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Bioluminescence is the ability of living organisms to glow, achieved independently or with the help of symbionts. 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. As it turned out, there are no luminous plants in nature, but there are luminous bacteria and fungi. WHAT IS BIOLUMINESCENCE? Mushrooms Bacteria

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WHAT IS BIOLUMINESCENCE? The very name "bioluminescence" literally means "weak living glow". Bioluminescence is based on chemical processes in which the released energy is released in the form of light. The efficiency of living glow is fantastically high: it reaches 80-90%. Jellyfish Pisces Firefly

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WHAT IS BIOLUMINESCENCE? The frequency of the emitted light, that is, its color, depends on the energy of the light quantum (photon). Corals Anchovies

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WHAT IS BIOLUMINESCENCE? Among land animals, the ability to glow is rather an exception to the rule, but among marine animals it is widespread. In terms of the number of luminous species among invertebrates, the coelenterates (soft corals, sea feathers, deep-sea jellyfish) and cephalopods(squid and cuttlefish), and among the chordates - tunicates (salps and fireballs), as well as fish. Salpa Kalmar

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WHAT IS BIOLUMINESCENCE? Of the freshwater bioluminescent species, the New Zealand gastropod Latia neritoides and a number of bacteria. Among terrestrial organisms, individual species of fungi, earthworms, snails, centipedes and insects glow. Latia neritoides Luminous snail Firefly

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HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY OF BIOLUMINESCENCE This story began on January 4, 1761, when a Danish warship was carrying a scientific expedition from Copenhagen to Smyrna, one of the participants of which was the zoologist Forskol. One day in early March, when the ship was sailing in the North Sea, passengers noticed a strange glow in the water. The reason turned out to be jellyfish, "capable of glowing inside."

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HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY OF BIOLUMINESCENCE When jellyfish were disturbed, they glowed brightly with green phosphorescent light. Forskol alcoholized several specimens of jellyfish and wrote in Latin in his travel diary: "when irritated and killed, they glow."

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HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY OF BIOLUMINESCENCE For centuries, the glow of the sea has been one of the the greatest mysteries ocean. Scientists tried to explain this phenomenon both by the glow of phosphorus contained in the water, and by electrical discharges that occur during the friction of water and salt molecules, and by the fact that the night ocean gives off the energy of the Sun absorbed during the day. It has now been established that the glow of the sea is caused by biological reasons, the main of which is the mass reproduction of some bioluminescent species of organisms that make up a significant part of the plankton of the World Ocean. Bioluminescent plankton Comb jelly

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PHYSICO-CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF BIOLUMINESCENCE In bacteria, luminophor proteins are scattered throughout the cell; in unicellular eukaryotic organisms, they are located in membrane-surrounded vesicles in the cytoplasm. In multicellular animals, light is usually emitted by special cells - photocytes. Photocytes of coelenterates and other primitive animals glow continuously or within a few seconds after mechanical or chemical stimulation. In animals with developed nervous system it controls the work of photocytes, turning them on and off in response to external stimuli or when changing internal environment organism. Lantern-eye Shishechnik

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BIOLUMINESCENCE IN DEEP-SEA FISH In many deep-sea cephalopods, the body is painted with a pattern of multi-colored light spots, and the photophores are very complex, like a searchlight shining only in the right direction with reflectors and lenses. anglerfish

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INTERESTING USE OF BIOLUMINESCENCE Light flashes scare away predators from jellyfish, ctenophores and other helpless and gentle creatures. Corals and other colonial animals glow in response to mechanical stimulation, and their untouched neighbors also begin to flicker.

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INTERESTING APPLICATIONS OF BIOLUMINESCENCE trapping net and illuminate it own body, attracting insects.

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INTERESTING USE OF BIOLUMINESCENCE In Brazil and Uruguay, there are reddish-brown fireflies with rows of bright green lights along their torso and a bright red bulb on their heads. There are cases when doctors performed operations in the light of fireflies poured into a bottle.

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INTERESTING APPLICATIONS OF BIOLUMINESCENCE The most striking application of bioluminescence is the creation of transgenic plants and animals. The first mouse with the GFP gene inserted into chromosomes was created in 1998. The first luminous fish were created by Taiwanese scientist Dr. Zhiyuan Gong in 2001.

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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 photocyte 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 the depths of the sea, you will be introduced to these articles:

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 this reaction glowing creatures they do a lot 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 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 one of the most beautiful natural phenomena! We present a selection of creatures that can glow in the dark.

‎1. Plankton

breathtaking a natural phenomenon occurring at many points the globe‎Maldives receive the most tourist attention. Bioluminescent ‎phytoplankton, picked up by oncoming waves, illuminates the waters of the ocean with a bright blue glow. The tide regularly brings a scattering of lights to the shore, turning it into a landscape from a fairy tale.

‎2. Diplopods (subspecies of centipedes)‎

Eight out of twenty thousand varieties of centipedes have the ability to glow at night. A greenish-blue glow emanates from even the most ordinary brown individuals. Such a feature in this case does not have the function of attracting prey, because centipedes are herbivores. The glow serves as a deterrent to predators as a signal of toxicity, because the pores of these animals can release cyanide.‎

‎3. cave fireflies

The larvae of some species of mosquitoes and midges tend to glow, for which they were assigned to the group of fireflies. Particularly entertaining are the so-called cave fireflies that live in New Zealand, in a magical place called Waitomo. These insects use the radiance of their bodies for two purposes: for predators it is a signal of toxicity, and for potential victims it is an excellent bait: the prey attracted by the light is captured by silky threads hanging in the cave vaults.‎

‎4. Snails ‎

When a Clusterwink snail senses that danger surrounds it, it pulls its body into the shell and it glows bright green from the inside, giving the illusion of an increase in size. As a rule, the enemy, struck by such a metamorphosis, retreats.‎

‎5. ctenophores

These jelly-like creatures get their name from the eight ridge-like plates on their body that help them move through the water. Some types of ctenophores glow bright green or blue in the dark, while others simply scatter light as their combs move, creating a brilliant iridescent (but not bioluminescent in nature) effect.‎

‎6. Fireflies

A special organ located at the bottom of the firefly's abdomen, glowing, signals that the insect is looking for a mate. However, in addition to this, the radiance hints to potential predators about the not harmless nature of these charming bugs, which makes them unsuitable for food. Even firefly larvae have the ability to have a recognizable yellow glow.‎

‎7. Clems or veneers ‎

This kind sea ​​shellfish, the average size of which reaches 18 cm, strikes observers with its blue radiance, but it appears only in the presence of certain circumstances. ‎First evidence of unusual feature Klemov was left by the Roman statesman Pliny. He noticed a change in the color of the air from his breath after eating raw shellfish. Recent studies have shown that clemov causes the presence of free radicals to glow. Such a discovery can provide science with new ways to diagnose cancer at an early stage.‎

‎8. angler fish

The dorsal fin of the female anglerfish is located directly above the mouth. This organ is shaped like a fishing rod with a luminous end that attracts prey. When the prey, interested in the light, swims close enough, the predator abruptly grabs it and tears it into pieces with its powerful jaws.

‎9. cockroaches

Two luminous dots on the back of one of the cockroach species act as a disguise for the appearance of a poisonous click beetle. It's the only one known to science an organism that uses bioluminescence for defensive mimicry. Unfortunately, it is possible that this recently discovered creature has already completely disappeared from the globe as a result of a volcanic eruption in Ecuador in 2010. ‎

‎10. Mushrooms

Around the world there are about 70 species glowing mushrooms common in many different places. The ability to glow helps many species to reproduce: attracted by the ‎radiance, beetles that land on the surface of the fungus become carriers of its spores.‎

‎11. squids

Many squids use something called counter-illumination. This means that they begin to glow according to the intensity of the light coming from above. This behavior provides them with protection from attacks by predators, which make it difficult to distinguish between a prey that has “lost” its shadow.‎

‎12. corals

In fact, most corals are not bioluminescents, but biofluorescents. The first concept expresses the body's ability to produce its own light, while the second represents the accumulation of light from external sources and its reflection with a changed hue. For example, some corals, when absorbing blue and violet rays, begin to glow bright red, orange or green.‎

‎13. Octopuses

Tiny deep-sea octopuses owe their glow to special photophore organs located on their body - modified suckers. Thanks to them, the tentacles are covered with flickering or continuously shining lights.

‎14. Sea stars

In truth, a creature called Ophiochiton ternispinus to starfish does not apply, and yet this species is very close to them. Just like their "star" relatives, they have five limbs, which are distinguished by their particular thinness and high flexibility. These animals emit a bright blue color that helps them hunt in their dark environment. ‎

‎15. sea ​​anemones

Anemones, along with their non-bioluminescent relatives, spend most of their lives free-swimming until they find the best place for final anchorage. Their luminous tentacles sting predators and prey with sharp "harpoons".

‎16. glowing anchovies

Another deep-sea owner of photophore organs is the luminous anchovy. The bright points of this fish are located mainly on the belly, but it wears the most spectacular lights on the forehead, which gives the impression of a headlight on the head.‎

‎17. bacteria

Insects often fall prey to one of the varieties of bacteria that emit bright light. Individuals of this species release toxins that destroy the body of the victim from the inside.‎

‎18. Krill

Arctic waters are densely populated small crustaceans called krill. These creatures use the bright radiance of their tiny bodies as beacons for their species. Swimming towards the light to each other and huddling in flocks, they better endure difficult conditions and attacks of predators.

‎19. Big Mouths

The deep-sea bigmouth fish, also called the "pelican eel", lives on seabed, where it hunts prey, sometimes exceeding its own size. The massive mouth of this inhabitant of the depths allows you to swallow arbitrarily large amounts of food. A light organ located on long tail, attracts with its flickering the victim wandering in the darkness.‎

‎20. sea ​​worms

A rare creature called Swima bombaviridis has an equally unique method of self-defense. On his body are eight bags with a special liquid. At the moment of danger, they are emptied and the spilled liquid illuminates the space around with a bright blue or green glow, distracting the predator and allowing sea ​​worm hide.‎

Through the study sea ​​depths, scientists were able to get acquainted with unique deep-sea creatures with phenomenal abilities. Among them, for example, can be attributed fish - anglerfish. Life in complete darkness left its mark on them. On the body of these fish there is a process, at the end of which there is a flask filled with bioluminescent bacteria. They just kind of glow.

But, as it turned out, other fish living at great depths can also glow. This effect is called biofluorescence. These marine inhabitants include: stingray, moray eel, sea ​​igloo, fish - a stone, fish - a surgeon and a number of others. The glow of their bodies has a slightly different nature. It is due to the special structure of their skin. Under the influence of light rays belonging to the blue light spectrum, their bodies begin to glow, acquiring neon, red, yellow, orange and other light shades. Scientists call this phenomenon biofluorescence.

Its main difference from bioluminescence is that there are no chemical reactions causing glow. The glow effect, in this case, has a slightly different nature. In this case, the bodies of living organisms absorb blue light rays, transform them into rays of a different spectrum, and emit them into the surrounding space.

Fluorescent molecules located in the skin of living beings are responsible for this process. It is they who, just, absorb the rays of the blue light spectrum. When light photons collide with these molecules, they are excited, accompanied by the release a large number the energy accumulated by the electrons of fluorescent molecules. They cannot stay in this state for a long time, and will try to get rid of excess energy in order to go into normal condition. This is what eventually happens. The energy is released, and in the form of light photons it goes into the surrounding space, causing a glow, but of a completely different light spectrum. Depending on the energy level of the emitted photons, the body of a living being will acquire different color shades.

It turns out that fish living in the ocean, which have the effect of biofluorescence, absorb the light rays of the blue spectrum. A logical question arises, why only blue? The thing is that the light rays of the red and infrared spectrum are absorbed upper layers water, therefore, the rays of the blue and green spectra penetrate to the depth, mainly. Scientists have found that at a depth of more than 100 meters there are only blue light rays, which are absorbed by the bodies of deep-sea fish.