Chromatophores are the pigment-containing cells in the skins of animals such as fish and cephalopods which have chromomorphic (colour-changing) and controllable goniochromic (iridescent-changing) properties. These animals control the optical properties of their skins for camouflage and, it is speculated, for communication. The ability to replicate these properties in soft artificial skin struct...

Nematodes of the genera Anisakis and Pseudoterranova (family Anisakidae) are zoonotic parasites for which marine mammals (e.g., whales, dolphins, porpoises, seals, sea lions, walruses) act as final hosts, and crustaceans, cephalopods and fish as intermediate and/or paratenic hosts. In humans, the ingestion of Anisakidae larvae can result in infection with live larvae, an allergic reaction to An...

Hearing is a primary sense in many marine animals, and we now have a reasonable understanding of what stimuli generate clear responses, the frequency range of sensitivity, expected threshold values, and mechanisms of sound detection for several species of marine mammals and fishes ( Au et al. 2000 ; Fay 1988 ) . For marine invertebrates, our knowledge of hearing capabilities is relatively poor ...

Cephalopods, such as octopus and squid, can change their coloration in an instant, and even produce moving patterns on their skin. A new study describes these wavelike patterns in a colourful tropical cuttlefish, providing insights into the neural mechanisms that generate them.