Gaze at the vivid yellows, blues, and psychedelic swirls of a single emperor angelfish and you'll sense the whimsy of evolution. Go on to explore its home in lush coral reefs and you'll soon hit sensory overload, assaulted by colors and patterns that range from sublime to garish. Coral reefs are unquestionably the world's most colorful places. But why? 

    瞧瞧那“皇帝神仙鱼”(emperor angelfish)身上鲜艳的黄与蓝，还有迷幻般的漩涡，你就能感受到生物进化的无奇不有了。继续走进它所栖息的繁茂的珊瑚礁，你会马上觉得感官超出负荷：由庄重到花俏的各式各样色彩与图案从四面围攻而来。珊瑚礁无疑是世上色彩最丰富的地方，但为什么会这样？

    For reasons known only to nature, color explodes across coral reefs, making them Earth's most vivid landscapes. Here in the shallows of a Fijian reef, brilliant soft corals wave in reds, pinks, and yellows as schools of fairy basslets FLASH orange and violet hues. The basslets' different colors aid in species identification, mate recognition, and even camouflage as individuals mass against the kaleidoscope of the reef. What humans see lighted by a photographer's bright strobe may look altogether different in natural light through the eyes of reef creatures. Scientists are now beginning to learn how wavelengths of light (and therefore color) change through water at different distances, and—more important—how fish see colors and what messages they might communicate.

    出于只有大自然才明白的理由，色彩在珊瑚礁各处蓬发，让它们成为地球上最明艳的景观。此处是斐济一处珊瑚礁的浅滩，艳丽的软珊瑚舞动在红色、粉红色与黄色之中，而成群的拟花鮨(fairy basslet)则闪耀着橘色和紫色的光辉。拟花鮨不同的颜色，有助于种群分辨和配偶识别。甚至当它们聚集在万花筒般的珊瑚礁旁时，还能作为的保护色。人类透过摄影师的闪光灯所见到的，可能跟珊瑚礁生物的眼睛透过自然光所见完全不同。科学家现在开始了解，光的波长（也就是颜色）在穿透水中时，在不同距离如何改变，而──更重要的是──鱼类如何看到色彩，而它们又可能沟通些什么样的讯息。

    Bold horizontal bands of black, white, and yellow pop out on a well-lighted sweetlips (Plectorhinchus polytaenia) in Indonesia. The pattern and colors actually help distort the fish's outline when seen in natural light at a distance through water, helping the animal disappear from the view of potential predators. Nearby, a neon cleaner wrasse also wears stark stripes. These little fish eat parasites off the flesh and mouths of other fish. The wrasse's stripes may signal that it is a useful helper rather than a ready meal. Neon wrasses vary in coloration geographically. A yellow cast near the head (as shown here) indicates an Indonesian species; in Fiji many neon wrasses have a yellow blaze near the tail.

    在印度尼西亚，这条被照亮的多纹石鲈(Plectorhinchus polytaenia)身上大胆的黑、白、黄相间水平条纹蹦现了出来。其实，若是在自然光下、于水中一段距离外，这种图案和色彩有助于扭曲鱼的轮廓，让它在潜在掠食者的视线中消失。旁边，一只裂唇鱼（neon cleaner wrasse）也是十足的条纹。这种小鱼以其它鱼类身上、口内的寄生虫为食。它身上的条纹可能暗示它是有用的帮手，而非一顿餐点。随地点不同，裂唇鱼的色彩也会改变。靠近头部有一抹黄色的（如图）表示是印度尼西亚种类；在斐济，许多裂唇鱼在靠近尾巴的地方有黄色条纹。 

    The Pacific blue tang (Paracanthurus hepatus)—also known as the artist's pallette surgeonfish due to the shape of the dark patch on its body—was immortalized by the character Dory in the film Finding Nemo. Unlike that benignly daft creature, this real-life surgeonfish in Indonesia carries a sharp retractable blade of bone near the base of its tail. The tail's yellow blaze gives potential foes fair warning: Armed and dangerous.

    由于身上有深色斑块，所以拟刺尾鲷（Paracanthurus hepatus）又名为“画家调色盘医生鱼”，靠着电影《海底总动员》中的“多莉”一角而名垂不朽。跟那只疯疯癫癫的亲切生物不同，印度尼西亚的这只正牌医生鱼在尾巴附近有一片能伸缩的锋利骨片。尾巴上的黄色斑块给予潜在敌人清楚的警告：有武装，很危险！

    A leaf scorpionfish (Taenianotus triacanthus) scouts for errant fairy basslets in Fijian waters. This ambush predator can change its color to blend with its surroundings. It then lies still, waiting for prey to pass by. "We saw this fish pounce a couple of times," says photographer Tim Laman. "His mouth shot out and back in a fraction of a second."

    在斐济的海中，一只三棘带鲉(Taenianotus triacanthus)窥伺着一群误入禁地的线鮨。三棘带鲉是种善于偷袭的捕食动物，能够改变身体颜色以融入环境。变色完成后，它就一动不动，等猎物经过。“我们见过这只鱼的数次突袭，”摄影师提姆.雷曼说，“它的嘴一开一合仅需一瞬间。”

    A crescent-tailed bigeye (Priacanthus hamrur) seems to wear its emotions on its sleeve—or on its whole body. This sequence of three frames of the same fish shows how it can change from largely silver to striped to solid orange-red, a transformation that occurs in a matter of seconds. Pigment cells in its skin, called chromatophores, allow it to change color, but scientists don't yet know what each color pattern signifies. Sometimes a sudden shift in color can be used to startle potential predators or threaten intruders. Red light dissipates beyond about 30 feet (10 meters), so the reddish hue of this fish would appear black in deeper waters, allowing some deGREe of invisibility for this nocturnal hunter.

    宝石大眼鲷(Priacanthus hamrur)似乎把心情写在脸上──或应该说是写在身上。这条鱼的连续三张照片显示出它如何从几乎通体银色变成条纹、再变成纯橘红色，这转变全发生在几秒钟之内。它皮肤上的色素细胞让它能改变颜色，但科学家还不知道每种色彩图案的意义。有时候，色彩的快速变换可以用来惊吓掠食者或威胁入侵者。红光在10公尺以下的深处就会消散，所以这条鱼身上的红色调会在较深处呈现黑色，让这种夜行性猎食者在某种程度上能隐形。