366 LUMINOUS ORGANISMS OF FAR EAST 



According to my observation the living animal is pale blue in color 

 and glows only when stimulated, emitting a whitish blue light. The 

 light may appear on all parts of the body except the head. No lumi- 

 nous secretion is discharged. 



Luminous Enteropneusta 



Two species of Balanoglossus belonging to the family Ptychoderidae 

 occur in Japan. However, the luminosity of these animals has not 

 been observed. They are wormlike in form and about 50 to 60 cm 

 long, live in the sand, and have a disagreeable odor. Recently I ob- 

 served the luminosity of Balanoglossus carnosiis (Willey) on the 

 sandy beach in front of the Usa Marine Biological Station of Kochi 

 University, Kochi City. It is very difficult to collect perfect specimens 

 because the body is very soft, especially the posterior part, which 

 can be easily torn off by pulling. I was able to recognize the lumi- 

 nosity of the body and posterior part, even with the head buried in 

 the sand and unexposed. The pale bluish light is emitted from every 

 portion of the body, but only upon stimulation, and luminous slime 

 comes off on the fingers. Another species, Balanoglossus misakiensis 

 Kuwano, was found in Misaki, Kanagawa Pref., but I have not yet 

 verified their luminosity. I tested for the luciferin-luciferase reaction 

 as well as the ATP reaction and obtained negative results. 



Luminous Snake Star 



In 1938 the late Dr. Kanda found a luminous snake star in the 

 dredge net at the Mitsui Institute of Marine Biology near Shimoda, 

 Izu Peninsula. This snake star was given the new species name of 

 Amphiura kandai by Dr. S. Murakami (1942). The disk of this speci- 

 men is 2.5 mm in diameter, and the anns, six in number, are 11 mm 

 in length. According to Murakami, when a few drops of hydrogen 

 peroxide were poured into a dish containing some specimens, the ani- 

 mals emitted light very faintly in the dark. Kato (1947a) also studied 

 the luminous cells of this animal and surmized that the light is intra- 

 cellular. 



Bryozoa 



Kato (1950) reported on the luminous organ of Acanthodesia ser- 

 rata (Syn. Memhranipora membranacea) , a common Japanese marine 



