A New Way to Flirt: Dazzle Potential Mates With Patterns Invisible to Humans| The New York Times

Editor's Note: This article explores new research on cuttlefish courtship displays and includes perspective from MBL Senior Scientist Roger Hanlon, who was not involved in the study.

Many of the snazziest decorations in the animal kingdom are charm offensives, put on by creatures trying to mate.

While some of these adornments, like a peacock’s tail feathers or a moose’s antlers, are obvious even to humans, others can be perceived only with sensory capabilities that we don’t have.

A new study, published on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, offers the first evidence of one such display: cuttlefish dazzling potential sexual partners by creating a pattern on their skin, based on the orientation of light waves and invisible to the human eye.

Read more of the article here. 

Source: A New Way to Flirt: Dazzle Potential Mates With Patterns Invisible to Humans | The New York Times