Changing colors is something a few animals are capable of doing. While it already seems incredible, certain animals have next-level skin abilities. For one, the hogfish is capable of not just changing the color of its skin, but it can also see its own skin from the inside.
Hogfish Skin can See
Lori Schweikert, a University of North Carolina biologist, shares how the hogfish seems to be watching its own skin color change. The biologist then described that the fish was able to do this internally and without the use of external tools like a mirror.
A new study into a particular hogfish, the Lachnolaimus maximus, suggests that it's capable of visualizing its own colors. The fish is known to have a deep, oblong, compressed body with a long snout and a longitudinal fold.
The fish can mostly be found in sandy reefs and can reach 91cm with a record weight of 9.63kg. As such, these species are known to live in constant fear from predators coming from any angle. Because of that, it's critical for them to change their shade to match the background.
At about three years old, this fish would transition from female to male, which is when it begins the mating process with a group of younger females. The older now-male fish is then tasked to protect them with the help of its skin-color-changing abilities.
The color of the fish's skin also plays an important role in males attracting younger females to mate with.
Changing Skin Color
The process of hogfishes changing skin colors relies on chromatophores, similar to dynamic skin animals like chameleons and octopi. Chromatophores are organs often found in cephalopods, like the ones mentioned earlier, which can create different pigments under the skin, allowing the animal to change color.
The Nile tilapia, or Oreochromis niloticus, was found to have opsins capable of influencing chromatophore color, according to another study. Schweikert and the team observed the hogfish through protein labelling, while also applying electron microscope imaging transmission.
The scientists were able to look for opsin molecules in the cells under the chromatophores of the hogfish. The new discovery showed that the opsin-producing cells were capable of going through the fish's chromatophores.
How the Fish Can See Beneath Its Skin
The opsins are in charge of controlling the fish's pigment level, with each cell reacting to environmental cues. Sönke Johnsen, a marine biologist from Duke University, explained that these animals were capable of taking photos of their skin from the inside.
Johnsen explained that the fish was aware of what its skin looked like and could adjust its pigmentation to match the environment around it. The marine biologist acknowledged that technology was still trying to understand the sensory feedback system and that the study was important in providing new information.
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