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Steven Haddock, a marine biologist who studies ctenophores
Interesting case of nominative determinism.
Haddock is a bilatarian species though :P
But yes, the I suppose a call to study ocean creatures can be more compelling with that’s name.
I imagine Steven Hydra was taken.
Mysterious and interesting things, first read about them after going scuba diving and seeing a few of there barely-there diaphanous whisps of creatures, with rippling iridescent spines up their sides.
Amazing to learn they were cilia refracting the light, not chemical bioluminescence, and that despite appearances they are absolutely not jellyfish!
So, they actually look like that as in the first video (gliding ribbon-like thing)? I can't tell if it's an animation or not, but it's so cool!
Yep. This is their normal aspect.
And they are nor just bioluminiscent, they are strongly bioluminiscent. Cilia adds motion to the spectacle and maybe can change its color, but they definitely can turn on and off the lights. The cilia pads are used mostly for movement.
Many of this animals live in places without much light and do a vertical migration at night, each night. All are carnivores of small preys and is assumed also that they use light to lure its preys near their sticky longlines. Very abundant and probably one of the zoological groups were we could still find suddenly thousands of news species, but studying them is a nigthmare. They literally melt when manipulated or in the microscope
Its chemical lights can be used by us to detect toxics in the water. They react to contaminants making the luminiscence much brighter. Just as if they were alarmed and trying to warn other.
I wonder just now, if there is a hidden language there, like with bees dancing to communicate with other bees. Who knows. The problem is that they don't have eyes (If I remember correctly) so would need some other mechanism to see the lights. Maybe chemical.
Is a good example of how trying to equal other animals experience to ours is a mistake. Imagine seeing light with your tongue. This animals could even not be aware that they are bioluminiscent.