It Looks Awkward, but This Fish Has a Secret Glow

There is a lumpfish. You might think that the answer is simple.

As the fish age, they come in a variety of colors, which change as they get older. The fish is thought to be fluorescent green.

Scientists discovered that lumpfish glow in the dark. They think these fish use their biofluorescent radiance to communicate.

Cats, wombats, flying squirrels, and many other animals have been observed with biofluorescence. Add the lumpfish to nature's cast.

Most of the time, lumpfish live on the seafloor. The funny looking fish use a modified Pelvic fin on their underside that acts like a cup to help them hang out until something tasty swims by.

A stream of videos posted by researchers and fishermen have amassed millions of views on TikTok.

Nathaniel Spada, a research assistant at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts and a part-time lumpfishinfluencer, said that the fish is clunky and awkward. His TikToks about the lumpfish in his lab have been viewed millions of times. He said that he should have known that they were a cool fish.

When Dr. Thomas Juhasz-Dora looked into the eyes of a lumpfish in his lab, he thought of an idea. He wanted to know if his lumpfish was capable of biofluorescence. He gathered juvenile lumpfish and took pictures. They looked green under regular light. Their bodies glowed green when they were exposed to UV light.

Dr. Juhasz-Dora was taken aback by the intensity of the fish's biofluorescence. When ultraviolet rays are invisible to people, the organisms absorb them and re-emits them as red, orange or green. bioluminensce is when animals produce their own light via a chemical reaction.

Many species have special filters in their eyes that allow them to see biofluorescence. Dr. Juhasz-Dora thinks lumpfish have filters that will allow them to signal to their own kind while being hidden from other people.

The researcher and associate professor at the University of New Hampshire said it was plausible.

The biofluorescence of the fish may be used to lure prey. She said that communication is the most likely answer because they don't know what they're saying.

The biofluorescence may not serve any purpose at all. The importance of color to lumpfish is what makes it unlikely, according to Dr. Fairchild.

The fish have crazy color changes. They can be any color of the rainbow. Their thick, knobbly skin changes to match their surroundings, which helps to hide them from predator. Light-blue skin develops when lumpfish reach adulthood. Males turn orange-red and females blue-green during breeding season.

There are many questions raised by Dr. Juhasz-Dora's discovery. They are looking at whether lumpfish can control their biofluorescence. He said the discovery opened the door to new discoveries. It allows us to see the world from someone else's point of view.