Animals went bioluminescent 273 million years earlier than scientists previously thought and in a completely different species.
The phenomenon of bioluminescence first evolved in animals at least 540 million years ago, a new study has discovered.The first animals to ever glow in this way were marine invertebrates called octocorals, the study conducted by researchers at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History reported.Bioluminescence refers to the glow that some marine organisms can produce. The glow can make these animals look like they are electrical, giving of a beautiful colored light.
'So, the question was when did they develop this ability?'The researchers used two fossils to map when octocorals split from other ancestors, and adapted their luminous ability.They used various statistical methods for their research and all found that 540 million years ago, these organisms were bioluminescent. This was 273 million years before ostracods developed the ability.
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