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‘Glowing snail’ found, first new species in 80 years

NAGOYA, Oct 12 (News On Japan) –
When we consider luminescent creatures, we frequently envision fireflies emitting a fantastical, mushy glow, or the beautiful bioluminescence of deep-sea creatures like jellyfish and firefly squids. However, a brand new discovery has emerged after an 80-year hiatus – the ‘glowing’ snail.

This discovery was made by a collaborative analysis group from Chubu University in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, and a college in Thailand.

Until now, the one recognized luminescent snail species was present in Singapore in 1943. However, this current discovery has unveiled 5 new species.

Professor Yuichi Oba, Faculty of Applied Biology, Chubu University, speculates, “It’s possible that these snails glow as a means of self-defense.”

According to Professor Oba, these snails is perhaps mimicking different organisms, “Fireflies, for example, glow as a warning signal because they have a ‘bad taste’ and are toxic. It’s conceivable that snails are also sending out a similar message, ‘Attacking me is a bad idea,’ or they might be mimicking fireflies to convey, ‘Eating me is a bad idea.'”

Professor Oba believes that understanding the mechanism of this luminescence might have sensible purposes, equivalent to utilizing it to watch metastatic most cancers cells by making them glow.


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