Shining Fish, Flesh, and Wood 507 



Among land animals, insects frequently become infected with 

 luminous bacteria. The first case was described by Hablitzl in 1789 

 among midges of the Bay of Astrabad, Persia. They have been 

 noticed in Russia and other parts of Europe by many persons (W. D. 

 Alenitzin, 1875; I. D. Kusnezoff, 1890; P. Schmidt, 1894; W. Henne- 

 berg, 1899) in the last century. 



Caterpillars are very prone to become infected with luminous 

 bacteria. In the nineteenth century such luminous larvae were de- 

 scribed by B. A. Gimmerthal (1829), J. A. Boisduval (1832) and 

 E. C. Rye (1878). 



Other reported luminous insects, such as mole-crickets (W. Kirby 

 and W. Spence 1817; F. Ludwig 1891), mayflies (H. A. Hagen, 

 1873; A. E. Eaton, 1880) and ants (F. Ludwig, 1902) , have probably 

 been infected with luminous bacteria, although actual proof from 

 visual observation is lacking. Earthworms appear to be always self- 

 luminous. 



Symbiotic Luminous Bacteria 



The idea that bacteria might be responsible for the light of other 

 animals appears to have been first made by R. Dubois (1888, 1889) , 

 who found luminous bacteria in the siphon of the mollusc, Pholas, 

 and in the luminous slime of the jellyfish, Pelagia. However, he 



(1890) quickly corrected the idea in favor of self-luminosity of these 

 animals. In 1907 P. Kuhnt suggested that firefly luminescence was 

 due to luminous bacteria, but this view is undoubtedly incorrect. 



Luminous bacterial symbiosis was proved in the twentieth cen- 

 tury. In 1912 B. Osorio described luminous bacteria secreted from 

 a gland in the belly of the fish, Malacocephalus, whose light has 

 proven to be bacterial in origin. Many other fish with symbiotic 

 luminous bacterial have been described in recent times, but Osorio's 

 discovery was largely overlooked and H. Molisch (1912) regarded 

 the idea of light symbiosis as defunct. However, U. Pierantoni 



(1914), in the case of lampyrids, and P. Buchner (1914), in the 

 case of the tunicate, Pyrosoma, revived the conception, and both 

 authors have been ardent supporters of symbiosis in numerous 

 papers and books. Symbiotic bacterial luminescence does exist, and 

 will be discussed in more detail in Chapter XVI under the two 

 groups of animals concerned, the squid and the fish. At this point 

 it is sufficient to state that a true symbiosis is very questionable 

 among other groups. 



