Light in the seaSourced
Rainbow colours and emitted light are different
The Arctic comb jelly Mertensia ovum shows rainbow colours when light interacts with its moving rows of cilia. It also produces weak blue and green bioluminescence. Not every shimmering colour is light generated inside its body.
Two different ways of producing a bright appearance share one small animal.
Summary / translation: Unbubly · CC BY-SA 4.0
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Mertensia ovum · Wikimedia contributors
Adapted, summarized and translated from the source. Adapted text is also available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Reviewed: 2026-10-10