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By leaking light, squid hides in plain sight

Inefficiency in bioluminescent cells may let sea creature mask itself

Squid

ALMOST INVISIBLE SQUID  The big eyes of a nearly transparent squid are camouflaged with bioluminescence (Galiteuthis phyllura shown).

© 2009 MBARI   

By Susan Milius

- More than 2 years ago

A sloppy light system may be just what a squid needs to hide from predators. Bioluminescent cells in some glass squid work in a surprisingly inefficient way — leaking a lot of light rather than fully channeling it, a new study suggests.