The first glow-in-the-dark animals may have been ancient corals deep in the ocean

Many animals can glow in the dark. In a new study, scientists report that deep-sea corals that lived 540 million years ago may have been the first animals to glow, far earlier than previously thought. “Light signaling is one of the earliest forms of communication that we know of — it’s very important in deep waters,” said Andrea Quattrini, a co-author of the study published Tuesday in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

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