Shining Examples: 10 Bioluminescent Creatures that Glow in Surprising Ways [Slide Show]
A wide range of organisms generate their own light to seek mates, sustenance and survival--inspiring researchers and moviemakers alike
Shining Examples: 10 Bioluminescent Creatures that Glow in Surprising Ways [Slide Show]
- UNDERWATER "NIGHT VISION" Most oceanic creatures bioluminesce in blue—and to a lesser extent green—because these short wavelengths of light travel farther in water than longer, redder wavelengths. For the same reason, sea life has adapted to register these colors and often does not possess the visual pigments needed to see reds, oranges and yellows... STEVE HADDOCK
- SPARKLING SLIME Dozens of earthworm species from all over the world can secrete a glowing slime, thought to startle predators. This particular worm, Diplocardia longa , is found in sandy soils in southern Georgia in the U.S... MILTON J. CORMIER/JAMES M. ANDERSON AND JOHN E. WAMPLER/BIOLUMINESCENCE LABORATORY, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
- PHOTONIC CAMOUFLAGE Even in ocean depths where sunlight barely penetrates, the faint silhouette that a fish throws to predators beneath it in the water column can make it an easy target. Accordingly, many fish, crustaceans and squid have developed bioluminescent "counterillumination" abilities... NOAA
- FLY FISHING--WITH A FLASHLIGHT Before a short adult life as a gnat, larvae in the genus Arachnocampa spend months as carnivorous glowworms in caves or sheltered areas using light as a lure. In the top image, a hungry New Zealand glowworm, Arachnocampa luminosa , lays a trap... SPELLBOUND GLOWWORM AND CAVE TOURS, WAITOMO, NZ
- GELATINOUS GLOW Comb jellies, technically known as ctenophores, are a phylum of seafaring organism characterized by their use of small hairs, or cilia, for aquatic locomotion. Almost all of these blobby beings also bioluminesce, and they provide yet another example of defensive lighting with so-called "sacrificial tags"... MARSH YOUNGBLUTH/NOAA
- FLYING WITH FIRE The power to make its own light distinguishes the life—and death—of the familiar firefly. Also commonly called lightning bugs, these species have developed unique call-and-response patterns of flashes between courting, airborne males and the females that watch from leafy perches... JAMES JORDAN/FLICKR