NAGOYA - When we think of luminescent creatures, we often envision fireflies emitting a fantastical, soft glow, or the stunning bioluminescence of deep-sea creatures like jellyfish and firefly squids. However, a new discovery has emerged after an 80-year hiatus - the 'glowing' snail.
This discovery was made by a collaborative research group from Chubu University in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, and a university in Thailand.
Until now, the only known luminescent snail species was found in Singapore in 1943. However, this recent discovery has unveiled five new species.
Professor Yuichi Oba, Faculty of Applied Biology, Chubu University, speculates, "It's possible that these snails glow as a means of self-defense."
According to Professor Oba, these snails might be mimicking other organisms, "Fireflies, for example, glow as a warning signal because they have a 'bad taste' and are toxic. It's conceivable that snails are also sending out a similar message, 'Attacking me is a bad idea,' or they might be mimicking fireflies to convey, 'Eating me is a bad idea.'"
Professor Oba believes that understanding the mechanism of this luminescence could have practical applications, such as using it to monitor metastatic cancer cells by making them glow.
