A deepwater fish with 'lightsabers' - dorsal spine-associated luminescence in a counterilluminating lanternshark

Julien M. Claes; Mason N. Dean; Dan Eric Nilsson; Nathan S. Hart; Jérôme Mallefet

doi:10.1038/srep01308

A deepwater fish with 'lightsabers' - dorsal spine-associated luminescence in a counterilluminating lanternshark

Julien M. Claes^*, Mason N. Dean, Dan Eric Nilsson, Nathan S. Hart, Jérôme Mallefet

^*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

We report the discovery of light organs (photophores) adjacent to the dorsal defensive spines of a small deep-sea lanternshark (Etmopterus spinax). Using a visual modeling based on in vivo luminescence recordings we show that this unusual light display would be detectable by the shark's potential predators from several meters away. We also demonstrate that the luminescence from the spine-associated photophores (SAPs) can be seen through the mineralized spines, which are partially translucent. These results suggest that the SAPs function, either by mimicking the spines' shape or by shining through them, as a unique visual deterrent for predators. This conspicuous dorsal warning display is a surprising complement to the ventral luminous camouflage (counterillumination) of the shark.

Original language	English
Article number	1308
Pages (from-to)	1-4
Number of pages	4
Journal	Scientific Reports
Volume	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/srep01308
Publication status	Published - 2013
Externally published	Yes

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Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

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title = "A deepwater fish with 'lightsabers' - dorsal spine-associated luminescence in a counterilluminating lanternshark",

abstract = "We report the discovery of light organs (photophores) adjacent to the dorsal defensive spines of a small deep-sea lanternshark (Etmopterus spinax). Using a visual modeling based on in vivo luminescence recordings we show that this unusual light display would be detectable by the shark's potential predators from several meters away. We also demonstrate that the luminescence from the spine-associated photophores (SAPs) can be seen through the mineralized spines, which are partially translucent. These results suggest that the SAPs function, either by mimicking the spines' shape or by shining through them, as a unique visual deterrent for predators. This conspicuous dorsal warning display is a surprising complement to the ventral luminous camouflage (counterillumination) of the shark.",

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AU - Claes, Julien M.

AU - Dean, Mason N.

AU - Nilsson, Dan Eric

AU - Hart, Nathan S.

AU - Mallefet, Jérôme

N1 - Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

PY - 2013

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A deepwater fish with 'lightsabers' - dorsal spine-associated luminescence in a counterilluminating lanternshark

Abstract

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