Summary
Bioluminescent organisms produce light via chemical reactions. This ability has independently evolved at least 94 times in nature. The earliest dated example of bioluminecence in animals was believed to be roughly 267 million years ago in small marine crustaceans. The findings are detailed in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
The common ancestor of all octocorals was very likely bioluminescent 540 million years ago. This is about 273 million years earlier than in the ostracod crustaceans that were previously considered the earliest example of biolominescence in animals. The study points to evolutionary insight that could help monitor and manage octocarals in today’s oceans.
