It’s rough living in the deep sea. It’s super cold, rather scary, and absolutely pitch black. Luckily for the Flashlight Fish (Photoblepharon palpebratus) they never have to worry about the latter. Flashlight fish are aptly named for their large bean-shaped bioluminescent organs (a.k.a. photophores) under their eyes. To obtain this glowing effect, luminous bacteria actually live in the organ create the light! It’s a symbiotic relationship in that the photophores glow in the dark, attracting zooplankton and small fish, on which the flashlight fish feed and the bacteria get the leftovers, so to speak. The light is also used for predator avoidance and for communication.
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