Bioluminescence Related Content

Aug 25 2011 - 12:45pm
Artist Shih Chieh Huang spent a good part of 2007 exploring specimens of deep-ocean animals found in the collections of the National Museum of Natural History. He was a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellow and was investigating the unusual evolutionary adaptations that allow these creatures to live...
Aug 29 2012 - 12:17pm
This copepod (Gaussia princeps) was collected deeper than 1000 meters in the Sargasso Sea by Census of Marine Zooplankton (CMarZ) researchers in April 2006, as part of the 10-year Census of Marine Life. However, specimens of this species have been collected in all the world's oceans at many depths...
a red octopus, Stauroteuthis syrtenis, extends its tentacles in the deep sea
Oct 27 2010 - 1:56pm
Claws, spines, spikes, tentacles, and fangs. Aliens, monsters, and ghostly apparitions glowing in the night. Marine life forms have some of the best looks for Halloween—no costumes needed. From freaky fish lurking beneath the surface to creepy crawlies of the deep, meet some of the sea’s strangest...
Aug 30 2012 - 10:30am
These southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) may look like beach bums, but when they are in the water hunting, they are anything but. Satellite tracking by tagging the animals has found that, during the 10 months they spend at sea, elephant seals spend most of their time underwater, hunting...
Aug 18 2011 - 4:24pm
Bioluminescence is one of the more captivating adaptations that have evolved in marine animals. It's the ability of organisms to create and emit light. Dive underwater and you may witness lightshows of red, green, and blue. Chemical reactions release energy that produces the light. Many species use...
Light Painting Tutorial
Oct 12 2011 - 4:05pm
What does a bioluminescent creature that lives more than two miles below the surface of the ocean and a glow stick have in common? More than you think. Bioluminescence is the process by which living organisms produce their own light. Using a photographic technique called light painting, you can do...
Feb 28 2013 - 3:37pm
Jellyfish and comb jellies are gelatinous animals that drift through the ocean's water column around the world. They are both beautiful—the jellyfish with their pulsating bells and long, trailing tentacles, and the comb jellies with their paddling combs generating rainbow-like colors. Yet though...
Aug 3 2010 - 12:11pm
The ROV Hyper Dolphin caught this deep-sea jelly (Atolla wyvillei) on film east of Izu-Oshina Island, Japan. When attacked, it uses bioluminescence to "scream" for help—an amazing light show known as a burglar alarm display. Visit the Encyclopedia of Life to learn more about these wild jellies.