Bright red fish on a coral reef get their color from erythrophores, star-shaped cells packed with red grains.
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Erythrophores (say "eh-RITH-ro-fors") are skin cells that hold red and orange color. Many fish have them.
The squirrelfish is a bright red fish with big eyes that lives on coral reefs. Its red skin is full of erythrophores. Scientists have studied them for years to learn how color moves inside a cell.
Like other color cells, an erythrophore is shaped like a star, with arms full of tiny red grains.
Animals cannot make most of these red and orange colors on their own. Fish get them from their food, like tiny sea animals and algae. The erythrophores store the color in the skin.
In many fish, the red grains can zip to the middle of the cell or spread back out, making the fish look paler or brighter.
Scroll up to the 3D model and press Pull color in to watch the red grains travel to the middle of the cell.
Flamingos work in a similar way. They get their pink color from the tiny shrimp and algae they eat!
By SciDo Portal. Good for older kids.
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