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| Marine bioluminescence is produced by an incredible range of organisms, from bacteria
and single-celled protists to fish and squid. |
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Some especially interesting examples are:
- Bioluminescent milky seas where huge populations of bacteria give the ocean an eerie glow. [Includes a link to original paper.]
- A squid which changes the color of its luminescence to match moonlight and sunlight.
- A siphonophore which uses red light to lure fish to its tentacles.
- Tiny single-celled organisms that make the sea sparkle.
- Fishes like Malacosteus and Aristostomias with their own "night vision" light.
- Crustaceans which send out coded messages to their own species when it is time to mate.
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Here is one possible phylogenetic tree showing the distribution of bioluminescence across the "Tree of Life".
Neither the tree nor the taxa identified as luminous are set in stone, and there is already new information on both aspects.
However, note how many times bioluminescence appears to have arisen (more than 40, considering that one group of organisms may have several different chemistries.) It is a remarkably broadly distributed phenomenon.
(Below the tree you will find a partial text list of bioluminescent organisms.)
This is a partial text list of bioluminescent organisms.
If an organism is listed here it means that at least one species in that group is luminescent, not that all such creatures make light.
This list is intended to give an idea of the diversity of bioluminescent creatures. It is not meant to be comprehensive, and there may be other luminous creatures which are not included here.
- Bacteria
- Fungi
- Dinoflagellates (single-celled algae)
- Radiolarians (single-celled marine organisms)
- Cnidaria
- Scyphozoa (Jellyfish)
- Hydrozoa (Hydroids and Hydromedusae)
- Anthozoa (Sea Pens and Sea Pansies)
- Ctenophores (Comb Jellies)
- Nemertean worms (1 species)
- Mollusca
- Nudibranchs (a few)
- Clams (few)
- Squid (many)
- Octopods (few)
- Limpet (1 type)
- Land Snail (1 type)
- Annelid worms (lots)
- Polychaetes
- Earthworms [external site]
- Pycnogonids (sea spiders)
- Crustaceans
- Copepods
- Ostracods
- Amphipods
- Decapod shrimp
- Euphausiids (krill)
- Chaetognaths (arrow-worms; 1 species)
- Echinoderms
- Sea stars
- Brittle stars
- Sea cucumbers
- Hemichordate worms
- Urochordates
- Pyrosomes
- Tunicate (one)
- Larvaceans
- Chordates
- Sharks (some)
- Fish (lots)
- Centipedes
- Millipedes
- Insects
- Fireflies [external site]
- Click Beetles
- Fungus gnats
- Collembola (spring-tails)
- Railroad worms
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- (There are no luminous "flowering" plants, birds, reptiles, amphibians or mammals.)
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