In the depths of the Pacific, Erenna sirena deploys small luminous lures. They look like reddish crustaceans and attract fish. When they approach, stinging tentacles can capture them: the brilliance announced an ambush.
Erenna belongs to the siphonophores, close relatives of jellyfish. Their body is a colony of specialized and connected parts: some ensure movement, others capture or ingestion. These functions combined allow the whole to live in full water, without the surfaces that would damage its fragile structure.
MBARI’s underwater robots have made this strategy observable. It is not a fisherman who consciously makes bait, but a biological device whose effect is reminiscent of lure fishing. The light, often presented as a means of seeing, becomes here a way of being spotted by the future meal.
What we know
Function of decoys described; no human intention attributed to the animal.
To go to the source
References consulted on 3 October 2026. Linked pages may be in another language.
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