Sunlit bamboo forest – bones and pigment cells in the adult zebrafish fin

'While studying zebrafish (Danio rerio) development, we were intrigued by the striking colours and structure of its fins. This image depicts individual pigment cells (black melanocytes and yellow xanthophores), that give the fish its characteristic zebra stripes. Together with the underlying segmented bones, this picture reminded us of a sunlit bamboo forest, fitting with the fishes’ tropical habitat.'
The image was taken with a Nikon SMZ25 stereomicroscope with SHR Plan Apo 2X lens at 6X magnification and DS-Fi3 colour camera.

Ivo de Vos

Institution: Skin Research Institute of Singapore