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Science 10 September 1971:
Vol. 173. no. 4001, pp. 1016 - 1017
DOI: 10.1126/science.173.4001.1016
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Articles

Light to Hide by: Ventral Luminescence to Camouflage the Silhouette

J. Woodland Hastings 1

1 Biological Laboratories, Harvard University, Cambridge,Massachusetts 02138

The so-called pony fish of the tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific region can emit light from a broad area of its ventral surface. An experimental analysis of this luminescent system supports the hypothesis that it functions by emitting light during the daytime, which matches the background light and thereby obscures the silhouette of the animal.


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