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Meet Aristostomias scintillans, a species of fish that lives in the deep, dark waters hundreds of meters beneath the Pacific.
来会会闪亮奇巨口鱼，这是一种生活在太平洋几百米深海处黑暗水域中的鱼。
It's occasionally called the "shiny loosejaw", because sometimes when you name a thing,
有时也被称为“shiny loosejaw”，因为有时当你在给某物命名时，
you just call them like you see them. This animal is part of the dragonfish family,
你根据它们的长相起名。这种动物属于龙鱼家族，
and like most of its relatives, it's a creepy-looking thing with a disproportionately huge jaw,
和大部分其他亲戚一样，这是一种长相怪异东西，它长着一个异常巨大的下巴
long, pointy teeth and a bioluminescent barble for attracting prey.
长且尖的牙齿以及一个用来吸引猎物的生物荧光附属物。
But of all the dragonfish, which are wonderful, this one is special.
但在所有奇妙的龙鱼中，这一种很特别。
It's tiny, usually only about fifteen centimeters long, but it's also a fierce hunter with an amazing adaptation.
它很小，通常只有约15厘米长，但它也是一个拥有惊人适应力的激烈猎手。
To catch prey, the fish has fangs that are transparent.
为了抓捕猎物，这种鱼长出了透明的尖牙。
Most animals' teeth are, this probably won't be surprising, not transparent.
大部分动物的牙齿都不是透明的，这一点并不奇怪。
Vertebrate teeth are typically hard, calcified structures in the mouth,
脊椎动物的牙齿通常都是坚硬的钙化结构，
and although they're not quite the same, they tend to look pretty similar to bone.
虽然它们并不完全相同，但看起来很像骨头。
They have an inner layer of what's called dentin, and an outer, hard layer called enamel.
它们有一个里层，被称为牙质，以及一个坚硬的外层，被称为牙釉质。
And they look opaque because they reflect, absorb, or scatter most light.
并且看起来是不透明的，因为它们反射、吸收或散射大部分的光线。
This dragonfish has a much more unique situation, because its tooth composition is very different from what we see elsewhere.
这种龙鱼有着更加独特的情况，因为它的牙齿成分和我们在其他地方看到的非常不同。
Both the enamel and the dentin are made of unique mineral matrices containing nano-scale crystal rods, basically, very tiny crystals.
牙质和牙釉质都是由含有纳米尺度晶体杆（即使非常晓得晶体）的特殊矿物矩阵组成。
They're even smaller than the wavelengths of light that normally hit them, which means they scatter barely any light.
它们甚至比正常照射它们的光的波长还要小，这意味着它们几乎不能散射任何光线。
Instead, the light can go right through their teeth. Additionally, these teeth also don't have dentin tubules.
相反，光线可以穿透它们的牙齿。而且，这些牙齿也没有牙本质小管。
These are little channels that run through our teeth, and they're a major place where light gets scattered.
这些小小的通道穿过我们的牙齿，而且它们是光线被散射的主要地方。
So not having them helps this dragonfish keep its mouth crystal clear.
所以没有了它们的帮助，这种龙鱼的嘴晶莹剔透。
This is all super cool, but there's still a pretty big question here: What's the point of having clear teeth?
这一切都超酷，但还有一个大问题：拥有透明牙齿的意义是什么？
Seems like they're working pretty hard for this, so why? Well, that comes down to the dragonfish's hunting style.
看起来它们很努力，为什么呢？这可以归结为龙鱼的捕猎方式。
These things swim around with their mouths open, and when some unsuspecting prey gets too close, their mouths snap shut like traps.
它们游泳时，嘴巴是张开的，当一些粗心的猎物靠近时，它们的嘴巴像陷阱一样啪地一声合上。
So the point of this fish's transparent teeth is to make its maw virtually undetectable by prey
所以透明牙齿的意义在于通过不反射深海中任何微弱的光线，
by not reflecting any of the dim light in the deep ocean.
让猎物几乎无法察觉到它的咽喉。
Combined with the dark color of its body, this gives the species a unique level of stealth as it hunts.
结合它暗色的身体，这给了这一物种在狩猎时独特的隐身能力。
This fish is really cool in its own right, but there's actually something beyond just the "wow" factor here.
这条鱼本身就很酷，但实际上，除了惊叹之外，还有其他一些东西。
Because researchers are also hoping to use this animal as inspiration for advancing materials science.
因为研究人员也希望将这种动物作为推动材料科学的灵感。
Engineers aim to copy the nanostructure of these teeth to make transparent ceramics,
工程师希望复制这些牙齿的奈米结构以制成透明陶瓷
which could be used for super-strong armored windows, laser housings, and other tech.
可用于超结实的装甲窗、激光外壳和其他技术。
This is just one example of biomimicry, a field of engineering that aims to adapt the awesomeness of nature into useful technology.
这只是仿生物的一个例子，该工程领域旨在将自然界的惊叹应用于有效科技。
Biomimicry has led to better bullet trains based on bird beak shape,
仿生物根据鸟喙的形状设计出了更好的高速火车
more sustainable building ventilation based on termite mounds, and much, much more.
根据白蚁丘设计出了更加可持续的楼宇通风，还有很多很多。
So I guess, like, never be afraid to look a gift dragonfish in the mouth!
所以不要害怕在嘴巴里找到惊喜！
Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow!
感谢收看本期《科学秀》！
If you have any jaw-dropping facts you think we should turn into an episode, feel free to leave us a comment!
如果你有任何令人瞠目结舌的事实，想让我们把它变成节目，请给我们留言！
We're always on the lookout for new, amazing ideas.
我们一直在寻找新的令人惊叹的想法。
