Creatures that radiate light. Creative work on the topic: “Glowing animals. Why do animals 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 present 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 underwater world they, among other things, 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

Who among us has not read Arthur Conan Doyle's story "The Hound of the Baskervilles", which tells of a luminous killer dog that pursued the Baskerville family. The blood freezes in the veins and it becomes very scary ...

When night falls and a terrible howl is heard again near the castle, and then suddenly a huge scary creature- so, again in the Baskerville family, someone will be killed. However, while reading this, we understood that a dog glowing in the dark is a figment of Conan Doyle's fantasy, in reality this simply cannot be. But we were wrong. Years passed and scientists different countries learned how to breed animals glowing in the dark: pigs, mice, cats, dogs, rabbits, fish and monkeys.

Such experiments are carried out not for the sake of a joke or a joke, but to study the development of diseases and to find the most optimal methods for their treatment.

Pigs, for example, are similar in many ways to humans: in heart size and circulatory system, by the level of hemoglobin in the blood, by the number of red blood cells and blood groups, by the processes of digestion. And even the skin of the pigs looks like a human! An amazing amount of similarities! Monkeys, allegedly our ancestors, and those have a much smaller number of genetic matches with humans. How can you not take advantage of this!

Chinese scientists were the first to breed glowing pigs. They introduced into the body of the sow, or rather, into the embryo, a fluorescent protein taken from a jellyfish that can glow in the dark. The experiment was a success, and as a result, charming luminous piglets were born, in daylight having a greenish tint to the skin, eyes, patches, teeth, hooves, and even all internal organs, and if ultraviolet light is directed at them, they will shine like lights!

Glow at the cellular level, without harm to the animal's body, allows you to monitor all the processes occurring in the body. Of the equipment you need only a microscope with ultraviolet illumination.

This method is used when observing the body after transplantation of stem cells, which have the ability to turn into cells of the organ into which they were transplanted. The introduction of cells of luminous pigs makes it possible to trace their entire path in the body by luminescence.

The similarity of the body of a pig and a person, perhaps in the future, will make it possible to grow donor pigs for organ transplants to people in need, but so far this has not quite worked out. Scientists have not been able to breed a pig that is genetically similar to humans, so rejection occurs during tissue transplantation.

Also, the problem is that there are very few healthy glowing pigs, and it is difficult to raise them. Piglets are often either born dead or with serious pathologies. Scientists hope that glowing pigs can produce offspring that can also glow. And still it is necessary to find out whether the luminous donor pigs will infect people with some of their "swine" disease.

Similar experiments are carried out with other animals: cats, monkeys, etc. A disease is “launched” into their body, which can also affect a person, and then, observing the development of the disease by the glow, they try to cure the animal using certain technologies and medicines. If the animal recovers, it means that the remedy found can help a person in the future.

Jellyfish protein was also used in experiments with malarial mosquitoes: managed to breed male mosquitoes with luminous genitals that cannot reproduce. They were sorted from females (they do not glow) and released. As a result of the replacement of normal male malarial mosquitoes with luminous mosquitoes, their population has declined.

Ercinia Latin name birds of the hercynian forest whose feathers glow at nightis Latin name variant of Hercinia, bird of Hercynian forest in Germany with feathers which shine at nightLatin name for the bird of the Hercynian forest, whose feathers glow at night

Hercynia is Latin name variant of Hercinia, bird of Hercynian forest in Germany with feathers which shine at nightLatin name for the bird of the Hercynian forest, whose feathers glow at nightis Latin name variant of Hercinia, bird of Hercynian forest in Germany with feathers which shine at nightLatin name for the bird of the Hercynian forest, whose feathers glow at night

This legend was started by Pliny the Elder in short message in book 10 of his Natural History:

In the Hercynian Forest in Germany, we are told, there are strange birds whose feathers glow like fire at night.

Pliny the Elder "Natural History" X. LXVII. 132

Gaius Julius Solinus in the 3rd century AD enlarged this description to a whole story. It turns out that in the dark Hercynian forest (for more details on the forest, see the article "Achlis"), everyone is not only used to this wonderful bird, but also, having pulled feathers from it, use their features for night travel:

In the Hercynian forest there are birds whose plumage glows in the dark and gives light that disperses the night that reigns in the thicket. That's why locals they try to direct their nightly sorties in such a way that they can navigate in this light. They also find their way by throwing glittering feathers into the darkness ahead of them.

Solin "Collection of sights", 20, 6-7

Isidore of Seville repeated Solin's information, but with the exception that travelers walking through the Germanic forest at night do not now throw feathers in front of them; now the birds themselves fly ahead of the walker and illuminate his path with their shining wings. Isidore names the birds ercinia (Hercyniae) and derives this name from the Hercynian forest (Hercynio) - a name coined, perhaps, by Isidore himself.

Over time, these birds got into the set of messages that medieval bestiaries absorbed from the Etymologies. In the bestiaries of the Second Family, the bird ercinia- an ordinary guest, however, the bestiaries did not add any additional features to this bird, regularly and almost verbatim repeating Isidore.

In the "Cosmography" of the Istrian Ethics (7th century), these birds suddenly changed their localization and turned out to be inhabitants not of the Hercynian forest, but of the Hyrcanian forest in the Caspian region. In the Ethicus, the Hyrcanian forest looks out of place, since before that he describes the northern regions. Most likely it was common mistake, but it has borne fruit and a number of medieval authors place these birds in the regions near the Caspian Sea.

A curious stage in the development of the legend of luminous birds was recorded by Hugh of Saint-Victor, describing big map peace of Ebstforsko - type in 1030-1035. In the space "along the northern ocean, between the Danube and this ocean," Hugo, in particular, saw a certain cape inhabited by gelons who hide themselves in the skin of enemies, then goths, cynocephali, and then the Khazars, Gazari, and "horse forest with luminous birds" , saltus equinus, habens aves fulgore perspicvas (the definition of "horse", eqinus - apparently corrupted by Hercinus.

Chekin, L.S. "Cartography of the Christian Middle Ages. VIII-XIII centuries."

Honorius of Augustodon in the 12th century goes even further and, from the entirely invented "Hircanian forest", produces the entire region of Hyrcania, and places Hyrcania itself to the west of Bactria:

Here begins Hyrcania, named after the Hyrcanian Forest, where there are birds whose feathers glow at night.

Honorius of Augustodon "On the Image of the World", I.XIX

There is a hypothesis that the bright plumage of the waxwing tail could give rise to this legend.

For the first time these birds were mentioned by Pliny the Elder(23-79 AD):

In Hercynio Germaniae saltu invisitata genera alitum accepimus, quarum plumae ignium modo conluceant noctibus.

Gaius Plinius Secundus "Naturalis Historia", VIII.123-124

We have been told of strange kinds of birds in the Hercynian Forest of Germany whose feathers shine like fires at night-time.

In 3 century A.D. Solin enlarged this brief account to a whole story:

Saltus Hercynius aves gignit, quarum pennae per obscurum emicant et interlucent, quamvis obtenta nox denset tenebras. unde homines loci illius plerumque nocturnos excursus sic destinant, ut illis utantur ad praesidium itineris dirigendi, praeiactisque per opaca callium ratiom viae moderentur indicio plumarum refulgentium.

Cajus Julius Solinus "Collectanea rerum memorabilium", 20, 3

The Forrest of Hertswald bréedeth byrds, whose feathers shyne and giue light in the darke, though the night be never so close and clowdy. And therefore men of that Countrey, doo for the most parte so laye theyr outgoings by night, that they may vse thē for a helpe to direct theyr journey by: and casting them before them in ye open pathes, doo finde howe to kéepe theyr way by the glystring of those feathers, which shewe them which way to goe.

The excellent and pleasant worke of Iulius Solinus Polyhistor...

Isidore of Seville repeated all written by Solin except of traveler "s modus operandi with feathers of this bird. Name Hercynia first time also appears in "Etymologies".

Nature is generous. Gives beauty and grace to some, intelligence and cunning to others, poison and a formidable appearance to others. The unfortunate and ugly, dwelling in deep darkness, also get something.

Bioluminescence is the ability of living organisms to glow, achieved independently or with the help of symbionts. The name comes from other Greek. βίος, "life" and lat. lumen- "light". Light is created in more highly developed organisms in special luminous organs (for example, in the photophores of fish), in unicellular eukaryotes - in special organelles, and in bacteria - in the cytoplasm. Bioluminescence is based on chemical processes in which the released energy is released in the form of light. Thus, bioluminescence is a special form of chemiluminescence. Wikipedia

1. Hatchet fish Sternoptychidae

The belly of this small tropical fish, living at a depth of 200 to 2000 m, is equipped with photophores that produce green radiation. The luminescence masks the silhouette of the hatchet: against the backlight from above (from the surface of the ocean), the fish becomes almost invisible to predators living below.

2. Luminous larvae Arachnocampa luminosa

The ceiling of New Zealand's Waitomo Cave resembles a starry sky. This is how the larvae of the local mushroom mosquito sparkle. They weave silk nests, lower down many threads with a sticky liquid and lure prey with their radiance - midges, snails and even their own adult relatives.

3. Nightlight Noctiluca scintillans

The mysterious glow of the sea, which has fascinated seafarers and fishermen for centuries different places the globe, cause unicellular organisms, dinoflagellates that form aggregations in surface waters. The pulses of light emitted by them may be an alarm signal.

4.glowing mushrooms Mycena lux coeli

More than 70 species of luminescent mushrooms are known. More than 40 of them belong to the genus Mycena. Japanese size mushroom mycena lux-coeli growing on fallen trees are only 1–2 cm in diameter, but their glow can be seen in the dark at a distance of 50 meters. Presumably, this is how the fungi attract insects that carry spores.

5. hellish vampire Vampyroteuthis infernalis

cephalopod, single modern representative detachment of vampiromorphs, lives at a depth of 400-1000 meters, in the oxygen minimum zone. His entire body is covered with photophores, the activity of which the vampire controls well: he can control the duration and intensity of flashes. Instead of ink, in case of danger, it emits a cloud of sparkling slime.

6. scorpions Scorpiones

A handheld UV lamp has long been used for nighttime field photography of these animals. Scorpions do not have the ability to bioluminesce, but their exoskeleton contains fluorescent substances that are activated by exposure to ultraviolet waves of a certain length.

7. fireflies Lampyridae

There are about 2000 species of beetles in this family. All of them have luminous organs different types. The most common is the lantern, located on the terminal segments of the abdomen. Light signals of different intensity and duration are a means of communication between females and males.

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Many organisms of the plant and animal world are capable of emitting light. On this moment there are about 800 species of such animals, some of which belong to deep-sea inhabitants.

These are unicellular (nocturnal), coelenterates (sea feathers, hydroids, jellyfish, siphonophores), ctenophores, various crustaceans, mollusks (especially deep-sea squids), worms and echinoderms. But don't forget the fish a prime example which are anglers.

There is not enough time to tell about all the "glowing in the night", so we decided to make the Top 10 most interesting luminous representatives of the deep sea world.

Sea pen belongs to the group of pinnate calcareous polyps. Known for their ability to glow. Glow is the reaction of the polyp to various stimuli. Widespread in tropical and subtropical waters Atlantic Ocean And mediterranean sea. Settle in colonies on sandy or muddy seabed. They feed on plankton and organic matter. They grow up to 40 centimeters (upper and lower parts), but on the surface their “feather” does not exceed 25 centimeters. In total, there are about 300 species.

Hatchet fish lives at a depth of 200-600 meters, but some specimens can be found at a depth of up to 2 kilometers. Due to the narrow tail and wide flat body, they look somewhat like an ax. For which, in fact, they got their name. They grow no more than 7-8 centimeters. Predators. Photophores (luminescence organs) are located on the abdomen. During the glow, for fish living at greater depths, its silhouette becomes blurred. Therefore, the ability to glow in these fish serves to disguise, and not to lure prey, such as anglers. Hatchet fish can adjust the intensity of their glow.

Each representative of this type of marine invertebrates has "combs" - rowing plates, which are bundles of cilia glued together. The sizes are very diverse - from 2-2.5 mm to 3 m (for example, the Venus belt (Cestum Veneris)). The body is like a bag, at one end of which is the mouth, and at the other the organs of balance. Ctenophores do not have stinging cells, so food is immediately captured by the mouth or trapping tentacles (in ctenophores of the class Tentacles (Tentaculata)). They are hermaphrodites. They feed on plankton, fish fry and other ctenophores.

Bomb worms have been found in pacific ocean off the coast of the Philippines, Mexico and the United States. They live at a depth of 1.8 to 3.8 kilometers. Their body consists of segments and setae attached to them. They swim very well. They do this with the help of wave-like movements of their body. In length grow from 2 to 10 centimeters.

Their main method of protection is the launch of "bombs" - simple sacs filled with hemolymph - a substance that is the "blood" of invertebrates. When the enemy approaches, these bombs are separated from the worm and begin to luminesce.

It lives at a depth of 500-1000 meters. It is literally dotted with photophores of various sizes, most of which are located in front of the eyes (on the eyelids and even in the eyeball). Sometimes they merge into continuous luminous bands that surround the eye. He can adjust the intensity of the glow of his "headlights". It feeds on fish and various vertebrates. Has an ink bag.

6. Giant deep-sea squid Taningia danae

It is the largest bioluminescent squid. A specimen known to science reaches a length of 2.3 meters and weighs about 60 kilograms. It lives in tropical and subtropical waters at a depth of about 1000 meters. Aggressive predator. The pursuit speed is 2.5 meters per second. The squid emits short flashes of light before attacking with the help of special organs located on the tentacles. There are several suggestions as to why he needs these flashes of light:

1. They help the squid to blind its prey;
2. allow you to measure the distance to the target;
3. or are an element of courtship.

A bright representative of deep-sea luminous fish. One of the most scary fish in the world. It lives at depths up to 3000 meters. Distinctive feature is a process on the head of females, at the end of which is a sac with luminous bacteria. He acts as a bait for others deep sea fish. Anglerfish also feed on crustaceans and cephalopods. Very voracious.

With more detailed information you can find out about these fish.

These are deep sea shrimp. Their photophores are located on the body and on special areas of the liver that shine through the integument of the body. These shrimp are also capable of throwing out a glowing liquid that scares off opponents. In addition, this glow helps them find each other during the breeding season. Each species of these shrimp has certain luminous areas. This helps them to distinguish each other.

9. Hellish vampire or hellish vampire squid (lat. Vampyroteuthis infernalis)