Raúl Nava of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) explained how the deep sea glass squid employs an invisible color-changing cloak to hide in plain sight. Like other cephalopods, the glass squid has chromatophores that allow them to camouflage themselves into the darkness of the ocean’s twilight zone. They also employ other tricks to escape predators.
When the glass squid’s cover is blown, they expand their chromatophores to darken their appearance. Some may fill their body cavity with ink instead, presumably to blend into the darkness. And when danger still looms, a glass squid may ink into the water and jet away. A ghostly shroud of ink creates a distraction so the squid can escape.
