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A Giant Hatchetfish (Argyropelecus gigas)
Counterillumination is a character found in some marine organisms (fish, cephalopods, shrimp) wherein light produced by photophores on the animals is directed downward to help eliminate the silhouette of the animal from predators looking upward. The color and intensity of light produced by the organism employing counterillumination often times will match the color and light intensity of the ocean's surface above. Think of it as hiding in plain sight. Classic examples are species like deep sea hatchetfishes and Firefly Squid. This Giant Hatchetfish (Argyropelecus gigas) was trawled from the Gulf of Mexico from 800 meters depths in 2011.
The giant hatchetfish or greater silver hatchetfish , a marine hatchetfish of the genus ''Argyropelecus'', is found in every ocean except the north Pacific in the mesopelagic zone of tropical and subtropical waters. "Giant" in relative terms only, this is the largest species of marine hatchetfishes, often exceeding 110 millimetres standard length.
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