Phylum Arthropoda contains some wildly unique and fascinating creatures, ranging from the stinging scorpion to the luxurious lobster. Within Arthropoda is the class Ostracoda, also called “seed shrimp”, which are tiny crustaceans that live in a wide variety of marine environments. One specific species of Ostracods are the Photeros annecohenae, which are bioluminescent. The males will secrete pulses of light in the water, and females will be attracted to and choose one of the males’ displays!

Sketch contributed by Yasmeen Ghavamian. Fact contributed by Isabelle McDonald-Gilmartin

[Edited by Isabelle McDonald-Gilmartin]

Source: Rivers, T. J., & Morin, J. G. (2013). Female ostracods respond to and intercept artificial conspecific male luminescent courtship displays. Behavioral Ecology, 24(4), 877–887. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/art022