Creatures That Glow in the Deepest Ocean Darkness

Far below the last trace of sunlight, the ocean runs a light show that never stops.

In this permanent midnight, most of the animals make their own light.

This trick, called bioluminescence, is less a novelty than a language.

For most residents of the deep, glowing is how you eat, escape, and find a partner.

The anglerfish dangles a luminous lure tipped with glowing bacteria, and curious prey swim straight into her jaws.

When hunted, certain squid eject a glowing cloud and vanish, leaving the predator to attack a phantom.

Most deep-sea glow is blue, because blue travels farther through seawater than any other color.

The [dragonfish], however, produce red light that other animals [cannot] even see.

They essentially hunt with a private headlamp that no one else knows is switched on.

Scientists estimate that more than three-quarters of deep-sea species are luminous, making darkness the exception rather than the rule.

Each flash serves one of three ancient jobs: dinner, defense, or romance.

Down there, light is not something that falls from the sky.

It is something you make yourself, out of chemistry and darkness.