Nan Shi, Xiujun Fan, and Genbao Wu.
If you’re a millennial, there’s a good chance you’ve read The Rainbow Fish, a delightful children’s book where the titular character is illustrated with shiny foil that seems to glitter with all colors of the rainbow. It turns out it isn’t the only multi-colored fish out there either.
The ghost catfish, endemic to Thailand, is another that loves to show off its dazzling array of colors. That might come as a surprise at first glance: the fish is almost completely transparent. When the light strikes it just right, though, the creature seems to glow with all the colors of the rainbow.
In a study published on Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers found out why exactly this happens. Using a combination of X-rays, laser lights, and electron microscopy, the study’s authors were able to find distinct optical properties in the fish’s skin and muscle that allow it to cast the dazzling array of light.
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