nubbsgalore: despite its colourful appearance, the hawaiian bobtail squid (euprymna scolopes) has th
nubbsgalore: 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 by emitting an equal amount of light on their underside to that which hits them from above. photos by mattias ormestad, jackson wong, jose martín piñatel, david slater, todd bretl -- source link