Many underwater photographers have witnessed strings of what appear to be glowing beads while on night dives in the Caribbean. But, did you even wonder what they were? Turns out they are glowing streams of vomit from tiny shrimp-like ostracods used to attract females. Sounds gross, but looks enchanting.

The ostracod vomit can be streaks, lines, or even zig-zags of beautiful bioluminescence.

A study published this week by evolutionary biologists Emily Ellis and Todd Oakley in the journal Current Biology shows that species who utilize bioluminescent courting rituals have an increased level of diversity.

This is what Ellis had to say about the phenomenon: “It sounds nasty. But I guess the females really like it.”

Read the full article here.