The name Noctiluca scintillans comes from the Latin Noctiluca, meaning "light at night" and scintillans, meaning … See more

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 order … 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 … See more

Noctiluca scintillans is a heterotrophic dinoflagellate that causes toxic red tides. To explain the life cycle of this species, we need to start with the trophonts. Trophonts are the non-reproductive adult life stage of many ciliated … See more

The environment plays an important role in the proliferation of Noctiluca scintillans. The population varies according to sunlight, current, the presence of nutrients (especially nitrate, ammonium and urea), water salinity, te… 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 chemical energy into light energy by a living being which then emits this light. Bi… See more