Sea fireflies may glow like the fireflies that send out backyard beacons at night, but that"s about where the similarities end between the two species. Scientists call the bioluminescent crustaceans washing over these rocks Vargula hilgendorfii, and here in Japan they"re commonly known as umi-hotaru. They"re visible at night in the shallow sea waters and beaches of Japan, although other species of the genus Vargula can be seen glowing in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and off the California coast.
Sea fireflies at the seashore
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
International Zebra Day
-
No, it s not a leaf. Happy Look-alike Day
-
A unique elephant encounter in Nantes
-
Groundhog Day
-
How green is my valley
-
Blue paradise on the Costa Brava
-
Think deep thoughts
-
Giving Tuesday
-
Turning darkness into light
-
A dramatic view of Sicily
-
Red-leaf hunting in Japan
-
Winter in the Finnish wilds
-
National Museum of African American History and Culture
-
I am the walrus
-
Groundhog Day
-
Happy World Laughter Day
-
Wheels up in Beijing
-
Zion National Park turns 103
-
Wicker fields in Cañamares, Spain
-
Climb a tree for wild animals and plants
-
Celebrating Pie Day is as easy as, well…
-
An uncommon look at an American icon
-
Tigh Mor Trossachs on Loch Achray, Scotland
-
Blackbird in Essex, England
-
Get on your bike and ride
-
Shining like Klondike gold
-
Celestial Spain
-
200th anniversary of Brazilian independence
-
A notorious gunfight that was incorrectly named
-
Unearthing a queen s lost tale