Bioluminescent animals can be found in various phyla, including cnidarians, ctenophores, arthropods, molluscs, fish, and bacteria. Bioluminescence can serve functions such as camouflage, attraction, repulsion, communication, and illumination of prey. Different colors are preferred on land and sea due to the visual systems of animals in each environment. Fireflies and fungi are examples of organisms that use bioluminescence for specific purposes.
Bioluminescent animals can be found in at least half a dozen animal phyla. This includes bioluminescent cnidarians (jellyfish, corals and sea pens), ctenophores (“comb jellies”), arthropods (fireflies, fireflies, some mushroom gnats, millipedes and millipedes), some annelids, a species of snail, marine molluscs including some clams, nudibranchs, octopuses and squid, various fish, some brittle stars, a group of small crustaceans, all krill, 65 species of fungi, protists called dinoflagellates, and a large family of bioluminescent bacteria. The last three are not actually bioluminescent animals, but are bioluminescent organisms.
Bioluminescence occurs in some animals in which chemical energy (in the form of ATP) is converted into light energy, usually peaking around a portion of the spectrum, making it a color. Green is by far the most common color used by bioluminescent animals on land, while blue is the preferred color among bioluminescent animals in the sea. Each color in the spectrum has an associated bioluminescent animal or protein, but most colors are quite rare. The difference in preferred colors on land and sea exists because different colors stand out in each environment and the visual systems of animals in each environment are attuned to local colors.
There are five accepted theories as to why bioluminescent animals exist. These are that bioluminescence can perform the functions of camouflage, attraction (of prey, predators of would-be predators and mates), repulsion by means of confusion, communication between bioluminescent bacteria (quorum sensing), and rarely, illumination of prey (used by the Dragonfish Black). It can be difficult to explain why some organisms are bioluminescent, while with others the reasons may be obvious.
For example, in some species, such as fireflies, bioluminescence is so integrated with the organism that it is an integral part of its lifestyle: firefly larvae use it to repel predators, while adults use it to attract prey and report to classmates. Turn on a light bulb in an insect infested area and you will see the benefits of luminescence in attracting prey. Fireflies are extremely efficient at converting chemical energy into light: they do it with an efficiency of 90%. In contrast, a typical incandescent light bulb is only 10% efficient.
Another common group of bioluminescent organisms are bioluminescent fungi. These glow green to attract nocturnal animals to aid in the dispersal of the spores.
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