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Oct 8, 2024 · It is estimated that 90% of deep-sea organisms are bioluminescent. These creatures use light to survive and thrive in the harsh and dark environments of the deep sea. The light they produce can vary in color, but in the ocean, it is most commonly blue or green, as these colors travel the furthest in water.
- Overview
- Who glows?
- Why don’t freshwater animals glow?
- Where to see glowing animals
Most ocean animals produce their own light or host bacteria that do—a useful skill for communication, finding prey, camouflage, and more.
If someone says “You’re glowing!” you may be in love. Or, more likely, you’re a marine animal.
A whopping 76 percent of ocean animals are bioluminescent, which means they produce their own light through a series of chemical reactions or host bacteria that do. (Read more about luminous life in National Geographic magazine.)
It’s a separate process from biofluorescence, in which blue light hits the surface of an animal and is reemitted as a different color, usually orange, red, or green.
Marine creatures rely on bioluminescence for communication, finding prey, camouflage, and more. It’s so important, in fact, that the trait has evolved 27 times among ray-finned fishes, a huge group that makes up half of all vertebrate species alive today.
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At least 1,500 species of fish are known to be bioluminescent, including sharks and dragonfish—and scientists regularly discover new ones.
Among the most iconic are deep-sea fishes like the anglerfish, whose females sport a lure of glowing flesh that acts as bait for any prey close enough to be snatched.
Hawaiian bobtail squid light up via bioluminescent bacteria living in one of their organs; the light camouflages them against moonlight on the surface and eliminates their shadow, obscuring them from predators. (Read about nature’s living fireworks—animals that bioluminesce.)
If you shine a light on a comb jelly, light refracted off its moving cilia might be mistaken for bioluminescence.
Their true bioluminescence cannot be seen in light, says marine biologist Edie Widder, founder of the Ocean Research and Conservation Association. Their real bioluminescence comes from light-producing chemicals which different species use in different ways, such as flashing the chemicals to deter predators.
Then there’s the world’s smallest shark, the six-inch lanternshark, which advertises its own goods via photophores (or light-producing organs) clustered around its reproductive organs.
The reason is simple: “Very few bioluminescent fish can tolerate low salinity,” says marine biologist Edie Widder, founder of the Ocean Research and Conservation Association.
The only instance of bioluminescence in a freshwater animal is Latia neritoides, a limpet-like snail native to New Zealand streams, where it emits a glowing slime when bothered.
Bioluminescent marine plankton really put on a show.
Some species of dinoflagellates light up using a similar to chemical reaction to that of fireflies; both use a naturally occurring molecule called luciferin, named for Lucifer, the light-bearer. (Read how fireflies glow.)
Millions of these one-celled organisms create a beautiful shimmering effect, particularly when there’s little moonlight; in Puerto Rico, tourists can kayak through the undulating, electric blue water of three bioluminescent bays.
Movement stimulates the dinoflagellates, so if a fish happens to swim through the water, “you would expect to see [its] luminescent outline,” says Senjie Lin, a marine biologist at the University of Connecticut who specializes in these plankton. (Visit these eight incredible bioluminescent phenomena around the world.)
The plankton’s glow is usually blue, “but when it is intense, it can look like white to human eyes,” Lin adds.
And if you happen to be in Australia or New Zealand, you can visit caves of glowworms—actually the larvae of a small fly, Arachnocampa flava—that dangle sticky bioluminescent threads to lure and capture unlucky prey.
Bioluminescence is found in many marine organisms: bacteria, algae, jellyfish, worms, crustaceans, sea stars, fish, and sharks to name just a few. In fish alone, there are about 1,500 known species that luminesce. In some cases, animals take in bacteria or other bioluminescent creatures to gain the ability to light up.
Aug 6, 2019 · Believe it or not, being able to glow comes in handy. As a predator, a sudden bioluminescent light can surprise and stun potential prey, or illuminate them to make it easier for the predator to see. Some animals, like the anglerfish, use their light as a lure in the deep sea to draw prey to them. As prey, it can distract or misdirect a predator ...
Marine worms, sea cucumbers, sea stars and many types of phytoplankton also emit light. Bioluminescence involves a chemical reaction inside the animal’s cells. For some animals, those cells are located in a special light organ called a photophore that can look like a spotlight. Other organisms take on a more general glow.
Bioluminescence, or the ability of an organism to create light, is one of nature’s most amazing phenomena, seemingly drawn more from science fiction than science and natural history. While relatively rare on land, bioluminescence is very common in the ocean, at least in the pelagic zone (the water column), where 80 percent of the animals that ...
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Apr 26, 2024 · 1. Deep-sea anglerfish have a specialised lure to attract prey. Perhaps the most famous bioluminescent predator is the deep-sea anglerfish. This ferocious hunter has a large head, incredibly sharp teeth and a long, fishing-rod-like structure that extends out from the top of its head.
