baby moray eel is even more dramatic-looking.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider