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At present, at beast three species of marine ostracods belonging to the family Cyprichinidae are kmiown to be lumiiimious. Amomig these, the luminescence of only one species has been well-studied. This is Cy/'ridina hilgendorfii Muller, 1890, a species found in the coastal waters of Japami. Extensive studies carried out during the past 50 years have yielded detailed kmiowledge concernimig the mechanism of bioluminescence. The orgamlisni lives iii the samicl amid comes out to feed at night. \Vhemi miiechanically disturbed, the orgamiismii produces a blue luminescence by ejectimig luciferimi amid buciferase into the surrounding sea water from two separate glamids. The hight-emiiittimigreaction imivohvesthe oxidation of luciferimi by molecular oxygen, catalyzed by the emizyme luciferase. The second species is Cv/'ridina noctiluca Kajiyania, 1912. Iii contrast to C. hi.'gendorfii, C. noctiluca is a free-swimnmnimig pelagic form. It is widely distributed along coastal waters iii the western Pacific from southiermi Japan and Hawaii to Australia and Southeast Asia, and imithe ImidiamiOceami. Hamieda (1940) observed C. noctiluca at Palatm Ishamid. \Vhiemi the beani of arm electric light was directed into the water where large mummbersof the orgaliisnis were swimming, a bright hnmnnimious response was obtained. Whiemi a plnms ( + ) mark was written omi the surface of the water amid the light innmiiediately extimiguished, a ltmminous plus ( +) miiarkcould be observed fri the darkness. Other plankton organisms did not give thie same respomise. Hamieda ( 1953) also studied C. noctiluca at Hachijo Ishamid, a snmbtropicah islamid located approximately 200 kilometers south of Honshu, Japami. The secretory behavior amid color of light of C. noctiluca were the same as C. hilgendorfii. Light resulted (positive luciferimi-luciferase reactiomi) when a hot water extract (luciferinm) amid a cold-water extract (luciferase) of the organism were nmixecl. These extracts also gave reciprocal light-emitting cross-reactions with hot- amidcold-water extracts of C. lzi'gendorfii. The third species is Varyzila harvevi. recemitly reported froni Jamaica, West Imidies, by Sehiger amid McElroy ( 1965 ) amid described by Kornicker and Kimig (1965). Measurememit of the bioluniimiescence efliissiomi spectrum showed a peak at 478 nmii,close to the peak of 465 minifor C. hilgcndorfii. |
