Luminous Mollusca

In Mollusca, bioluminescence occurs in a great variety of organisms having distinctly different appearances, such as the classes Gastropoda (limpets, snails and sea hares), Bivalvia (clams), and Cephalopoda (squids and octopuses). All luminous molluscs currently known are marine organisms, except the New Zealand fresh water limpet Latia neritoides and the Malaysian land snail Quantula (Dyakia) striata. No information is yet available on the biochemical aspects of the Quantula luminescence. 

The order Nudibranchia (sea-slugs) contains several luminous genera (such as Plocamopherus and Kalinga) that show spectacular bioluminescence (Haneda, 1985). No information is available on their chemical aspects. 

Bivalvia. The bivalve Pholas is historically important because the concept of luciferin-luciferase reaction was established with this clam (Dubois, 1887). It is the only bivalve that is well known and biochemically investigated. The details of the Pholas bioluminescence are given in Section 6.2. 

Only three kinds of octopus have been confirmed to be biolu-minescent Japetella, Eledonella, and Stauroteuthis syrtensis (Johnsen et al., 1999). No information is available concerning the biochemistry of their luminescence. 

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