Bioluminescence is widespread throughout the phylum Annelida and occurs in terrestrial and marine lineages. Among marine taxa, bioluminescence has been documented in eight families and anecdotally reported in six additional families. Although new bioluminescent systems have been recently described in annelids, there are still many other families whose light emission mechanisms have not been sufficiently studied. Some of these include luminescent species belonging to the Polynoidae family, also known as scale worms, whose iterations of dorsal elytra (scales) have the ability to emit intense light when stimulated. Depending on the degree of stimulation, some polynoids can autotomize these luminous elytra and posterior segments, which could potentially give them an advantage in evading attacks by predators. It is believed that Polynoidae bioluminescence is associated with a membrane enzyme known as “polynoidin,” which was isolated during the early 1980s from Malmgrenia lunulata. However, the characterization and properties of this enzyme, as well as the chemical nature of its substrate or additional potential cofactors, have never been fully described and remain largely unknown. As such, this paper seeks to revisit previous research involving bioluminescence studies in Polynoidae, as well as the morphological, phylogenetic and ecological aspects related to this emission of light.

We implemented a new video project in a marine invertebrate zoology undergraduate class. The project required students to produce 3–5 min videos about a particular invertebrate or any aspect of invertebrate biology they were interested in. The development of this assignment was prompted by the limitations for lab activities due to COVID‐19 and three short‐term campus closures in response to threats of inclement weather. This assignment can be completed individually on a flexible schedule, without physical access to campus, and culminates in an Invertebrate Film Festival during the last lab period. The project was assigned at the start of the term with only minimal instructions to promote creativity. Students completed the project over the course of the 14‐week semester, with several checkpoints, most notably a peer review of the movie script 2 weeks prior to the due date. To support the video production, students were encouraged to attend workshops and schedule individual tutoring sessions offered by the Studio in the campus's Center for Academic Learning Support. Surveys at the beginning and the end of the semester revealed that the perception of the video project was overall positive, although some students were apprehensive in the beginning. Video topics, techniques, and software used by students varied widely, but overall the video quality exceeded our expectations. Many students took pride in their videos and agreed to make them available as supplementary material for this article. If we repeat this assignment in future semesters, we will streamline the peer review process and possibly offer short video tutorials for video‐editing software.

During a search for bioluminescent marine annelids around the island of Carrie Bow Cay, Belize, we discovered bioluminescence in the sipunculan worm Nephasoma pellucidum. The identification of N. pellucidum was verified by DNA barcoding of ∼650 bp of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I gene, using sequences of the same species from previous studies as references. Our study constitutes the first record of a bioluminescent sipunculan species. Green luminescence was detected in four of the five individuals of N. pellucidum collected from coral rubble from a shallow reef flat and one deeper (14 m) site. To test for bioluminescent activity, all collected annelids (including sipunculans) were sorted into morphotypes and identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible. After several hours of dark adaptation, they were mechanically stimulated, and luminescent reactions were noted and recorded by photography and/or video whenever possible. Of a total of nine examined sipunculan species, N. pellucidum was the only one that showed bioluminescent activity. The underlying biochemical processes for the bioluminescence are so far unknown, but transcriptome data indicate the presence of proteins with similarities to Renilla-type luciferases. We did not find similarities to any known photoproteins. Our findings broaden the known diversity of bioluminescent annelid taxa and support the notion that bioluminescence arose multiple times in annelids. The bioluminescent properties of N. pellucidum add a new reason to pursue this species as a model species, as has been previously proposed.

In the original article, there was a mistake in Figure 1 as published. The taxa Hirudinidae, Capitellidae, Nephtyidae, and Opheliidae were misspelled. The corrected Figure 1 appears below.The authors apologize for this error and state that this does not change the scientific conclusions of the article in any way. The original article has been updated.