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Think About It!

Plant, animal, bacteria, fungus, etc.

What kind of organism is it? What is your evidence?

Where in the ocean do you think it lives? What makes
you think that?
What adaptations (physical or behavioral) might help it
to survive in this environment? Describe them.
How might it get food? How might it eat?
How might it defend itself or avoid being eaten?
How might it find a mate?
What questions do you have about the organism? 2
 Organism A

We will need high-res versions of

the images suitable for printing.
An image with external
illumination would also be helpful.
Is it a dragonfish?

Image courtesy NOAA Ocean Exploration:

https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1907/dailyupdates/nov4/
media/dive04-dragonfish-1280x720.mp4
(video)

Image copyright E. Widder: h

ttps://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/edu/themes/images/biolum_thumb.jpg 3
 Organism B

Image courtesy Sönke Johnsen and Katie Thomas, NOAA Ocean Exploration:
https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/facts/media/bioluminescence-800.jpg

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 Organism C

Images courtesy E. Widder:

https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/15biolum/background/medusa/medusa.html

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 Organism D

Image courtesy NOAA Ocean Exploration: Image courtesy NOAA Ocean Exploration: https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov
https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/15biolum/logs/july23/media/figure_5_hires.jpg
/explorations/09bioluminescence/background/bioluminescence/media/seap
endk0111_600.jpg
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 Organism E

Image courtesy Paul Caiger, ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution:

https://www.whoi.edu/news-insights/content/fish-with-flashlights/
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Organism F

Image courtesy E. Widder, ORCA, www.teamorca.org:

https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/fish/bioluminescence

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Organism G

Image courtesy Ocean Exploration Trust - Nautilus Live:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e4PvKK_lMU (video)

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 Organism H

Image courtesy Edie Widder, NOAA Ocean Today: Image courtesy Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution:
https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/bioluminescentocean/ (video) https://twilightzone.whoi.edu/explore-the-otz/creature-features/anglerfi
sh/

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 Dragonfish

The dragonfish is in the genus Melanostomias (Melano = latin for

We will need high-res versions of
black or dark color, stomias = large mouth).
the images suitable for printing.
An image with external
Found throughout the North Atlantic Ocean at depths ranging from
illumination would also be helpful.
IsExploration:
it a dragonfish? 50 to 1500 meters (about 164 to 4921 feet), these fish are small
Image courtesy NOAA Ocean
https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1 (~15-26 cm/6-10 in) but they are considered apex predators.
907/dailyupdates/nov4/media/dive04-dragonfish-1280x7
20.mp4
(video)
They have fang-like teeth and an enormous jaw that can open to
more than 100 degree, allowing them to consume prey much
larger than themselves!

Notice the parallel rows of light-producing organs. These are

called photophores. Notice the glowing barbel under the fish’s
chin.

Image copyright E. Widder:

https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/edu/themes/images/biolum_thumb.jpg 11
 Deep-sea Shrimp

Image courtesy Sönke Johnsen and Katie Thomas, NOAA:

https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/facts/media/bioluminescence-800.jpg

The deep-sea shrimp Heterocarpus ensifer (Hetero= Latin for different; carpus = bones) is
found in the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, with subspecies found in the Pacific.

They can spew bioluminescent material from glands located near their mouth.

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 Atolla Jellyfish

Found in the deep ocean across the globe, the Atolla

jellyfish, Atolla wyvillei, is red in color and small in
size (~2-74 cm/~1-5 in). When disturbed the jelly
displays a bright, flashing circle of blue light.
These small jellies have been found in the ocean
“Midnight Zone.”

Images courtesy E. Widder:

https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/19
biolum/background/medusa/media/figure-2-250
.jpg 13
 Sea Pen

Image courtesy NOAA Ocean Exploration: Image courtesy NOAA Ocean Exploration:
https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/15 https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/09bioluminescence/backgroun
biolum/logs/july23/media/figure_5_hires.jpg d/bioluminescence/media/seapendk0111_600.jpg
Sea pens are cnidarians, and are related to jellyfish, anemones and corals. They are colonial animals
composed of multiple polyps, each with eight tentacles that capture tiny prey and floating matter. Some
sea pens emit bioluminescent light like this one seen during a NOAA Ocean Exploration expedition.

The sea pen can create flashes of light that travel up and down its stem.

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 Viperfish

The viperfish is a species of dragonfish that lurks

at depths of 200-1000 meters. Though small in
size (6-26 cm/~2.5-10 in), it has long fangs and the
ability to unhinge its skull and expand its stomach,
allowing it to swallow prey 60% bigger than itself!
This fish also has a glowing light on its adapted
dorsal fin ray that hangs in front of its mouth.

And, like many fishes of the deep sea, the viperfish

has bioluminescent photophores on its underside
and can flash blue-green or yellow light.
Image courtesy Paul Caiger, ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution:
https://www.whoi.edu/news-insights/content/fish-with-flashlights/

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 Lanternfish

Lanternfishes are small fish (2-30 cm/~1-12 in)

thought to make up a huge amount of the deep-sea
fish biomass and are found worldwide. Generally, they
live at depths 300 – 1500 meters down, but these
fishes migrate to shallower water to feed at night. This
is called diel vertical migration.
Different species of lanternfish have different
arrangements of photophores, some being on the
sides of their bodies, some on their head, some on
their tail. The patterns may even vary between males
and females. They can shine as blue, green or yellow
light. This lanternfish even has a nasal light organ!
Image courtesy E. Widder, ORCA, www.teamorca.org:
https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/fish/bioluminescence
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 Vampire Squid

Vampire squid inhabit the extreme environment

of the deep ocean. They’ve adapted to the
waters of the “Midnight Zone”, below 1000
meters, far deeper than sunlight can reach.
Their bright red eyes and dark color earned
them the mythical name. Those eyes are
actually the largest proportionally of any
animal, relative to its small size (~30 cm/~12
in). Pale red in color, it is also almost
completely covered in photophores, which
produce flashes of light.

These creatures have the ability to release

large clouds of bioluminescent mucus.
Image courtesy Ocean Exploration Trust - Nautilus Live:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e4PvKK_lMU (video)

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 Anglerfish

Image courtesy Edie Widder, NOAA Ocean Today: Image courtesy Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution:
https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/bioluminescentocean/ (video) https://twilightzone.whoi.edu/explore-the-otz/creature-features/
anglerfish/

Female deep-sea anglerfish grow up to about 20 cm (~8 in) while the males
are much smaller
(2.8 cm/~1 in) The females of some species of anglerfish have a symbiotic
relationship with bioluminescent bacteria that make a home in the barbel that
hangs from the tip of an elongated dorsal spine on the fish’s head.
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