Nature is full of many small wonders. Sapphirina, is a strange little crustacean or sea sapphire that measures only a few millimeters and whose skin shines like a jewel. We make you discover this mysterious iridescent creature!
Kaj Maney is an underwater videographer who made an intriguing video of sapphirina which is a tiny marine crustacean or copepod having an incredible shimmering skin. It gets its iridescent appearance thanks to the microscopic hexagonal plates that only reflect certain wavelengths of light.
This small creature, also called “rice of the sea” likes to eat a shrimp which is at the base of the ocean food chain. The sea sapphires are an exception among the sea creatures because of their sparkling skin. Although they are often small with a size of few millimeters, they are incredibly beautiful. Like the jewels of the same name, different species of sea sapphire glow in different colors, from shiny gold to deep blue. The Africa is not the only place where they can be found, they are also present on the coast of Rhode Island and California . When they are near the surface of the water, the sea water sparkles as if it has diamonds in it, falling from the sky.
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/58293792[/vimeo]
We were stunned by the beauty of these tiny marine diamonds. Do you think the nature has reserved many other beautiful and surprising marine findings?