From cockroaches to shrimp: 8 incredible creatures that can glow (9 photos)

Not only stars can shine, but also hundreds of living beings.





“After all, if the stars light up, that means someone needs it?” It’s the same with the creatures on our planet: they know how to glow for a reason. Hundreds of living creatures, and even some species of cockroaches, have this superpower, which can make them look very cute.

Bioluminescence is the most beautiful phenomenon of nature, but, of course, it did not appear so that you and I could admire. In nature, nothing happens for nothing, and even the glow performs its function.

fireflies

It is fireflies that come to mind when we talk about creatures that can glow. These insects have a special organ at the bottom of their abdomen, and it usually glows during the mating season. This "flashlight" hints that its owner needs a pair.



Waitomo Cave in New Zealand

Centipedes

About twenty thousand not particularly pleasant creatures live on Earth, centipedes, which are also called diplopods. But several species of them are very interesting, because they have bioluminescent abilities. They learned to glow with a gentle light in order to warn animals: the fact is that luminous centipedes are poisonous.





A species of Motyxia that is found in redwood forests.

Shrimp

Another superhero of our selection is the Heterocarpus ensifer shrimp. By itself it does not glow, but as soon as it gets “scared”, or rather senses the enemy, it throws out a luminous cloud. It performs a distracting function: while the enemy is trying to figure out what is in front of him, the shrimp can quickly retreat and disappear from sight.



Snails

The Hinea brasiliana snail, which, by the way, lives in Australia and not in Brazil, as one might think, is one of the few snails that can glow. But she does this for insidious purposes: to protect herself from her enemy. A green glow appears if the snail has noticed a predator, for example, a crab. The mollusk itself hides in the shell, and the glow creates the illusion of a much larger shell than it actually is.



Usually this misleads the enemy, but in addition to being misled, the snail can also take revenge on its enemy. The fact is that the glow also attracts a larger predator, for which the crab can be a good lunch.

Cockroaches

Even these nasty creatures can glow, and one of the nastiest species is: the giant cockroach Lucihormetica from South America. Moreover, this is the only creature that camouflages itself with the help of glow: Lucihormetica in the dark becomes like a click beetle, which predators avoid because it is poisonous.



True, this cockroach is very rare, and it has not been seen for a long time, so there is a possibility that it has become extinct.

Squid

Many species of squid can glow, but the most interesting ones live off the coast of Japan, and they are called firefly squids. In general, they are deep-sea creatures, but during spawning these mollusks swim to the coast, and Japanese fishermen actively take advantage of this.



So you can not only admire these sea fireflies at night, but also taste them, unlike all the other heroes in our selection. However, for what reason squids learned to glow is still unclear. Perhaps this is how they attract prey or it is a signal that they are looking for a soul mate.

Anglerfish

And finally, let’s talk about another monster from the depths of the ocean: the angler fish, whose real fishing rod glows. The fact is that the first part of the dorsal fin of this creature has a long outgrowth that really resembles a fishing rod with bait at the end. It glows in the dark and attracts victims with its glow.



A female Greenland cerathia that grows up to a meter in length

Plankton

And of course, we can observe the most amazing examples of bioluminescence thanks to plankton: it makes the seas glow at night.