Mysterious creatures make the night sea shimmer

Every March to May every year, Toyama Bay beach of Japan becomes more fanciful, surreal than ever . Every night, in the typical darkness of the sea, there is a wonderful, sparkling blue light like the show of light artists.

That miracle lies in the firefly squid , or enope squid . In Japan, they are also called with another name, Ika - Hotaru . They have the scientific name of Watasenia scintillans. Called "firefly squid" because their bodies are capable of glowing, flashing like fireflies at night.

Just like ink cousins, they are molluscs. The cuttlefish has a modest weight and length. They are only 7cm long.

Firefly squid is present throughout the Western Pacific. During the day, they often hide under a depth of 365 meters. At night, they move to the surface to search for food and return to their old place when the sun rises.

Inside the body, the firefly squid has an organ called photophore s, capable of glowing. The light of this squid is blue so it is more brilliant and mysterious at night. Thousands of tiny photophores are available throughout the body. Photophores can light simultaneously or take turns off - as light as a bunch of flashing lights. However, the largest "bulbs" are located around the eyes and tentacles.

The food of firefly squid is shrimp, shrimp, or small fish. They use that enchanting light to attract prey, then use tentacles to catch them.

Firefly squid is also the only genus that can distinguish colors, natural light with bioluminescent light on their bodies. While most mollusks have only one visual pigment, the ink has three visual pigments. Therefore, firefly ink can distinguish the attraction of your partner through strong, weak colors.

After carrying out the mission of maintaining the breed, billions of eggs are released and fertilized in a water environment, the ink also ends its short life. Their lifespan is only five. Every morning on the beach during the spawning season of firefly squid, people see billions of ink drifting.

That squid is a delicious dish of the people. People often catch them in the breeding season.