According to Science Daily, a team of researchers has just published a study on the incidence of biofluorescence in fish. Although several known marine organisms have this characteristic - such as jellyfish and corals - only a few species of biofluorescent fish had been described. According to the publication, the researchers identified in the study more than 180 different animals.

Biofluorescence is a phenomenon in which an organism absorbs light and transforms it, then emits a different color glow. Researchers - led by scientists at the American Museum of Natural History - believe that this skill is employed by fish in communication and mating rituals.

Brilliant communication

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As they explained, unlike terrestrial animals - including humans - that inhabit a multicolored environment, the fish habitat is predominantly blue, because with depth most of the visible spectrum of light is absorbed. What recent studies have revealed is that many fish absorb the rest of the spectrum, namely blue light, and emit it again in the form of green, orange and red lights.

The researchers also found that biofluorescence can be quite variable between species, appearing as simple eye rings or as mucus secreted by the body forming complex patterns, for example. Another interesting feature is that among the identified biofluorescent fish - including cartilage species such as rays and sharks, and bony fish such as eels and tuna - many have yellow intraocular filters.

According to scientists, this feature possibly allows animals to perceive the activity of other biofluorescent fish while remaining camouflaged and invisible to predators' eyes. Although it is only a theory, the discovery of eye filters indicates that biofluorescence can be used to communicate with animals, both at times of danger and during mating.

Experimental biology

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Aquatic animals are not the only biofluorescent creatures in the animal kingdom, as some terrestrial species - such as butterflies and some birds - also have this ability. However, the study did not simply serve to unravel some mysteries about fish.

As scientists have pointed out, the discovery of a fluorescent protein in a jellyfish in the 1960s has become a revolutionary tool for modern biology, transforming the way researchers study everything from brain function to the behavior of microorganisms, for example. . Thus, the work may lead to the discovery of new fluorescent proteins that could be used in medical research and experimental biology.