Glow is considered a common occurrence in nature. Therefore, the ability to emit light through a simple chemical reaction, or bioluminescence, is found in at least 50 different species of mushrooms, fireflies, and even terrifying marine life. With the help of this reaction, luminous creatures derive many benefits for themselves: they drive away predators, attract prey, rid their cells of oxygen, or simply cope with existence in the eternal darkness of the ocean depths.

One way or another, luminescence is one of the most ingenious tools of life, and we will present you with a list of the most unusual and strange creatures that can glow in the dark. Many of these species are currently on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

Female and male monkfish

hell squid

Glowing jellyfish

What only unusual and amazing creatures you will not meet in the sea or in the depths of the ocean. The following green-rimmed purple creatures inhabit pacific ocean off the coast of North America. These jellyfish are capable of generating two types of glow at once. Bioluminescent has a purple-blue glow and is produced by a chemical reaction between calcium and protein. And this reaction, in turn, causes a glow around the rim of the jellyfish, forming a green fluorescent protein, and then a green glow. Scientists widely use this feature of the creature to study the visualization of processes in the body.

firewater

Surely few people know that in nature there is a phenomenon that can be compared with a luminous ocean. However, no one would refuse to personally observe the bright blue neon surf of the ocean. The thing is that the water is filled with dinoflagellates, single-celled planktonic creatures with tails, which are distributed over impressive areas off the coast. Scientists believe that these creatures have inhabited our planet for a billion years, and for the past few millennia, puzzled people have tended to attribute this phenomenon to the mysterious magic of the sea gods.

big mouth

In order to forage for food, this fish first uses bioluminescence to cause fluorescence in the form of red lights in the area near the nose, and then emits red pulses to detect shrimp. When the prey is found, the signal is released and the jaw is activated. The ingenious predator takes advantage of the fact that shrimp, like many other inhabitants of the sea, cannot recognize red light.

sistellaspice shrimp

However, not all shrimp are so malleable and easily accessible to predators. For example, sistellaspis shrimp have excellent protection, including against large mouths. These shrimp disarm predators by spitting a nasty glowing liquid from their tail right in front of their mouths.

coral wall

A 1,000-foot-high bloody wall of glowing coral has been discovered in the Cayman Islands. This interesting phenomenon became possible due to the fact that many bioluminescent creatures have found refuge here. Many scuba divers take pictures of how corals transform their red color into an amazing green glow.

Bioluminescence is the ability of living organisms to glow. It is based on chemical processes in which the released energy is released in the form of light. Bioluminescence serves to attract prey, mates, communication, warning, camouflage, or deterrence.

Scientists believe that bioluminescence appeared at the stage of transition from anaerobic to aerobic life forms as a protective reaction of ancient bacteria in relation to the "poison" - oxygen, which was released by green plants during photosynthesis. Bioluminescence is found in bacteria, fungi and a fairly wide range of representatives of the animal class - from protozoa to chordates. But it is especially common among crustaceans, insects and fish.

Bacteria help organisms to “create” light, or they cope with this task on their own. In this case, light can emit both the entire surface of the body and special organs - glands, mainly of skin origin. The latter are found in many marine animals, and among terrestrial ones - in insects, some earthworms, centipedes, etc.

firefly

Perhaps the most famous of the bioluminescents. firefly family ( Lampyridae) has about 2000 species. The tropics and subtropics can boast the greatest variety of these beetles, but on the territory former USSR there were only seven genera and about 20 species of these insects. Well, they don’t need light at all in order “to make it light for us dark night”, but for communication with each other, whether it be the calling signals of males in search of females, mimicry (under ambient lighting, for example, the light of a light bulb or the moon illuminating the grass), protection of the territory, and so on.

Common firefly / ©Flickr

Nightlight

Noctiluca scintillans, or night light, belongs to the species of the so-called dinoflagellates. Sometimes they are also called dinoflagellates due to their ability to photosynthesize. In fact, most of them are flagellates with a developed intracellular shell. It is dinoflagellates that are the culprits of the famous "red tides", phenomena as frightening as they are beautiful. But especially magnificent, of course, is the blue “illumination” of night lights, which can be observed at night in the waters of the seas, oceans and lakes. Both the red color and the blue glow are caused by the abundance of these amazing tiny organisms in the water.

Water illuminated by nightlights / ©Flickr

Angler

This innocent type of angler-shaped bony fish got its name due to its extremely unattractive appearance. Judge for yourself:

deep sea angler/ ©Flickr

Sea devils have a "malocclusion", which is why their mouth is constantly open, and sharp spiked teeth stick out of it. The body of the fish is covered with a large number of skin growths, tubercles and plaques. It is not surprising that these sea "quasimodo" prefer to live at great depths - apparently, this is how they hide from malevolent eyes. But seriously, these fish are very interesting. From other inhabitants of the underwater world, among other things, they are distinguished by the front part dorsal fin, which is located directly above the mouth. This luminous "flashlight" is needed sea ​​devils not to light their way, but to attract prey.

mushroom mosquitoes

No less surprising are other bioluminescents - a genus of fungal mosquitoes from the fungal mosquito family. This genus was formerly called Bolitiphila which means "lover of mushrooms". It has now been renamed to Arachnocampa- "spider larva". The fact is that the larva of this mosquito weaves real nets. Freshly hatched into the light of day, the larvae are only 3-5 mm long, but at the final stage of development they grow up to 3 cm. It is in the larval stage that these mosquitoes spend most of their lives, therefore, in order to feed and attract prey, they weave the ceiling of the caves is something like a nest of silk, hanging down the ends of sticky threads that illuminate own body. Common in caves and grottoes in Australia and New Zealand.

Mushroom mosquito larvae / ©Flickr

neon mushroom

Unfortunately, this miracle of nature is a stunningly beautiful luminescent mushroom. Chlorophos Mycena You won't find it in our area. To see it, you should go to Japan or Brazil. Yes, and there you will have to wait for the rainy season, when these amazing green mushrooms appear from literally “flaming” spores.

Whether this miracle is edible or not is unknown. However, few people dare to serve such a luminous plate to the table. If you still decide to look for it, we advise you to look at the base of tree trunks, next to fallen or cut branches, heaps of foliage, or simply on damp soil.

Neon mushrooms / ©Flickr

giant squid

It is the largest bioluminescent squid ( Taningia danae) and probably the most beautiful view these animals in general. Science knows a specimen whose length was 2.3 m, and its weight was about 161 kg! However, it is not so easy to see this majestic handsome man: he lives at a depth of about 1000 m and is found in tropical and subtropical waters. Despite the beauty Taningia danae- an aggressive predator. Before pouncing on the victim, the squid emits short flashes of light with the help of special organs located on the tentacles. What are these flashes for? Well, obviously not in order to "warn" the victim. Scientists believe that they are needed either for blinding deep sea inhabitants, or in order to estimate the distance to the target. And a colorful show helps the animal to seduce the female.

Giant bioluminescent squid / ©Flickr

Bioluminescence (translated from Greek "bios" - life, and Latin "lumen" - light) is the ability of living organisms to emit light. This is one of the most amazing phenomena. It does not occur very often in nature. What does it look like? Let's watch:

10 Glowing Plankton

Glowing plankton in Gippsland Lake, Australia. This glow is nothing more than bioluminescence - chemical processes in the body of animals, in which the released energy is released in the form of light. Amazing in its nature, the phenomenon of bioluminescence, was lucky not only to see, but also to photograph the photographer Phil Hart (Phil Hart).

9 Glowing Mushrooms

The photo shows Panellus stipticus. One of the few mushrooms with bioluminescence. This type of mushroom is quite common in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. Grows in groups on logs, stumps and trunks deciduous trees especially on oaks, beeches and birches.

8. Scorpio

The photo shows a scorpion glowing under ultraviolet light. Scorpions do not emit their own light, but they glow under an invisible neon light beam. The thing is that in the outer skeleton of a scorpion there is a substance that just emits its light under ultraviolet radiation.

7. Glowworms Waitomo Caves, New Zealand

Luminous mosquito larvae live in Waitomo Cave in New Zealand. They cover the ceiling of the cave. These larvae leave strands of glowing slime, up to 70 per worm. This helps them to catch flies and midges that they feed on. In some species, such threads are poisonous!

6 Glowing Jellyfish, Japan

An amazing sight could be seen in Toyama Bay in Japan - thousands of jellyfish washed up on the shore of the bay. Moreover, these jellyfish live at great depths, and during the breeding season they rise to the surface. At that moment, they were brought in huge numbers to land. Outwardly, this picture is very reminiscent of luminous plankton! But these are two completely different things.

5. Luminous mushrooms (Mycena lux-coeli)

What you see here is luminous mushrooms lux coeli. They grow in Japan during the rainy season on fallen Chinquapin trees. These mushrooms give off light thanks to a substance called luciferin, which oxidizes and gives off this intense greenish-white glow. It is very funny that, in Latin, Luciferu means “the light of the giver.” Who would know! These mushrooms live for only a few days, and die when the rains end.

4. Glow of the ostracod Cypridina hilgendorfii, Japan

Cypridina hilgendorfii - this is the name of shellfish ostriches, tiny (for the most part no more than 1-2 mm), transparent organisms living in the coastal waters and sands of Japan. They glow thanks to the substance luciferin.

An interesting fact is that during the Second World War, the Japanese collected these crustaceans in order to obtain light at night. After wetting these organisms in water, they begin to glow again.

3. Glowing fireflies

This is what the habitats of fireflies look like, taken at a slow shutter speed. Fireflies flash to attract the attention of the opposite sex.

2. Luminous bacteria

Glowing bacteria - amazing a natural phenomenon. Light in bacteria is produced in the cytoplasm. They live mainly in sea ​​water, and less often on dry land. One bacterium emits very weak, almost invisible light by itself, but when they are in in large numbers, then they glow with a more intense, very pleasant blue light.

1. Medusa (Aequorea Victoria)

In the 1960s, Japanese-American scientist Osamu Shimomura at Nagoya University identified the luminescent protein aequorin from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria. Shimomura showed that aequorin is initiated with calcium ions without oxygen (oxidation). In other words, the light-emitting fragment is not a separate substrate in itself, but a substrate strongly associated with the protein. This, in turn, made a huge contribution not only to science, but also to medicine. In 2008, Shimomura was awarded Nobel Prize for your labors.

V. LUNKEVICH.

Valeryan Viktorovich Lunkevich (1866-1941) - biologist, teacher, outstanding popularizer.

Rice. 1. Night light "Sea candle".

Rice. 3. Fish angler.

Rice. 4. Glowing fish.

Rice. 6. Coral branch with luminous polyps.

Rice. 5. Glowing cephalopod.

Rice. 7. Female firefly.

Rice. Fig. 8. The organ of luminescence in a cephalopod mollusk: a - the light part, resembling a lens; b - inner layer of luminous cells; c - layer of silvery cells; d - layer of dark pigment cells.

Which of us has not had to admire the warm summer evening the greenish lights of firefly bugs that shoot through the air in different directions? But how many people know that not only some bugs, but also other animals, especially the inhabitants of the seas and oceans, are endowed with the ability to glow?

Everyone who spent the summer on the Black Sea coast has witnessed one of the most beautiful spectacles of nature more than once.

The night is coming. The sea is calm. Small ripples glide across its surface. Suddenly, a bright stripe flashed on the crest of one of the nearest waves. Behind her flashed another, a third ... There are many of them. They will sparkle for a moment and fade along with the broken wave to light up again. You stand, looking, as if spellbound, at the millions of lights flooding the sea with their light, and you ask - what's the matter here?

This mystery has long been solved by science. It turns out that billions of microscopic creatures known as nightlights emit light (Fig. 1). Warm summer water favors their reproduction, and then they rush across the sea in countless hordes. In the body of each such nightlight, yellowish balls are scattered, which emit light.

Let's "fast forward" now to one of the tropical seas and dive into its waters. Here the picture is even more magnificent. Now some strange animals are swimming in a sedate crowd, now alone: ​​they look like umbrellas or bells made of dense jelly. These are jellyfish: large and small, dark and glowing either blue, then green, then yellow, then reddish. Among these mobile multi-colored "lanterns" a giant jellyfish floats calmly, slowly, whose umbrella has a diameter of sixty to seventy centimeters (Fig. 2). Visible in the distance emitting light fish. The fish-moon rushes headlong, like the moon among other luminous fish-stars. One of the fish has brightly burning eyes, the other has a process on its head, the top of which resembles a lit one. electric lamp, in the third, a long cord with a “flashlight” at the end dangles on the upper jaw (Fig. 3), and some luminous fish are completely filled with radiance due to special organs located along their body like electric light bulbs strung on a wire (Fig. 4).

We go down below - to where the light of the sun no longer penetrates, where, it would seem, there should be eternal, impenetrable darkness. And here and there "fires burn"; and here the darkness of the night is cut through by rays emanating from the body of various luminous animals.

On seabed, among the stones and algae, luminous worms and mollusks swarm. Their naked bodies are strewn with brilliant stripes, spots or specks, like diamond dust; on ledges of underwater rocks flaunt light-drenched starfish; the crayfish immediately darts to all ends of its hunting territory, illuminating the path in front of it with huge, spyglass-like eyes.

But the most magnificent of all is one of the cephalopods: it is all bathed in the rays of a bright blue color (Fig. 5). One moment - and the light went out: just turned off the electric chandelier. Then the light appears again - at first weak, then more and more bright, now it casts already in purple - the colors of the sunset. And there it goes out again, to flare up again for a few minutes with the color of delicate green foliage.

IN underwater world you can see other colorful paintings.

Let us recall the well-known branch of red coral. This branch is the home of animals that are very simple in organization - polyps. Polyps live in extensive colonies that look like bushes. Polyps build their homes from lime or horny matter. Such dwellings are called polyp stands, and a branch of red coral is a particle of the polyp. Underwater rocks in some places are completely covered with a whole grove of coral bushes of various shapes and colors (Fig. 6) with many tiny closets in which hundreds of thousands of polyps sit - animals that look like white flowers. In many polypnyaks, the polyps seem to be engulfed in flames, formed by numerous lights. The lights sometimes burn unevenly and intermittently, changing color: they suddenly sparkle with a violet light, then turning into red, or they sparkle with a pale blue and, having run through a whole range of transitions from blue to green, freeze in the color of an emerald or go out, forming black shadows around themselves, and there again flash iridescent sparks.

There are luminous animals among the inhabitants of the land: they are almost entirely beetles. There are six species of such beetles in Europe. IN tropical countries there are significantly more of them. They all make up one family of lampyrids, that is, fireflies. The "illumination" sometimes arranged by these bugs is a very spectacular sight.

One night I was on a train from Florence to Rome. Suddenly, sparks flying near the car caught my attention. At first they could be mistaken for sparks thrown out by a locomotive chimney. Glancing out the window, I saw that our train was rushing forward through a light, transparent cloud woven from tiny golden-blue lights. They sparkled everywhere. They circled, pierced the air in radiant arcs, cut it in different directions, crossed, drowned and flared up again in the night mist, poured down on the ground in a fiery rain. And the train raced farther and farther, shrouded in a magical veil of lights. Five minutes, or even more, this unforgettable spectacle lasted. Then we burst out of the cloud of burning motes, leaving them far behind us.

They were myriads of firefly beetles, our train crashed into the thick of these nondescript-looking insects, gathered on a quiet, warm night, apparently in mating season own life. (A similar phenomenon can be observed not only in the Mediterranean countries, but also in Russia. If you are on a warm and not rainy evening in the second half of summer, drive up to Black Sea coast, observe in the vicinity of the city of Tuapse the extravaganza described by the author. Due to the many tunnels, the abundance of turns and the single track, the train does not go very fast, and the flight of fireflies is viewed as a bewitching sight. - Yu.M.)

Certain types of fireflies emit light of relatively high intensity. There are fireflies that glow so brightly that on a dark horizon from a distance you can’t immediately determine what is in front of you - a star or a firefly. There are species in which both males and females glow equally well (for example, Italian fireflies). Finally, there are such types of bugs in which the male and female glow differently, although they look the same: in the male, the luminescence organ is better developed and acts more energetically than in the female. When the female is underdeveloped, has only rudimentary wings or is completely wingless, and the male is developed normally, then something else is observed: in the female, the organs of luminescence function much more strongly than in the male; the more underdeveloped the female, the more motionless and helpless she is, the brighter her luminous organ. The best example here is the so-called "Ivanov worm", which is not a worm at all, but a larval-like female of a special species of firefly beetles (Fig. 7). Many of us admired its cold, even light, breaking through the foliage of a bush or grass. But there is an even more interesting sight - the glow of a female of another species of fireflies. Inconspicuous during the day, similar to an annelids, at night it literally bathes in the rays of its own magnificent bluish-white light thanks to the abundance of luminous organs.

However, it is not enough to admire the glow of living beings. It is necessary to know what causes the glow of the inhabitants of the underwater and terrestrial world and what role it plays in the life of animals.

Inside each nightlight, with the help of a microscope, you can see many yellowish grains - these are luminous bacteria that live in the body of nightlights. By emitting light, they also make these microscopic animals luminous. The same must be said about the fish, whose eyes are like burning lanterns: their glow is caused by luminous bacteria that have settled in the cells of the luminous organ of this fish. But the glow of animals is not always associated with the activity of luminous bacteria. Sometimes light is produced by special luminous cells of the animal itself.

The luminous organs of various animals are built according to the same type, but some are simpler, while others are more complicated. While luminous polyps, jellyfish and starfish the whole body glows, some breeds of crayfish have only one light source - big eyes similar to a telescope. However, among the luminous animals, one of the first places rightfully belongs to cephalopods. These include the octopus, which has the ability to change the color of its outer covers.

What organs cause glow? How are they built and how do they work?

In the skin of the cephalopod, there are small, hard, oval-shaped bodies. The front part of this body, looking outward, is completely transparent and is something similar to the lens of the eye, and the back, most of it, is, as it were, wrapped in a black shell of pigment cells (Fig. 8). Directly under this shell, silvery cells lie in several rows: they make up the middle layer of the luminous organ of the mollusk. Below it are cells of complex shape, resembling the nerve elements of the retina of the eye. They line inner surface this little body ("apparatus"). They also emit light.

So, the "bulb" of a cephalopod consists of three different layers. Light is emitted by the cells of the inner layer. Reflected from the silvery cells of the middle layer, it passes through the transparent end of the "bulb" and goes out.

Another curious detail in this luminous "apparatus". In the skin of a cephalopod, near each such body, something like a concave mirror or reflector rises. Each such reflector in the "bulb" of the mollusk consists, in turn, of a two-fold kind of cells, of dark pigment cells that do not transmit light, in front of which silver cells reflecting light are located in rows.

While an organism lives, various chemical processes take place in its cells. In connection with these processes in the body, there are various forms energy: thermal, thanks to which it warms up; mechanical, on which its movements depend; electrical, which is connected with the work of his nerves. Light is too special kind energy generated under the influence of inner work that takes place in the body. The substance of luminous bacteria and those cells that make up the luminous apparatus of animals, oxidizing, radiates light energy.

What role does light play in animal life? Answer this question in each separate case so far failed. But the benefits of glow for many animals can hardly be doubted. Luminous fish and crayfish live at a depth where sunlight does not penetrate. In the dark, it is difficult to distinguish what is happening around, track down prey and elude the enemy in time. Meanwhile, luminous fish and crayfish are sighted, have eyes. The ability to glow makes their lives easier.

In addition, we know how some animals are attracted to the light. A fish that has something like a light bulb sticking out of its head, or an anglerfish, endowed with a long cord-like tentacle "with a flashlight" at the end, use luminous organs to attract prey. The cephalopod mollusk is even happier in this respect: its changeable, iridescent light attracts some, frightens others. Some varieties of small luminous crustaceans, in a moment of danger, throw out jets of luminous substance, the resulting luminous cloud hides them from the enemy. Finally, the glow in some animals serves as a means of finding and attracting one sex of the animal to another: males thus find females or, conversely, attract them to themselves. Therefore, the glow of animals is one of the adaptations that are so rich in Live nature, one of the weapons in the struggle for existence.

The depths of the oceans and seas are inhabited by many amazing living creatures, among which there is a real miracle of nature. These are deep-sea, which are equipped with unique organs - photophores. These special lantern glands may be located in different places: on the head, around the mouth or eyes, on the antennae, on the back, on the sides or on the processes of the body. The photophores are filled with mucus with glowing bioluminescent bacteria.

deep sea glowing fish

It is worth noting that glowing fish is able to control the glow of bacteria by itself, expanding or constricting blood vessels, tk. Flashes of light require oxygen.

One of the most interesting representatives glowing fish are deep sea anglers, which live at a depth of about 3000 meters.

In the arsenal of females reaching a meter in length, there is a special rod with a “bait-beacon” at its end, which attracts prey to it. Very interesting view is the bottom galateatauma (lat.Galatheathauma axeli), which is equipped with a light "bait" right in the mouth. She does not "trouble" herself with hunting, because it is enough for her to take a comfortable position, open her mouth and swallow the "naive" prey.

Anglerfish (lat. Ceratioidei)

Another interesting representative, glowing fish is a black dragon (lat. Malacosteus niger). She emits red light with the help of special "spotlights" that are located under her eyes. For the deep-sea inhabitants of the ocean, this light is invisible, and the black dragon fish illuminates its path, while remaining unnoticed.

Those representatives of deep-sea fish that have specific organs of luminescence, telescopic eyes, etc., are true deep sea fish, they should not be confused with the deep-sea shelf, which do not have such adaptive organs and live on the continental slope.

Black dragon (Latin Malacosteus niger)

Known since glowing fish:

lantern-eyed (lat. Anomalopidae)

luminous anchovies, or miktofovye (lat. Myctophidae)

anglerfish (lat. Ceratioidei)

Brazilian luminous (cigar) sharks (lat. Isistius Brasiliensis)

gonostoma (lat. Gonostomatidae)

chauliodnye (lat. Chauliodontidae)

Luminous anchovies are small fish with a laterally compressed body, a large head and a very large mouth. The length of their body, depending on the species, is from 2.5 to 25 cm. They have special luminous organs that emit green, blue, or yellowish light, which is formed due to chemical reactions occurring in photocytic cells.

Glowing anchovies (Latin Myctophidae)

They are widely distributed throughout the oceans. Many species of myctophids have a huge number. The Myctophidae, together with the Photihthidae and Gonostomas, account for up to 90% of the population of all known deep-sea fishes.

Gonostoma (lat. Gonostomatidae)

The life of these deep-sea elusive representatives of the marine fauna is carefully hidden from prying eyes, so it takes place at a depth of 1000 to 6000 meters. And since the World Ocean, according to scientists, has been studied by less than 5%, humanity is still waiting for a lot of amazing discoveries, among them, perhaps, there will be new types of deep-sea glowing fish.

And with others, no less interesting creatures inhabiting sea ​​depths you will be introduced to these articles: