(单词翻译:单击)
Meet Aristostomias scintillans, a species of fish that lives in the deep, dark waters hundreds of meters beneath the Pacific.
来会会闪亮奇巨口鱼,这是一种生活在太平洋几百米深海处黑暗水域中的鱼 。
It's occasionally called the "shiny loosejaw", because sometimes when you name a thing,
有时也被称为“shiny loosejaw”,因为有时当你在给某物命名时,
you just call them like you see them. This animal is part of the dragonfish family,
你根据它们的长相起名 。这种动物属于龙鱼家族,
and like most of its relatives, it's a creepy-looking thing with a disproportionately huge jaw,
和大部分其他亲戚一样,这是一种长相怪异东西,它长着一个异常巨大的下巴
long, pointy teeth and a bioluminescent barble for attracting prey.
长且尖的牙齿以及一个用来吸引猎物的生物荧光附属物 。
But of all the dragonfish, which are wonderful, this one is special.
但在所有奇妙的龙鱼中,这一种很特别 。
It's tiny, usually only about fifteen centimeters long, but it's also a fierce hunter with an amazing adaptation.
它很小,通常只有约15厘米长,但它也是一个拥有惊人适应力的激烈猎手 。
To catch prey, the fish has fangs that are transparent.
为了抓捕猎物,这种鱼长出了透明的尖牙 。
Most animals' teeth are, this probably won't be surprising, not transparent.
大部分动物的牙齿都不是透明的,这一点并不奇怪 。
Vertebrate teeth are typically hard, calcified structures in the mouth,
脊椎动物的牙齿通常都是坚硬的钙化结构,
and although they're not quite the same, they tend to look pretty similar to bone.
虽然它们并不完全相同,但看起来很像骨头 。
They have an inner layer of what's called dentin, and an outer, hard layer called enamel.
它们有一个里层,被称为牙质,以及一个坚硬的外层,被称为牙釉质 。
And they look opaque because they reflect, absorb, or scatter most light.
并且看起来是不透明的,因为它们反射、吸收或散射大部分的光线 。
This dragonfish has a much more unique situation, because its tooth composition is very different from what we see elsewhere.
这种龙鱼有着更加独特的情况,因为它的牙齿成分和我们在其他地方看到的非常不同 。
Both the enamel and the dentin are made of unique mineral matrices containing nano-scale crystal rods, basically, very tiny crystals.
牙质和牙釉质都是由含有纳米尺度晶体杆(即使非常晓得晶体)的特殊矿物矩阵组成 。
They're even smaller than the wavelengths of light that normally hit them, which means they scatter barely any light.
它们甚至比正常照射它们的光的波长还要小,这意味着它们几乎不能散射任何光线 。
Instead, the light can go right through their teeth. Additionally, these teeth also don't have dentin tubules.
相反,光线可以穿透它们的牙齿 。而且,这些牙齿也没有牙本质小管 。
These are little channels that run through our teeth, and they're a major place where light gets scattered.
这些小小的通道穿过我们的牙齿,而且它们是光线被散射的主要地方 。
So not having them helps this dragonfish keep its mouth crystal clear.
所以没有了它们的帮助,这种龙鱼的嘴晶莹剔透 。
This is all super cool, but there's still a pretty big question here: What's the point of having clear teeth?
这一切都超酷,但还有一个大问题:拥有透明牙齿的意义是什么?
Seems like they're working pretty hard for this, so why? Well, that comes down to the dragonfish's hunting style.
看起来它们很努力,为什么呢?这可以归结为龙鱼的捕猎方式 。
These things swim around with their mouths open, and when some unsuspecting prey gets too close, their mouths snap shut like traps.
它们游泳时,嘴巴是张开的,当一些粗心的猎物靠近时,它们的嘴巴像陷阱一样啪地一声合上 。
So the point of this fish's transparent teeth is to make its maw virtually undetectable by prey
所以透明牙齿的意义在于通过不反射深海中任何微弱的光线,
by not reflecting any of the dim light in the deep ocean.
让猎物几乎无法察觉到它的咽喉 。
Combined with the dark color of its body, this gives the species a unique level of stealth as it hunts.
结合它暗色的身体,这给了这一物种在狩猎时独特的隐身能力 。
This fish is really cool in its own right, but there's actually something beyond just the "wow" factor here.
这条鱼本身就很酷,但实际上,除了惊叹之外,还有其他一些东西 。
Because researchers are also hoping to use this animal as inspiration for advancing materials science.
因为研究人员也希望将这种动物作为推动材料科学的灵感 。
Engineers aim to copy the nanostructure of these teeth to make transparent ceramics,
工程师希望复制这些牙齿的奈米结构以制成透明陶瓷
which could be used for super-strong armored windows, laser housings, and other tech.
可用于超结实的装甲窗、激光外壳和其他技术 。
This is just one example of biomimicry, a field of engineering that aims to adapt the awesomeness of nature into useful technology.
这只是仿生物的一个例子,该工程领域旨在将自然界的惊叹应用于有效科技 。
Biomimicry has led to better bullet trains based on bird beak shape,
仿生物根据鸟喙的形状设计出了更好的高速火车
more sustainable building ventilation based on termite mounds, and much, much more.
根据白蚁丘设计出了更加可持续的楼宇通风,还有很多很多 。
So I guess, like, never be afraid to look a gift dragonfish in the mouth!
所以不要害怕在嘴巴里找到惊喜!
Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow!
感谢收看本期《科学秀》!
If you have any jaw-dropping facts you think we should turn into an episode, feel free to leave us a comment!
如果你有任何令人瞠目结舌的事实,想让我们把它变成节目,请给我们留言!
We're always on the lookout for new, amazing ideas.
我们一直在寻找新的令人惊叹的想法 。