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Until recently, scientists thought the ability—which has evolved independently at least 94 times—first emerged about 267 million years ago in small marine crustaceans called ostracods.

Until now, the earliest dated origin of bioluminescence in animals was thought to be around 267 million years ago in small marine crustaceans called ostracods.

Morin, who has studied the mechanisms of bioluminescence in marine organisms since 1980, said there are more than 100 species of signaling ostracods in the Caribbean.

Individual ostracods turned out to be extraordinarily sensitive to the timing of these artificial flashes and the bioluminescent signals of their neighbors; they modulated the timing of their own flashes in response.

The meal, she discovered, consisted of ostracods, tiny crustaceans with vaulting shells.