Luminaries of the reef: The history of luminescent ostracods and their courtship displays in the Caribbean

Abstract

About half of the known +300 species of cypridinid ostracods (Ostracoda, Myodocopida, Cypridinidae) (256 described and > 62 known but undescribed) are luminescent, probably all to deter predators, but also about half of the luminescent species use their light in courtship displays. These courtship displays have only been shown to occur in the Caribbean and nowhere else. The initial discovery of these courtship displays occurred in 1980. This publication provides 1) a summary of the life cycle and courtship mating system of bioluminescent signaling cypridinid ostracods, 2) a history of the systematics of the family, and 3) the initial discoveries of their luminescence and details of the luminescent system. Observations of luminescence in ostracods began off the coast of India in the mid-18th century and expanded to Japan and elsewhere, especially in the 20th century. Studies on the biochemistry and mechanisms of light production by E. Newton Harvey and his academic descendants, using the iconic Japanese ostracod, called umi-hotaru (Vargula hilgendorfii (G.W. Muller, 1890)), started in the early 20th century and continue today. Some of the conflicting semantic difficulties between systematists and biochemists are discussed.