Martinsburg statesman. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1869-1906, 1906-07-06
LIoHTeIvINe SEA ANIMALS.
Come Curious Phosphorescent Crea.
lures Found in the Deep.

z
: american there are, on record. sew
eral instances of persons having put
the light emitted by pydomosoma to
I practical purpose. One specimen kept
/ alive in a tank in dark room would,
4 when stirred with stick, emit a light
/ strong enough TO enable one to read
! medium sized print.
Still another writer tells of hay-
ing written his name with, his finger
upon the side of a giant pyrosoma
whereupon the characters were in
stantly reproduced in letters OF lly-
Ing fire. A French zoologist, who met
a school of pyrosoma, says that they
resemb.ed red hot balls of fire." but
the claim is advanced fer Birbra a
Brazilian naturalist, that he was the
first to put the light of these queer
creatures to practical purpose Placing
six small ones in a swinging glass il
his cabin, he is said to have written
description of the animals by their
own light.
BY some the pyrosoma is called the
firebarrel, and the name is not out OF
barrel, being about a foot in length
and open at one end. 1t Is in the
tropics that 1t is found at it's best,
but it is also found sometimes in the
waters of the islands of Southern Cal
/ ifornia. One caught in Avalon Bay IN
these waters some time ago was sue
cessfully placed in a tank and pho
tographed. First seen, blaze of light
about ten feet below the surface as
1t slowly rose to the surface, it was
supposed to be huge jelly FISH.
Through the window of glass bottom
boat its course was followed as it
rose, ard then its shape was seen to
be long and cylindrical. A faint light
was emitted from the animal. but the
moment it was touched it blazed out
in bright glare of silvery green
light.
Close examination reveals the fact
that the pyrosoma is not one animal,
but in reality millions of minute l.,-
tie creatures all joined together in
one body by insoluble ties Each OF
these little individual animals in feed
ing draws in water that is expelled
into the inside space, and out into the
sea again through the opening at O..e
lend of the composite animal. 1t IS
this process of taking in and eiecting
water that forces the pyrosoma along.
In the tropics the pyrosoma often
grows to great size. One found there
is said to have measured four feet
in length and to have been ten inches
In diameter. Scientists give the py-
rosoma high rank in the different
stages of animal life, CHASING it a
little lower than the fishes. Indeed,
it is claimed that in the larvae Of
some forms a notocord is to be found,
believed by some to be a primitive
backbone
The light emitted by these wonder
ful animals varies both in tint and
color. some giving off comparatively
white light, others blush light, and
still others beautiful pale greensh
light, I he brilliancy of the light given
Off by a vast number of these animals
when grouped together is best descrip-
ed by Sir Wyville Thompson, who
wrote Of sailing through large num-
Der OF them in this fashion: 1T was
an easy matter to read the smallest
print sitting at the after port in my
cabin, and the bows shed on either
side rapidly widening spaces OF
radiance so vivid as to throw the sails
and rigging into lights and shadows"
OF all the light giving animals the
salpa is said to be the most wonder
full. Like the heteropod this animal
is provided with claspers that enable
it to fasten to seawee.i and rocks So
plentiful are they in California waters
that the Santa Catalina Channel,
which is from eighteen to twenty
miles wide and about forty-five miles
long is at times literally covered with
them as far as the eye can reach.
Covering the entire surface and gleam-
ing like gems in the sunlight, they
present beautiful picture These an
imals constitute delicacy much
sought for by whales. Some of them
shed silvery light, while others yield
blue and others red light.
Phosphorescent crabs are also found
in the California waters in large guam
titles. These crabs, beautiful in their
tints of red. blue, purple and green,
give out a peculiar light at night, the
effect of which is startling. since it
makes the animal literally stand forth
in lines of gold, Still another light
giver peculiar to these waters is the
phyllirhoe, a sluggish mollusk
So plentiful are the light-giving
deni2ens of the deep along the Cali
fornia Coast that those who have I'M
dergone the experience say a night
spent on these waters is awe inspir-
ing indeed. But beautiful and impress
sive as the strange sight is to the be-
holder, the light giving powers OF
these animals are disastrous to them
selves, since the light emanating from
them attracts the attention Of maraud-
ing fishes, which seem to relish a
, light meal at any time.
/ Telling the News in Holland.