![]() Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments. But in the meantime, the new study has provided some tantalizing insights that may inform future research into a phenomenon that has captured imaginations for centuries - serving as a light, so to speak, in the dark. So it seems that there are still some mysteries to be solved. On a similar note, he added that the relative ease and frequency with which the trait has arisen in marine fish opens up questions about why it hasn’t developed in freshwater fish - particularly cave-dwelling fish, who live in the dark and could probably benefit from such an ability. The study opens up many additional questions about the evolution of bioluminescence, Chakrabarty noted, such as how exactly the ability forms in the first place. The ability has arisen independently a whopping 27 times, starting at least 150 million years ago ![]() Over a long period of time, this process leads to the rise of many different individual species of fish. This helps species isolate themselves from one another, rather than interbreeding, which can help groups branch off from one another and evolve separately. In other words, specific light displays may be attractive only to particular types of fish. “If they’re being able to use that light to communicate, they can be using that as a genetic isolating mechanism for sexual selection or species recognition,” he said. It’s got to be something that’s a pretty simple process.”Īdditionally, the new study’s researchers found that fish who use bioluminescence specifically for communication, feeding and reproduction have branched off into many more species than they would have expected.Ī lot of this likely has to do with the way bioluminescence can help fish attract mates, Davis said. “How do deep sea animals pick up bioluminescence so quickly and efficiently?” he said. But according to Chakrabarty, the research also suggest that developing the ability to bioluminesce must be easier than scientists thought. Credit: RENE MARTINįirst, scientists can assume that a trait that arises independently so many times must be useful, or that there’s some pressure on marine fish to possess the trait. It’s an “amazing” number, according to Prosanta Chakrabarty (Opens in a new tab), curator of ichthyology at Louisiana State University’s museum of natural science, who was not involved with the new study.Ī recently collected Loosejaw Dragonfish (Malacosteinae) with bioluminescent eye organs. So the new research delivered some ground-breaking news when it concluded that, actually, the ability has arisen independently a whopping 27 times, starting at least 150 million years ago. Previously, scientists have suggested that bioluminescence probably evolved a handful of times in this class of fish. ![]() The researchers tackled the question by drawing on a large genetic database and using models to help them construct an evolutionary history of the ray-finned fishes. If a single characteristic evolves independently in multiple groups throughout history - and doesn’t disappear over time - then scientists can typically infer that the trait is useful and contributes something to the survival and success of the organisms who have it. Investigating such questions can provide important insights into a trait’s usefulness and how it has contributed to the present-day success of a group of animals. Was there a single evolutionary event that spawned the ability - or did it arise multiple times in multiple lineages, independently, over time?Ī preserved Black Dragonfish (Idiacanthus) with bioluminescent barbel. While scientists know that many species of ray-finned fishes are bioluminescent, they’ve been unsure how the trait actually evolved over time. In a new study (Opens in a new tab), published Wednesday in the journal PLOS ONE, Davis - the lead author - and colleagues John Sparks (Opens in a new tab) and Leo Smith (Opens in a new tab) focused specifically on ray-finned fishes, as they’re the largest class of fish on the planet, comprising at least 25,000 species (and, in fact, one of the largest groups of vertebrates altogether). Within these 1,500 species, there are several different classes of fish that have the ability, such as certain types of sharks, which belong to a class of cartilaginous fishes - fish whose skeletons are made of cartilage, rather than bone. “Functionally, probably the majority of fishes that have bioluminescence use the light for camouflage,” he said, noting that the glow can actually help hide a fish’s body in the water column when it’s placed in the right way.īut he added that other species use their bioluminescence to attract prey (think of the anglerfish in Finding Nemo), or to communicate with one another and attract mates. This ability can be used for a variety of purposes, said Matthew Davis (Opens in a new tab), an assistant professor of biology at St. Bioluminescent phytoplankton Credit: Getty Images Lights under the sea
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