Bioluminescence is the word we use to describe animals that are capable of creating their own light. It involves a chemical reaction that releases energy as light, and it’s a big hit down in the twilight zone where light from the Sun can’t reach. We’ve found bioluminescent jellyfish, squid, and fish, but the largest luminous vertebrate known to science? That, my friends, is a glow-in-the-dark shark. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

The kitefin shark was one of three “glowing sharks” described in a 2021 paper published in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science . Dalatias licha , as it’s known to science, was named alongside the blackbelly lanternshark ( Etmopterus lucifer ) and the southern lanternshark ( Etmopter

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