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The study focuses on Corallizoanthus aureus \u2013 a small, yellow zoanthid<\/a> that consist of colonial anemone-like polyps<\/a>. <\/p>\n These new animals are a type of soft coral and they were found living on other corals at the entrances of underwater caves near Minamidaito Island in southern Japan.<\/p>\n Direct observations and recordings, documented by Dr. Hiroki Kise at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST<\/a>), captured repeated green flashes tied to the same coral-dwelling species.<\/p>\n The light appeared only when the animals were physically disturbed and remained confined to their exposed bodies rather than spreading across the coral host.<\/p>\n That narrow trigger and location define the limits of what has been observed so far and set up the need to examine how this glow works and why it appears only under specific conditions.<\/p>\n Finding Corallizoanthus aureus<\/p>\n Scientists described Corallizoanthus aureus on a precious coral<\/a> nearly 1,260 feet (384 meters) down near Minamidaito Island.<\/p>\n The animal belongs to Zoantharia, anemone-like relatives of corals that often coat other living surfaces.<\/p>\n Bright yellow polyps, the individual bodies of these animals, dotted the coral\u2019s branches without covering the whole colony.<\/p>\n Because the host coral grows slowly and is valuable, new hitchhikers like this can affect how people manage collections.<\/p>\n The survey was carried out by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). Reaching the cave walls took extra equipment, since big underwater robots struggle in tight passages and jagged rock.<\/p>\n Each flash counted as bioluminescence, light made by chemistry inside an animal, not a reflection of sunlight.<\/p>\n \u201cTo the best of our knowledge, this study represents the first report of bioluminescence observed within a deep-sea cave,\u201d wrote Kise.<\/p>\n The team still saw only a small part of that habitat, so many glowing species could remain out of reach.<\/p>\n The coral animal behind the glow<\/p>\n Researchers described a golden-yellow body plan, then named the species for that color, using the Latin word aureus.<\/p>\n On the host coral Pleurocorallium inutile, each zoanthid animal polyp carried 24 to 26 tentacles and sometimes linked to neighbors by thin tissue.<\/p>\n The researchers noted that the light came from the tentacled heads, while the connecting mat stayed dark.<\/p>\n Because the animal seems tied to one host and one kind of cave entrance, its real range may be narrow.<\/p>\n Back on the ship, the team kept coral samples in dark, cold seawater, then brought them to about 81\u00b0Fahrenheit (27\u00b0Celsius) for tests.<\/p>\n A pinch or a potassium-rich splash changed the cells\u2019 salt balance, which triggered the stored chemicals that make light.<\/p>\n The glow peaked in green, while a related species, Churabana kuroshioae, produced a bluer blue-green signal.<\/p>\n A third species, Epizoanthus fatuus, stayed dark, showing that even close relatives can use very different tools.<\/p>\n Clues from genetic relationships<\/p>\n Genetic checks at AIST showed the glowing animal sat next to Corallizoanthus tsukaharai, a close relative that lives on different corals.<\/p>\n That link mattered because these animals can look similar, and tiny differences change once they contract or stretch.<\/p>\n By pairing genetics with the choice of host, the team could separate a new species from an old mislabel.<\/p>\n Even so, the broader family still lacks enough confirmed glowers to pinpoint when this trait first appeared.<\/p>\n What the chemistry suggests<\/p>\n The glow likely starts with chemicals inside the animal, not with light made by bacteria living on it.<\/p>\n Researchers pointed to a luciferin-luciferase system, a fuel and enzyme pair that emits light, as the best explanation.<\/p>\n Microscope work showed no bacterial cells living in the new coral\u2019s tissues, so the team favored an internal reaction over a microbial helper.<\/p>\n Without isolating the molecules, the chemistry stays an informed guess, and AIST needs more samples to test it.<\/p>\n What the glow might do<\/p>\n A triggered flash often serves a purpose, and in deep water a sudden signal can change an encounter fast.<\/p>\n One idea says the light<\/a> draws bigger predators, turning the attacker into an easy target for something higher up the food chain.<\/p>\n Another possibility involves glowing mucus or dropped tissue that sticks to a predator, briefly giving away its position.<\/p>\n The study did not test those roles, so researchers still need nighttime cave<\/a> footage of real attacks.<\/p>\n Lessons from Corallizoanthus aureus<\/p>\n Bioluminescence<\/a> has evolved dozens of times across animals, yet scientists still lack a full census for many coral groups.<\/p>\n By adding a clearly identified new species, the team gave evolution studies a firm data point instead of a rumor.<\/p>\n The same record also tells biologists where to look next, because host corals can guide future searches.<\/p>\n If deep-sea caves keep yielding such finds, managers may need to weigh exploration, conservation, and coral harvest together.<\/p>\n This new glowing animal shows how much of the deep ocean remains undocumented, even when scientists bring cameras to it.<\/p>\n Future work needs repeated cave surveys and careful chemistry tests, since one missed clue can rewrite how scientists group these animals.<\/p>\n The study is published in the National Library of Medicine<\/a>.<\/p>\n Image credit: H. Kise et al<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u2014\u2013<\/p>\n Like what you read? Subscribe to our newsletter<\/a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.<\/p>\n Check us out on EarthSnap<\/a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls<\/a> and Earth.com.<\/p>\n \u2014\u2013<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scientists have confirmed a bright yellow deep-sea animal, Corallizoanthus aureus, as a new species of marine coral. It…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":462246,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[49,48,66],"class_list":["post-462245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=462245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/462245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/462246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=462245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=462245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=462245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Images](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/coral-species_Corallizoanthus-aureus_bioluminescent_Royal-Open-Society_1s.webp.webp\")
Images of external morphology of Corallizoanthus aureus sp. nov. In situ image (a), close-up in situ polyps (b), relaxed specimen (c) and close-up relaxed specimen (d). Credit: National Library of Medicine. Click image to enlarge.How the coral light was tested<\/p>\n