Glow-in-the-dark sharks found off New Zealand coast:
Scientists say they have found that three deepwater shark species living off New Zealand glow in the dark.
The species were collected from the Chatham Rise - an area of ocean floor to the east of New Zealand - in January of last year, according to the study.
[...] The three species were already known to marine biologists but this is the first time that the phenomenon of bioluminescence - organisms emitting light - has been identified in them.
The researchers suggest the sharks' glowing underbellies may help them hide from predators or other threats beneath them.
They say the bioluminescence is achieved through thousands of photophores (light-producing cells) located within the sharks' skin.
[...] The three studied species inhabit a space called the mesopelagic zone, often called the twilight zone, which ranges from 200m to 1,000m depth (the maximum depth reached by sunlight).
The species in question face an environment with no place to hide, hence the need for counterillumination as a form of camouflage, the researchers add.
(Emphasis in original omitted.)
Journal Reference:
Jérôme Mallefet, Darren W. Stevens, Laurent Duchatelet. Bioluminescence of the Largest Luminous Vertebrate, the Kitefin Shark, Dalatias licha: First Insights and Comparative Aspects, Frontiers in Marine Science (DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2021.633582)
(Score: 2) by sjames on Wednesday March 03 2021, @10:07AM (4 children)
That's just left over fluorescence from the dye laser.
(Score: 2) by driverless on Wednesday March 03 2021, @12:23PM
Naah, it's sharks that swam down from Mururoa [wikipedia.org].
(Score: 2) by Tork on Wednesday March 03 2021, @08:39PM (1 child)
🏳️🌈 Proud Ally 🏳️🌈
(Score: 3, Funny) by sjames on Thursday March 04 2021, @12:33AM
It's not that the joke itself is all that funny anymore, it's just that it's the new Rick Roll and you are the target :-)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 03 2021, @11:15PM
Or the work of Dr Notsoevil
(Score: 2, Funny) by kvutza on Wednesday March 03 2021, @12:16PM
OK thus the light at the end of the tunnel can be sharks too, i.e. not just a locomotive.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 03 2021, @12:54PM (2 children)
Came here to see the jokes. Was disappointed by neither percentage of total comments, nor by funniness. Thanks for making the UP just a little bit brighter, and blending in so well.
Signed,
[SIGNATURE AUTO-TRANSLATION: Techno-Rave-Shark-With-Belly-Glow-Paint ]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 03 2021, @01:06PM (1 child)
With your boat
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 03 2021, @03:05PM
my dogma ran over your karma?
(Score: 2) by looorg on Wednesday March 03 2021, @01:08PM (4 children)
How does this make sense? Is the light so strong that it will blind the foes or will they be confused by the glowing? One would think the belly light would make them easier targets from below, tracking and all. But perhaps that is a human or "visual hunter" perspective.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by black6host on Wednesday March 03 2021, @01:32PM
Yes, angler fish use light as lures for prey: https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/fishtree_05 [berkeley.edu] However that's at the depths the angler fish lives at. On the flip side apparently fireflies use their lights to let predators know that they're not too tasty: https://www.aaas.org/news/fireflies-light-attract-mates-also-deter-predators [aaas.org]
No easy answers in life, are there!
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Taxi Dudinous on Wednesday March 03 2021, @01:34PM
Not a complete explanation, but one aspect of bioluminescence (BL) as camouflage.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sciencenow/0305/04-glow-06.html [pbs.org]
I also saw a side by side comparison of a BL organism glowing and not, and the light drastically reduced the contrast and edge definition. Not exactly in a way I anticipated. I'll be buggered if I can find those images though. Sorry
(Score: 1) by Taxi Dudinous on Wednesday March 03 2021, @01:39PM
Here is something similar to what I saw.
https://trumanbioluminescenceproject.weebly.com/uploads/5/3/0/5/53056991/601690875.jpg [weebly.com]
Oh and it turns out that I can "Save on Bioluminescence at Amazon"!
What luck!
(Score: 4, Insightful) by maxwell demon on Wednesday March 03 2021, @01:41PM
Well, during the day there is light coming from the surface of the sea. I'm pretty sure a non-glowing shark will be seen as dark silhouette against that. When emitting light, those silhouettes will be less dark.
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 2) by bussdriver on Wednesday March 03 2021, @03:51PM
Japan, kill them quick! Before they grow and stomp your cities!
You must catch them because if they die in the ocean it'll take another decade for the radiation to go up the food chain again.
You've already got the hunters from your whale "research"
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Wednesday March 03 2021, @04:17PM (1 child)
It's interesting that now we have more devices watching the Earth in more ways that we're seeing evolution in action. If bioluminescence proves to be an advantage for these sharks then presumably we'll see the sightings and their numbers grow.
In fact if the assumption proves out that the presence of man-made chemicals and radiation in the oceans causes mutations, then the rate of speciation should be increasing now. Man's pollution might actually be a spur to Earth's species to innovate.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 03 2021, @09:13PM
(Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Wednesday March 03 2021, @07:58PM (1 child)
A predator with active camouflage.
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 2) by RamiK on Thursday March 04 2021, @06:34AM
Worry not for the 180cm (5ft 11in) bioluminescent shark. Worry of the unspecified horrors from the depth that prey upon it.
compiling...
(Score: 2) by Subsentient on Wednesday March 03 2021, @10:19PM
No Terry Davis jokes? I'm disappointed, SN.
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." -Jiddu Krishnamurti