Our oceans are treasures of special species. Scientists believe there is more life in the ocean than anywhere else on the planet. And they continue to discover new species thriving in deep waters in different corners of the world. Now it’s time to introduce three new rare glow-in-the-dark worm species to the world. Nagoya University researchers discovered this species in shallow waters in Japan.
The genre got its name from Japanese folklore.
Polycirrus onibi , Polycirrus aoandon And Polycirrus ikeguchii – scientific names of recently discovered bioluminescent worms. These tiny worms emit a blue-violet light and live in shallow rivers and streams in Japan.
Surprisingly, they are very similar to some characters from Japanese folklore. “We used Japanese yokai names such as onibi and aoandon for the new species because the hazy purple-blue bioluminescence emitted by Polycirrus species is strikingly similar to folklore descriptions of these creatures,” said Naoto Jimi, one of them. The authors of this new study, in a statement.
On the other hand, Polycirrus ikeguchii It was named after Shinichiro Ikeguchi, the former manager of Notojima Aquarium.
Studying the nature of bioluminescence
This newly discovered species belongs to the marine worm class Polychaetes. They are said to be creatures that have survived five mass extinctions and have lived on the planet since the Cambrian period 505 million years ago. Polycirrus worms are known for their long tentacles protruding from their mouths. This feature allows them to find food by moving slowly among river sediments. According to the authors, these creatures are a valuable object for studying the nature of bioluminescence in animals.
More than 7,000 luminescent organisms are known worldwide, but experts have only been able to probe a small number of them.
“Understanding these luminescence mechanisms contributes to medical and scientific research. Bioluminescence is an interesting and unusual chemistry treasure. We aim to use our findings to deepen our understanding of the molecular nature of this phenomenon and to apply this knowledge to the development of new life science technology,” said Jimi.
Source: Port Altele
