How this little see-through fish gets its rainbow shimmer
NEW YORK (AP) - You can see 権利 through this little 水槽 fish from Thailand: Its 肌 is almost 完全に transparent. But when the light 攻撃する，衝突するs it just 権利, its 団体／死体 flickers with shimmering rainbow colors.
Now, scientists have 人物／姿／数字d out how this fish - called the ghost catfish - creates its iridescent glow.
That glow comes from within, によれば a 熟考する／考慮する published Monday in the 定期刊行物 訴訟／進行s of the 国家の 学院 of Sciences. As light passes through the fish´s 肌, it 攻撃する，衝突するs tiny structures in the muscle that turn the light into a colorful spectrum.
The ghost catfish - いつかs known as the glass catfish - is a small 種類 native to rivers in Thailand, 普通の／平均（する）ing just a few インチs (センチメートルs) long. It's sold around the world as an 水槽 fish.
Other creatures are also iridescent, creating the shimmering rainbow 影響 where colors 転換 as you move. Usually, they have shiny outer surfaces that 反映する the light - like a hummingbird´s feathers or a バタフライ´s wings, explained Arizona 明言する／公表する University biologist Ron Rutowski, who was not 伴う／関わるd with the 研究.
But the ghost catfish has no 規模s, said 上級の author Qibin Zhao, a physicist at 中国´s Shanghai Jiao 結社 University, who became fascinated by the fish after seeing it in an 水槽 蓄える／店.
This image 供給するd by Qibin Zhao shows ghost catfish showing iridescence. The ghost catfish has a see-through 団体／死体 that flickers with rainbow colors when the light 攻撃する，衝突するs it. Now, scientists have 割れ目d the 事例／患者 of how the fish creates its iridescent glow. (Qibin Zhao 経由で AP)
Instead, it has tightly packed structures in the muscles that can bend light into rainbow hues, which 研究員s 設立する after 向こうずねing different lights and レーザーs の上に its 団体／死体 in the lab. As the ghost catfish swims, those muscles relax and 強化する, sending off a glinting 範囲 of colors.
And the very see-through 肌, which lets in around 90% of outside light, is 必須の: "We wouldn´t be able to see the colors if the 肌 of the fish is not so transparent," Zhao said in an email.
Some 種類 use their iridescence to attract mates or give off 警告 signals, but it´s not （疑いを）晴らす whether the ghost catfish's colors serve a 目的, Rutowski said.
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This image 供給するd by Qibin Zhao shows ghost catfish showing iridescent colors with a backlight. The ghost catfish has a see-through 団体／死体 that flickers with rainbow colors when the light 攻撃する，衝突するs it. Now, scientists have 割れ目d the 事例／患者 of how the fish creates its iridescent glow. (Xiujun Fan/Qibin Zhao 経由で AP)
This image 供給するd by Qibin Zhao shows transparent ghost catfish. The ghost catfish has a see-through 団体／死体 that flickers with rainbow colors when the light 攻撃する，衝突するs it. Now, scientists have 割れ目d the 事例／患者 of how the fish creates its iridescent glow. (Qibin Zhao 経由で AP)
