MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute) | Bioluminescence first evolved in animals at least 540 million years ago in soft corals ✨ @MBARIvideo | Uploaded May 2024 | Updated October 2024, 7 hours ago.
A new study led by MBARI collaborators at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History explores the evolution of bioluminescence, nature’s living light show. A team of researchers, including MBARI Senior Scientist Steven Haddock, has learned bioluminescence first evolved in animals at least 540 million years ago in soft corals.
Scientists have long been curious about the evolution of bioluminescence. To tackle the larger question of why bioluminescence evolved, we needed to know when this ability first appeared in animals. In search of the trait’s earliest origins, the team decided to peer back into the evolutionary history of octocorals, an ancient and frequently bioluminescent group of animals that includes soft corals, sea fans, and sea pens.
Mapping out the branches of the evolutionary tree from fossil records, genetics, and bioluminescent behaviors revealed that some 540 million years ago, the common ancestor of all octocorals was very likely bioluminescent. That is 273 million years earlier than the glowing ostracod crustaceans that previously held the title of earliest evolution of bioluminescence in animals.
MBARI’s Biodiversity and Biooptics Team is working to understand how and why animals produce their stunning luminescence.
A new study led by MBARI collaborators at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History explores the evolution of bioluminescence, nature’s living light show. A team of researchers, including MBARI Senior Scientist Steven Haddock, has learned bioluminescence first evolved in animals at least 540 million years ago in soft corals.
Scientists have long been curious about the evolution of bioluminescence. To tackle the larger question of why bioluminescence evolved, we needed to know when this ability first appeared in animals. In search of the trait’s earliest origins, the team decided to peer back into the evolutionary history of octocorals, an ancient and frequently bioluminescent group of animals that includes soft corals, sea fans, and sea pens.
Mapping out the branches of the evolutionary tree from fossil records, genetics, and bioluminescent behaviors revealed that some 540 million years ago, the common ancestor of all octocorals was very likely bioluminescent. That is 273 million years earlier than the glowing ostracod crustaceans that previously held the title of earliest evolution of bioluminescence in animals.
MBARI’s Biodiversity and Biooptics Team is working to understand how and why animals produce their stunning luminescence.
