We are encountering more and more “glow-in-the-dark” animals. We recently heard of a gecko with similar characteristics, so it seems that the natural world seems to be enjoying this very special glow and today, three new creatures are added to the bioluminescence and one of them is the largest bright vertebrate known to The science.
This is the kite shark, which along with two other deep-sea sharks, turns out to glow under ultraviolet (UV) light. Bioluminescence is not such an alien function in the depths of the ocean, we can see it in jellyfish, for example, because light is a big problem for these animals that occupy what is known as the Twilight Zone in the water column, which is It extends from just under 200 meters to 1,000 meters deep.
Creatures of the deep
The three species identified include the kite shark ( Dalatias licha ), the black-bellied lantern shark ( Etmopterus lucifer ) and the southern lantern shark (Etmopterus granulosus ) all from Chatham Rise, off the coast. from New Zealand.
“Bioluminescence has often been seen as a spectacular but rare event at sea, but considering the vastness of the deep sea and the presence of luminous organisms in this area, it is now increasingly obvious that deep light production it must play an important role in structuring the largest ecosystem on our planet, ”the study authors explain. “This first experimental study of three species of luminous sharks from New Zealand provides insight into the diversity of shark bioluminescence and highlights the need for more research to help understand these unusual inhabitants of the deep sea – glowing sharks.” .
Referencia: Bioluminescence of the Largest Luminous Vertebrate, the Kitefin Shark, Dalatias licha: First Insights and Comparative Aspects Jérôme Mallefet, Darren W. Stevens and Laurent Duchatelet Front. Mar. Sci., 26 February 2021 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.633582
