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ScienceAlert – This amazing color-changing fish has skin that can’see’.

Even hogfish, who can change color with ease, have skin that allows them to’see.’ This bizarre visualisation may be how reef fish perceive their own colors, according to a recent US study.

They appear to be watching themselves change color. The following is a list of words that begin with the word “you”Lori Schweikert was a biologist who is now at the University of North Carolina. “If you did not have a bending neck and a mirror to check your attire, how could you tell?”

Color is an issue of fashion for us. But for hogfish (Lachnolaimus maximus)If you live under constant threat from predators, matching your background to your shade is literally a life and death matter.

Around three years old, the fish begin to transition from male to female. They then form a harem with young females that they protect and mate. Schweikert says that the fish’s ability to change color can be used here, too, in order to woo mates or threaten rivals.

Pigment-filled cells, called ChromothoresLike other animals,. uses dynamic skin color OctopusThe chameleons.

The pigments within the cells are grouped together so that the white flesh beneath can be seen. The surface cells are transformed in colour and shade as the pigments, whether red, black, yellow, or other combinations, spread out.

Three different color modes for the hogfish. Close up of their chromatophore cell with pigment in their most clumped state (left) or spread out state (right). (Schweikert et al., Nature Communications, 2023)

Another fish for researchThe Nile tilapia is a species of fish (Oreochromis niloticusThe light-sensitive molecules are called риинCan influence chromatophore colour. Schweikert and his team examined samples of hogfish skin using a Protein Labeling TechniqueTransmission electron microscope imaging

The opsin molecules were found in cells located directly below the chromatophores of the fish. The newly discovered opsin cells are more sensitive to the shorter, blue wavelengths which can pass through chromatophores. The light intensity also affects the amount of opsin produced.

In the Nile Tilapia, the opsins likely regulate pigment levels within the chromatophores, with each cell responding to environmental cues. It is not yet known how opsins affect the chromatophores.

Diagram showing clumped compared to spread out pigments in chromatophore cells
Representation showing the relationship between potential photoreception (below) and chromatophore (top). (Schweikert et al., Nature Communications, 2023)

The animals can take a picture of their skin from within. Explain Duke University marine biologist Sönke Johnsen. They can tell an animal how its skin looks, because it cannot bend over and look.

Skin vision is likely to require less processing than using eyes, since it acts more as a light detection mechanism than as an actual brain visual that would need to be assessed.

“Sensory input is a trick that technology has yet to master,” The following is a list of words that begin with the word “you” Johnsen. This study is a good dissection of a sensory feedback system.

The research was published by Nature Communications.

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