CHAPTER IX 
LUMINOUS ANIMALS 
N ATURE has bestowed upon the various 
members of the Animal Kingdom many 
remarkable gifts, but possibly the most wonder¬ 
ful of all is the power to emit light. This 
light-giving property, or phosphorescence as 
it is commonly called, is more general among 
marine creatures than among terrestrial ones, 
while in the case of the latter the phenomenon 
is chiefly displayed by insects, although some 
of the earthworms are also of a luminous 
nature. None of the land vertebrates, how¬ 
ever, is endowed with the power to give forth 
light. 
One of the most beautiful effects produced 
by the light-bearing creatures is that known 
as the phosphorescence of the sea, a sight 
that can be witnessed on favourable occasions 
in the waters that wash our shores, although 
it is in foreign climes that the display is to be 
seen to its greatest advantage. 
The living creature that commonly, but not 
