For the first time scientists have discovered a fish that can chemically camouflage itself through its diet. The new research, published in the journal Proceeding of the Royal Society B, shows that the Orange-spotted Filefish Oxymonacanthus longirostris camouflages itself by not only looking, but also smelling like its food source. Feeding exclusively on SPS coral polyps, the Filefish ingest chemicals from the corals and, since the coral reefs where the Filefish live are also home to predatory species, the researchers speculated that the filefish might also be using a form of chemical camouflage. To test their theory, study leader Rohan Brooker and colleagues captured filefish near Lizard Island Research Station on the Great Barrier Reef. The team then placed the fish in large aquariums and divided them into two groups. For four weeks, the first group was provided an exclusive diet of Acropora spathulata polyps, and the second only Pocillopora damicornis (which is not part of the filefish’s normal diet).
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