noctiluca
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Related to Noctilucales: Noctiluca miliaris
noc·ti·lu·ca
(nŏk′tə-lo͞o′kə)n.
Any of various bioluminescent dinoflagellates of the genus Noctiluca that when grouped in large numbers make the sea phosphorescent.
[New Latin Noctilūca, genus name, from Latin noctilūca, lantern, moon : nocti-, nocti- + lūcēre, to shine; see leuk- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
noctiluca
(ˌnɒktɪˈluːkə)n, pl -cae (-siː)
(Biology) any bioluminescent marine dinoflagellate of the genus Noctiluca
[C17: from Latin, from nox night + lūcēre to shine]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
noctiluca
any thing or creature that shines or glows in the dark, especially a phosphorescent or bioluminescent marine or other organism. — noctilucine, adj.
See also: Darknessany thing or creature that shines or glows in the dark, especially a phosphorescent or bioluminescent marine or other organism. — noctilucine, adj.
See also: Light-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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| Noun | 1. |  noctiluca - large bioluminescent marine protozoandinoflagellate - chiefly marine protozoa having two flagella; a chief constituent of plankton genus Noctiluca - a genus of protoctist |
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