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aamukherjee A Slice of Entropie -
alchymista Alchymista -
crownedrose Fading Like A Dead Star -
expose-the-light Quarks to Quasars -
kenobi-wan-obi CWL -
abluegirl A Blue Girl -
perscientiamlibertas A Matter of the Most Pleasant Fraternal Confidence
Glowing bellies actually help tiny sharks to hide from predators
You might think a stomach that lights up would be a liability when you’re trying to avoid getting eaten — but the glowing bellies of tiny sharks are helpful in camouflaging them from predators lurking below, researchers say.
The smalleye pygmy shark (Squaliolus aliae), which lives in coastal waters of the southeastern Indian and west Pacific Oceans, only reaches up to 8.6 inches (22 centimeters) long. When silhouetted against weak light from above, these diminutive fish might appear to be easy prey. Hence the tiny light emitters that cover the undersides of these fish.
Velvet belly lantern sharks have glowing skin as well, using it for both camouflage and communication. The researchers find the pygmy sharks probably share an ancestor with the lantern sharks, since they regulate their glows in similar ways hormonally.
The way that the pygmy sharks control their light systems also resembles the way shallow-water sharks control their skin color. This may show that the pygmy shark is “the missing link in the evolution of luminescence in sharks,” shark researcher Julien Claes at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium told io9. The idea is that after shallow-water sharks evolved control over their skin pigment, pygmy sharks evolved control over glowing skin. Lantern sharks then developed even greater command.
The scientists detailed their findings online April 26 in the Journal of Experimental Biology.
Credit for images: J. Mallefet, J.Claes, FNRS/UCL.
crownedrose
Lophius Piscatorius
Or more popularly called ‘The Anglerfish’. To attract prey, this scary-looking fish uses a bioluminescent “fishing pole” that hangs just above and in front of its toothy face. The lure is actually a piece of dorsal spine packed with millions of glow-in-the-dark bacteria.
Credit: Jared Benney
(via the-naut)
kenobi-wan-obi8 Beautiful Bioluminescent Creatures From the Sea
While a handful of land animals can create their own light, homemade luminescence is the rule rather than the exception in the open ocean’s dark waters.
Researchers estimate that between 80 and 90 percent of deep-dwelling animals are bioluminous, creating light by mixing the pigment luciferin with luciferase, the enzyme that makes it glow. The light tends to green and blue, colors that travel far in seawater. Glowing helps attract mates, lure prey or confound predators.
Many of these animals live thousands of meters deep and are difficult for scientists to find and study. Here are some of the prettiest — and strangest — glowing creatures of the seas.
(via kenobi-wan-obi)
Nightlight Mushrooms
Mycena lucentipes, which literally means “glowing stem,” are bioluminescent fungi whose stems glow so brightly that they illuminate the caps as well, creating the illusion that the entire mushroom is glowing in the dark. There are more than 60 species of bioluminescent fungi species, and the M. lucentipes is one of the brightest-glowing species.
Discovered in 2006 in São Paulo, Brazil, by researchers from Brazil’s Institute of Botany, the mushrooms are believed to glow to attract nocturnal insects and animals that can aid in spore dispersal. In the daylight, the mushrooms are a bland brown and tan color, but when night falls, their continuous bioluminescent glow shines through.
Credit: Cassius V. Stevani |Chemistry Institute, University of Sao Paulo
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Sparkle Motion
The bioluminescent algae Noctiluca scintillans is also known as “sea sparkle” because of its magical appearance. These dinoflagellates become illuminated when they are disturbed by motion in the water — whether it’s the result of natural waves or a fish swimming by. The above romantic “light display” was created by the photographer moving an object through the water in a heart shape.
Credit: ArtTomCat | shutterstock
