| Photeros | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Ostracoda |
| Order: | Myodocopida |
| Family: | Cypridinidae |
| Subfamily: | Cypridininae |
| Genus: | Photeros Cohen & Morin, 2010 [1] |
Photeros is a genus in the Cypridinidae. The genus contains bioluminescent species, and is one of the genera of bioluminescent ostracods which show stereotyped bioluminescent mating signals. [2]
Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by living organisms. It is a form of chemiluminescence. Bioluminescence occurs widely in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms including some bioluminescent bacteria, and terrestrial arthropods such as fireflies. In some animals, the light is bacteriogenic, produced by symbiotic bacteria such as those from the genus Vibrio; in others, it is autogenic, produced by the animals themselves.
Barracudinas are any member of the marine mesopelagic fish family Paralepididae: 50 or so extant species are found almost worldwide in deep waters. Several genera are known only from fossils dating back to the Ypresian epoch.
Anomalopidae are a family of fish distinguished by bioluminescent organs located underneath their eyes, for which they are named. These light organs contain luminous bacteria and can be "shut off" by the fish using either a dark lid or by being drawn into a pouch. They are used to communicate, attract prey, and evade predators.
Ostracods, or ostracodes, are a class of the Crustacea, sometimes known as seed shrimp. Some 33,000 species have been identified, grouped into 7 valid orders. They are small crustaceans, typically around 1 mm (0.04 in) in size, but varying from 0.2 to 30 mm in the case of the marine Gigantocypris. The largest known freshwater species is Megalocypris princeps, which reach 8mm in length. In most cases, their bodies are flattened from side to side and protected by a bivalve-like valve or "shell" made of chitin, and often calcium carbonate. The family Entocytheridae and many planktonic forms do not have calcium carbonate. The hinge of the two valves is in the upper (dorsal) region of the body. Ostracods are grouped together based on shell and soft part morphology, and molecular studies have not unequivocally supported the group's monophyly. They have a wide range of diets, and the class includes carnivores, herbivores, scavengers and filter feeders, but most ostracods are deposit feeders.
Campanula is the type genus of the Campanulaceae family of flowering plants. Campanula are commonly known as bellflowers and take both their common and scientific names from the bell-shaped flowers—campanula is Latin for "little bell".
The family Campanulaceae, of the order Asterales, contains nearly 2400 species in 84 genera of herbaceous plants, shrubs, and rarely small trees, often with milky sap. Among them are several familiar garden plants belonging to the genera Campanula (bellflower), Lobelia, and Platycodon (balloonflower). Campanula rapunculus and Codonopsis lanceolata are eaten as vegetables. Lobelia inflata, L. siphilitica and L. tupa and others have been used as medicinal plants. Campanula rapunculoides may be a troublesome weed, particularly in gardens, while Legousia spp. may occur in arable fields.
Glowworm or glow-worm is the common name for various groups of insect larvae and adult larviform females that glow through bioluminescence. They include the European common glow-worm and other members of the Lampyridae, but bioluminescence also occurs in the families Elateridae, Phengodidae and Rhagophthalmidae among beetles; as well as members of the genera Arachnocampa, Keroplatus and Orfelia among keroplatid fungus gnats.
Leiognathidae, the ponyfishes, slipmouths or slimys / slimies, are a small family of fishes in the order Perciformes. They inhabit marine and brackish waters in the Indian and West Pacific Oceans. They can be used in the preparation of bagoong.
Keroplatidae is a family of small flies known as fungus gnats. About 950 species are described, but the true number of species is undoubtedly much higher. The long-beaked fungus gnats, formerly placed in a separate family Lygistorrhinidae, have been placed into Keroplatidae as subfamily Lygistorrhininae. They are generally forest dwellers found in the damp habitats favoured by their host fungi. They can also often be found in caves. Larvae both feed on fungi and are predatory - they can spin webs by secreting acid fluids, which they use to kill smaller invertebrates and capture spores. Some of the predatory larvae cannibalize pupa of their own species. The family notably includes three genera containing bioluminescent larvae.
Mycena is a large genus of small saprotrophic mushrooms that are rarely more than a few centimeters in width. The name Mycena comes from the Ancient Greek μύκηςmykes, meaning "fungus". Species in the genus Mycena are commonly known as bonnets.
Aulosphaera is a genus of Cercozoa. The genus contains bioluminescent species. It one of two known bioluminescent phaeodarean genera, the other being Tuscaridium. The described bioluminescent species is Aulosphaera triodon Haeckel, 1887.
Neonothopanus is a genus of three species of fungi in the agaric family Omphalotaceae. The genus was circumscribed in 1999. The type species N. nambi is found in Australia, South America, Central America, and Malaysia, while N. gardneri is found in South America. Both of these species are bioluminescent. N. hygrophanus, found in central Africa, was added to the genus in 2011.
Swima bombiviridis is a worm species that lives in the deep ocean. It is also known as the green bomber worm or bombardier worm. This deep ocean pelagic (free-swimming) annelid has modified bioluminescent gills that can be cast off from an individual. These discarded gills somewhat resemble green "bombs" that remain illuminated for several seconds after they have been discarded. It is thought that this is a defensive mechanism rather than reproductive, as it is seen in both mature and juvenile individuals. This species was the first of its genus, Swima, to be discovered, and was the only one with a formal scientific name as of 2010. The genus name, Swima, is derived from the Latin, referring to the animal's ability to swim. The species name, bombiviridis, is derived from the Latin prefix bombus, meaning humming or buzzing, and the suffix viridis, which is Latin for the color green. Swima bombiviridis therefore translates to "swimming green bomber".
Cypridinidae is a family of ostracods. About half of all known species are bioluminescent. Some use the light only for defence, others also for courtship displays. The lineages with sexually dimorphic bioluminescent displays have more species other lineages, which indicates that bioluminescent courtship could increase the diversification rates.
Vargula hilgendorfii, sometimes called the sea-firefly and one of three bioluminescent species known in Japan as umi-hotaru (海蛍), is a species of ostracod crustacean. It is the only member of genus Vargula to inhabit Japanese waters; all other members of its genus inhabit the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and waters off the coast of California. V. hilgendorfii was formerly more common, but its numbers have fallen significantly.
Mycena stylobates, commonly known as the bulbous bonnet, is a species of inedible mushroom in the family Mycenaceae. Found in North America and Europe, it produces small whitish to gray fruit bodies with bell-shaped caps that are up to 15 mm (0.6 in) in diameter. The distinguishing characteristic of the mushroom is the fragile stipe, which is seated on a flat disk marked with distinct grooves, and fringed with a row of bristles. The mushrooms grow in small troops on leaves and other debris of deciduous and coniferous trees. The mushroom's spores are white in deposit, smooth, and ellipsoid-shaped with dimensions of 6–10 by 3.5–4.5 μm. In the development of the fruit body, the preliminary stipe and cap structures appear at the same time within the primordium, and hyphae originating from the stipe form a cover over the developing structures. The mycelia of the mushroom is believed to have bioluminescent properties.
Bioluminescent bacteria are light-producing bacteria that are predominantly present in sea water, marine sediments, the surface of decomposing fish and in the gut of marine animals. While not as common, bacterial bioluminescence is also found in terrestrial and freshwater bacteria. These bacteria may be free living or in symbiosis with animals such as the Hawaiian Bobtail squid or terrestrial nematodes. The host organisms provide these bacteria a safe home and sufficient nutrition. In exchange, the hosts use the light produced by the bacteria for camouflage, prey and/or mate attraction. Bioluminescent bacteria have evolved symbiotic relationships with other organisms in which both participants benefit each other equally. Bacteria also use luminescence reaction for quorum sensing, an ability to regulate gene expression in response to bacterial cell density.
Enewton is a genus in the family Cypridinidae. The genus contains bioluminescent species, and in particular is one of the Caribbean genera of bioluminescent ostracods that perform stereotyped bioluminescent mating displays.
Maristella is a genus of ostracods belonging to the Myodocopida (Cypridinidae). The genus belongs to a diverse clade of Caribbean bioluminescent ostracods. Males perform species-specific luminescent courtship displays. It was chosen as one of the top ten species of 2019: WoRMS top 10 - 2019: Maristella chicoi. The video showing these light displays can be seen here.
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