The male sea sapphire turns itself invisible in a manner that looks similar to that of the Predator in the film series of the same name. The small crustacean has alternating layers of hexagonal material on its back that reflect light in a variety of different hues.
“The angle of light hitting the sea sapphire also affects the colour and lets it perform its disappearing act,” reports the New Scientist. “[T]he animal’s tilt of 45 degrees causes the reflected light to slip into the ultraviolet spectrum, and the animal becomes invisible to our eyes.”
If scientists unlock exactly how this technique works, it could be used as a basis for new reflective or anti-reflective coatings. Hopefully human scientists, and not alien, are the first to make this discovery.
(h/t: newscientist)