Animal Trivia : Sapphirina copepod may be called Sea sapphire.

Sapphirina copepod may be called Sea sapphire.


Copepods are the rice of the sea, tiny shrimp-like animals at the base of the ocean food chain.
The reason for their shimmering beauty is both complex and mysterious, relating to their unique social behavior and strange crystalline skin.


The secret to the sea sapphire’s shine is in microscopic layers of crystal plates inside their cells. 

In the case of blue sea sapphires, these crystal layers are separated by only about four ten thousandths of a millimeter; about the same distance as a wavelength of blue light.

When blue light bounces off these crystal layers, it is perfectly preserved and reflected. 

But for other colors of light, these small differences in distance interfere, causing the colors to cancel out.