ANIMALS
Colour-changing hogfish use their skin to ‘see’ themselves
WORDS JENNIFER NALEWICKI
Hogfish are the chameleons of the ocean, able to change skin colour
Hogfish are the chameleons of the Atlantic Ocean, seamlessly changing their skin colour depending on their environment. As if those morphing skills weren’t impressive enough, these reef dwellers can also ‘see’ with their skin with the help of special light-sensing cells, even after they die. Lorian Schweikert, an assistant professor in the Department of Biology and Marine Biology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, witnessed this colour-shifting phenomenon firsthand during a fishing expedition in Florida, when she watched a hogfish (Lachnolaimus maximus) she caught change its skin colour to match the patterned white deck of the boat. “They appear to be watching their own colour change,” said Schweikert.