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Have you heard of bioluminescence? Well, according to BBC Earth, it is 'one of nature's most dazzling underwater displays.' And fortunately for us, a BBC film crew has managed to film this phenomenon as a form of self- defence.
The ocean- dwelling ostracods are animals that are known to give off light when they are disturbed. These organisms produce the chemicals luciferin and luciferase. which emit light when they combine. This process is called bioluminescence, an adaptation that makes animals visible in the pitch black darkness in the deepest regions of the sea.
To exhibit why organisms are able to give off light, ostracods were put into a tank along with cardinal fish, which, by the way, are plankton- eaters. The crew then observed that when a cardinal fish swallowed an ostracod, the latter emitted a burst of light, compelling the fish to spit it out.
Physicist and BBC presenter Helen Czerski called this dazzling display as a 'little fish firework'.
Catch the light- emitting ostracods in action here:
When the cardinal fish regurgitates, it appears to be casting a Patronus. (Photo by BBC Earth.) pic.twitter.com/mBjInfLCBc— The QI Elves (@qikipedia) January 30, 2017
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