Cardinal fish spitting out an ostracod

Scientists might be exploring space, but there are lots of mysterious things on Earth which are still unexplored… especially what lies beneath the ocean waves. The ocean is filled with thousands of wonders.

Looking at the small, translucent fish, which appears to be shooting blue lasers out of its mouth, one would think that either it is some new species or another impact of humans on sea life.

The see-through cardinalfish evolved in step with tiny crustaceans called ostracods. The millimetre-long creatures sometimes get swallowed by the cardinalfish while the fish are looking for their actual food: plankton. To avoid this, the ostracods evolved a brilliant defense: they light up. Since cardinalfish are translucent, their glowing bodies turn them into easy targets for their own predators. Once the fish realizes this, it spits the ostracod out to avoid being preyed upon. The cardinalfish probably became translucent to avoid being seen by its predators. But it’s a double-edged sword: the ostracods evolved their light show because it renders the cardinalfish’s main defence completely useless.

Luciferase is an oxidative enzyme necessary for luciferin to emit the glow. When they mix, they create the bluish glow shown in the image, which causes the translucent cardinal fish to glow, potentially drawing the attention from nearby predators. As result, the cardinal fish spits out the ostracod.

Picture Credit : Google

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