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:
-
Porthcawl Lighthouse, Wales, UK
-
Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, East Java, Indonesia
-
Berlin Festival of Lights
-
Bridge of Hillsborough County
-
Greece celebrates its independence
-
Marine Day in Japan
-
The Kelpies statues in Falkirk, Scotland
-
National Park Week begins
-
The tortoise and the finch
-
Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri
-
Sparkling ice diamonds on a black sandy beach
-
Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia
-
Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico
-
Atop the Needle of Chamonix
-
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
-
Art abounds at the Palais Garnier
-
Bardenas Reales Biosphere Reserve and Natural Park, Spain
-
Big Bend National Parks birthday
-
Take the stairs
-
Wheels up in Beijing
-
Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel and the Louvre Pyramid
-
A long winter’s nap, perhaps?
-
Kings of the Kalahari
-
Zion National Park Turns 100
-
National Park Week: Wind Cave National Park
-
The Vestibule at Diocletian s Palace, Split, Croatia
-
Rapa Valley in Sarek National Park, Sweden
-
Gray days ahead in Monterey
-
International Lighthouse Weekend
-
Celebrating Norwegian Constitution Day