The name Noctiluca scintillans comes from the Latin Noctiluca, meaning "light at night" and scintillans, meaning "shining, throwing out flashes of light". See more

Taxonomy
It was classified with the jellyfish until 1873 when Ernst Haeckel decided to move it to the crystoflagellates with the dinoflagellates. This remained the case until 1920 when Charles Atwood Kofoid finally placed it in the … See more

Trophonts
Noctiluca scintillans is a heterotrophic dinoflagellate that causes toxic red tides. To explain the life … See more

This was once a mysterious phenomenon that was called "sea fire" or "sea twinkle" by sailors and coastal dwellers. It is the transformation of See more

N. scintillans has an important place in the pelagic food chain. N. scintillans is preyed upon by many copepods such as Calanus sp., Temora sp. and Acartia sp., chaetognaths and hydromedusae. Because of their excessive proliferation, they attract many … See more

Favorable environment
The environment plays an important role in the proliferation of Noctiluca scintillans. The population varies according to sunlight, current, … See more

Red tides
The proliferation of N. scintillans can be toxic, and has been linked to massive mortality of fish and marine invertebrates. However, this … See more