#big bright burst of light perfect to throw them off the biolumineSCENT

[montereybayaquarium]

✨🦐Behold the brilliant blue blasts of barf that best baddies in the black of the bay!🦐✨

Okay, it’s technically not barf… This vibrantly vermillion little deep-sea shrimp, Acanthephyra sp., is a savvy spewer that spits up a sparkling secretion to outsmart sneaky shrimp snackers.

That glorious glowing goo is a special fluid it creates in its hepatopancreas (kind of like an all-in-one liver-and-pancreas combo organ), which lights up upon contact with oxygen in the surrounding seawater. By blasting a predator in the face with bioluminescence, it distracts them long enough for the shrimp to make a swift escape! 

🎥: Shoutout to our fronds @mbari-blog for the first three clips!

#monterey bay aquarium #SHROMP week 2023 #FLASHback friday #wow this really blue up #it's kind of like pepper spray for the deep sea #big bright burst of light perfect to throw them off the biolumineSCENT #they're also called fire-breathing shrimp which just makes us think of tiny shrimp dragons?!