todd bretl
jose martín piñatel
todd bretl
david slater
jackson wong
todd bretl
despite its colourful appearance, the hawaiian bobtail squid (euprymna scolopes) has the ability to render itself invisible to predators from bellow, thanks to a luminescent bacteria, vibrio fischeri, which inhabits a special light organ in the squid’s mantle.
the bacteria, which are fed a sugar and amino acid solution by the squid, produce luciferase, an enzyme that facilitates a biochemical reaction that produces light.
the nocturnal squid, who can control the amount of light produced by the bacteria, are able to ensure that they are not silhouetted when passing through the light of the moon or the stars byemitting an equal amount of light on their underside to that which hits them from above.