Disco Clams Know how to 'Light it Up': Flashy Sea Show Uncovered

Disco clams, known for their flashy light shows at the bottom of the sea, can thank their reflective tissues for such a lustrous performance. A recent study published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface found that these mollusks are busy catching and reflecting ambient light.

Native to the Indo-Pacific, this striking saltwater clam carries colorful tendrils that suck in light and flicker out neon ripples of electricity, which helps explain its nickname.

Researchers from the University of California-Berkeley found that beneath the cracks and crevaces under the sea, these creatures are busy spreading underwater light. The clams' white tissues, which are made up of tiny silica spheres, help spread the luminosity around and reflect about 90 percent of all underwater white light.

Lead study author Lindsey Doughtery, a graduate student at the university, personally discovered the clam on a trip in Indonesia, according to National Geographic. The marvelous lights produced by the clam fascinated her. Since then, she's been determined to devote more time to the disco clam, and is now working on a PhD that will hopefully show just how the clam produces its light rays.

The white strip that runs along the edge of the clam's red tissues, "works as a great refractor because it's highly reflective," Dougherty said, according to Slate. "These animals are the only animal's we've ever found that have nanospheres as a form of light scattering."

Though researchers aren't yet certain why the clams need flashing lights, they could be trying to attract a mate, lure in prey and/or even ward off predators.

Though the disco clam isn't toxic, its flashy displays resemble that of some other brightly poisonous underwater creatures.