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Shiny! On the Iridescence of Squid

Scientific American - Posted: August 25th, 2012, 5:15pm EDT

p There#8217;s a killer video making its way around the Intertubes, showcasing the color-changing skin of a Longfin Inshore squid shifting hues in sync to Cypress Hill. It#8217;s the creation of a group called The Backyard Brains , who manufacture do-it-yourself brain activity recording kits for educational purposes.What better way to learn about neurons than to observe them in action? And just for giggles, the Backyard Brains decided to make this latest video. I#8217;ll let them explain:/p p During experiments on the giant axons of the Longfin Inshore Squid (loligo pealei) at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA; we were fascinated by the fast color-changing nature of the squid s skin. Squids (like many other cephalopods) can quickly control pigmented cells called chromatophores to reflect light. The Longfin Inshore has 3 different chromatophore colors: Brown, Red, and Yellow. Each chromatophore has tiny muscles along the circumference of the cell that can contract to reveal the pigment underneath. /p a href=http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=shiny-on-the-iridescence-of-squid[More]/a

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