Glowing Shrimp -The deep-sea shrimp Parapandalus hurls a glowing cloud of organic matter to confuse a potential predator in a laboratory image.
Naturally produced light-emitting chemicals offer undersea advantages to (clockwise from top left) a pelagic worm, squid, krill, scaleless black dragonfish, and deepwater jellyfish.
Glowing Goo - A venus flytrap anemone releases a cloud of glowing goo to confuse predators in a laboratory image. The species is one of two deep-sea anemone species known to create their own light, the team says.
Bright Eyes - Giant isopods (pictured)—such as this specimen caught during the 2009 expedition—can grow to 16 inches (41 centimeters) and have compound eyes that are extremely sensitive to low light levels. Light bounces off a reflective layer at the back of the eyes called the tapetum, making the eyes appear to glow.
Glowing From Within - The reason for this deep-sea bamboo coral's blueish glow is a mystery, Widder said. Keratoisis flexibilis's bioluminescence might be a warning to other marine organisms that the coral's prickly spines are coated in an unpleasant slime, which scientists think might be toxic.
Lights On, Lights Off - When the lights are off (bottom), the body of the marine tunicate Pyrosoma atlanticum glitters with glowing blue dots. Scientists estimate that bioluminescence has evolved independently at least 40 different times among animals and bacteria.
Shimmering Brittle Star - A shimmering brittle star (pictured) is one of the deep-sea species recently found to produce light.
Glowing Bristles - Bristles glow around the mouth of a deep-sea crab.
An inch-long (2.5-centimeter-long) squat lobster known as Gastroptychus spinifer has relatively large eyes, which help it detect bioluminscent light in the deep sea, the team discovered.
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