On our planet there are fish that absorb light
The Water quickly diffuses the sunlight, so even at a 100-meter deep seas and oceans is totally dark. That though as-that to Orient in space, many deep-sea creatures resort to the so-called bioluminescence — the ability of living organisms to glow in the dark. However, recently American scientists have found that next to these glowing creatures also live fish that use the darkness as a disguise. Their body is covered in cells that literally absorb any light rays — you can say that deep in the military and fishing ships are floating "black holes". And they need camouflage to sneak up on potential victims and all of a sudden to attack them. In General, at greater depths is a grim struggle for survival.
According to research , at the moment scientists know only 16 types of "the black" fish. They were discovered and caught by robots, with remote control in the depths of the Gulf of Mexico (Atlantic ocean) and Monterey Bay (Pacific ocean). In addition to fish, about 2-kilometer depth, was caught and other living creatures. But the attention of scientists was attracted to the deep holders of the gills and unusual cover of the body. Some of them were already known to scientists, but on their way they learned for the first time.
Longhorn fangtooth (Anoplogaster cornuta) is one of those "black fish"
The amazing ability of fish to absorb light drew the attention of the zoologist Karen Osborn (Karen Osborn) from the Smithsonian national Museum of natural history. She tried to take pictures of game fish on camera, but was disappointed to be replaced by images of eyes, teeth and other body parts of strange creatures, it is very hard. To verify this, look at the picture of the saber-toothed Longhorn (Anoplogaster cornuta), which I have attached below. These fish reach 18 cm in length and have many teeth. Some scientists believe them .
Photo taken by zoologist Karen Osborn
To find out exactly what is due to ability of deep-sea fishes to absorb light, scientists have studied the structure of their external skin. It turned out that their external covering consists of a large number melanocytes — the skin cells that produce the substance melanin. And this substance, in turn, has the ability to absorb sunlight. The absorption effect is enhanced by the dense arrangement of cells in two rows — if the particles of light and squeezes through between the first layer, they will fall into the trap of the second layer.
Adiacent (Idiacanthus antrostomus) is another "black" resident of the deep
Upon further study of the structure of deep-sea fishes revealed that the unusual cells are covered with not only their outer shell, but also some organs. For example, one of the caught creatures has a black stomach. If underwater predator will eat glowing in the dark, animal, light particles can't squeeze through the stomach. Evolution ordered very smart — if the stomach of the fish remained transparent after the next meal they would be visible. And all because of the victim as luck would begin to glow, warning relatives of danger.
According to scientists, covering the exterior shell and internal organs cells are able to absorb about 99.5% of the incident particles of light. That is, they seemed to be covered with the black material in the world — the so-called antiblikom (Vantablack). This material was developed in laboratory conditions and able to absorb of 99.96% of light. For more information about him told the author Hi-News.ru Nicholas Khizhnyak — I recommend his article to read, because in the future you will be . Because it is already used in many fields and is particularly useful in the construction of spacecraft.
It Should be noted that absorbing the light bodies have not only a deep-sea fish. I've recently published an article about how why the black color in the world . The exact answer to this question is no, but scientists suggest that the black elements on their wings help to regulate body temperature and attract the attention of females. Could also be that they help the butterfly to hide from various predators.
