Page 79 - Allah's Artistry in Colour

A shrimp moves undisturbed along the
surface of a sea anemone. The trans-
parency of these small crustaceans is
extraordinary, because in most trans-
parent animals some major part of the
body still remains visible. For example,
most cannot manage to conceal their
digestive systems and the food con-
tained inside them. In some species,
only the tail and a part of the pincers
are coloured. These small details of
colour are useful in enabling the
shrimp to "disappear"; the contrast be-
tween the transparent parts and the
colourful markings is so pronounced
that would-be predators are drawn to
the markings themselves and are not
able to perceive the over-all outline of
the animal. 42