Nature’s Invisibility Cloak
The lure of invisibility has captivated humans for millennia: the Egyptian god Amun-Ra manifested as the transparent wind which could be felt but not seen; the Greek philosopher Plato’s magic ring granted invisibility to a shepherd who then usurped the throne by murdering a king and marrying his wife; J.R.R. Tolkien’s One Ring bestowed its wearer with the power to vanish and dominate others.
Even today, invisibility ranks high among desirable “superpowers.” And why not? It could confer the ability to hide from one’s enemies, prevail against competitors, or achieve tasks that would otherwise be impossible.
Of course, despite mythologizing and coveting it and seeking technological solutions beyond a magic ring or potion, humans have not mastered invisibility to become transparent. But transparency has not gone undiscovered by natural selection, having evolved independently in unrelated animals including octopuses, arthropods, and fishes. Despite the animals’ differences, they have followed similar transparency “recipes” to reap the benefits of being unseen, predators and prey alike, particularly in aquatic environments.
Now you see me, now you don’t
Animals are complex, material beings and even the tiniest among them can stub their figurative toes against
