In the unexplored, lightless depths of the ocean, researchers have revealed two astonishing creatures in 2025, each showcasing extraordinary biological adaptations that could reshape science and technology. The iridescent “crystal jellyfish” (Aequorea victoria) amazes with its rainbow bioluminescence, while the elusive “shadow fish,” more accurately a large predatory deep-sea amphipod crustacean named Dulcibella camanchaca, deploys advanced light-absorption to achieve near invisibility.
The Crystal Jellyfish: A Master of Bioluminescence
The crystal jellyfish, widely known for its bioluminescence, produces not just the common blue glow found in many marine species but an unprecedented spectrum of colors. At the heart of this radiant display lies the protein aequorin, a calcium-activated photoprotein discovered in the 1960s, which emits blue light upon binding calcium ions. In a cascade of biochemical reactions starting with calcium binding, the coelenterazine molecule inside aequorin undergoes oxidative decarboxylation, releasing energy as blue photons.
What makes Aequorea victoria truly remarkable is its symbiotic relationship with green fluorescent protein (GFP), which absorbs this blue light and re-emits it as green fluorescence—a process known as bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET). Recent studies in 2025 revealed additional fluorescent proteins in Aequorea, some emitting purple and far-red light, enriching the jellyfish’s color palette. This complexity of fluorescent proteins broadens our understanding of dynamic light manipulation in nature.
The structural biology behind aequorin involves three EF-hand calcium-binding domains that sense transient calcium spikes. Binding calcium triggers subtle shape shifts in the protein, which then translates into light emission. This rapid molecular adaptation serves the jellyfish as a defense mechanism and may also play a role in communication or predation.
Scientists are particularly excited by the discovery of new fluorescent proteins within Aequorea that are brighter and more photostable than GFP, holding promise for revolutionary applications in biomedical imaging, optogenetics, and fluorescent tagging. Since GFP’s Nobel Prize-winning impact on biology, these new variants could propel forward real-time visualization of cellular processes with unprecedented clarity.
The Shadow Fish: Dulcibella camanchaca, Master of Biological Invisibility
Discovered recently in the Atacama Trench near Chile, the “shadow fish” is scientifically named Dulcibella camanchaca. Contrary to the common name, it is not a fish but an amphipod crustacean, one of the deepest-living predators ever identified, residing at depths of nearly 8,000 meters.
Dulcibella camanchaca stands out for its remarkable ability to absorb nearly all incident light using specialized nanostructured chromatophores in its skin, creating a super-black effect that renders it nearly invisible in the pitch-black deep ocean. These nanostructures manipulate light at the subwavelength level to prevent reflection, a natural stealth tactic that deceives predators and prey.
The 4-centimeter-long amphipod actively hunts smaller crustaceans using specialized appendages adapted for predatory behavior. Its discovery, confirmed by DNA analysis and morphological studies, highlights the Atacama Trench as an endemic biodiversity hotspot. Newsweek has an image of it, and it is quite odd looking. It looks white, has no visible eyes, and it’s head looks like a vaccum cleaner attachment to me. Oh wait, the head is on the left, not on the right in this image.
The head of Dulcibella camanchaca is the end with the long thin antenna. The sensory organs such as the antennae are located at the head, making the end with the long thin antenna the head. The long thick parts on the other end are likely the robust raptorial appendages used for predation, not the head end.
I’ll probably remove this soon because I don’t want to have any outside images that are not public domain on this site, but here, to see if it works, is an attempt at embedding a remote image. Newsweek may veto this link at any time they like, so it may not show up unless they allow it:
The biological light absorption system of Dulcibella camanchaca is inspiring researchers aiming to develop biomimetic “invisibility” coatings and energy-absorbing materials with applications ranging from military stealth to solar energy technologies.
Implications and Future Research
Some of these deep sea creatures are fascinating. These discoveries showcase nature’s ingenuity in manipulating light, whether through molecular photoproteins in the crystal jellyfish or nanostructured light absorption in Dulcibella camanchaca. They open doors for cutting-edge technological innovations in biomedical imaging and stealth materials.
It is scientifically plausible to reproduce nanostructured chromatophores similar to those in Dulcibella camanchaca that create a super-black effect using bioinspired nanotechnology. Research on chromatophores in cephalopods like the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis shows that these cells contain nanostructured, high-refractive-index protein granules (e.g., reflectin) that manipulate light at the nanoscale to create adaptive coloration and intense light absorption. These nanostructures prevent reflection by scattering and absorbing light at a subwavelength level, producing a highly effective natural stealth effect. The principles underlying natural photonic devices have inspired the development of artificial photonic materials and pigments that mimic their light-absorption and camouflage capabilities.
By understanding and mimicking the layered nanogranular pigment structures and high-refractive-index proteins found in chromatophores, it is feasible to engineer materials that replicate the super-black, nearly invisible effect of these natural deep-sea organisms to deceive predators and prey in low-light environments.
Materials mimicking the nanostructured chromatophores of deep-sea organisms like Dulcibella camanchaca could produce a super-black effect that absorbs nearly all light, making surfaces appear extremely dark. However, this kind of material would not make a person invisible in a typical land environment or a room. On land or in a room with diffuse and multi-directional lighting, the material would simply appear as a very black surface rather than invisible because invisibility also requires manipulating or bending light around the object, not just absorbing it.
Ongoing investigations combine deep-sea ecology, molecular biology, and materials science to unlock these secrets further, reminding us that the ocean’s unexplored depths remain a frontier of wonder and inspiration.