A scalyhead sculpin is a small, rather drab, nondescript fish.

But “stripped” to its skeleton and stained, it suddenly becomes a striking specimen in vivid blues and crimson.

Striking enough to be among the 14 photos by Adam Summers, University of Washington professor of biology, in his “Cleared: The Art of Science” on display now through spring 2014 at the Seattle Aquarium.

Summers and his team at the UW’s Friday Harbor Laboratories are interested in understanding the mechanics of movement, feeding and other animal functions while on the lookout for opportunities to copy or imitate nature, a field called biomimicry.

Read more in UW Today; see more images in Design Taxi.

Butterfly Ray
Adam Summers