Neon sea creatures have been captured lighting up the ocean with their vibrant colors – in what looked like a scene from Avatar. Photographer Simon Pierce, 39, took the images over several months after visiting both Nosy Sakatia in Madagascar and Mafia Island in Tanzania recently. He was thrilled to spot the biofluorescence creatures – which produce their own light – he managed to capture, including fireflies and glow worms. Simon, who is also a marine biologist, from New Plymouth, New Zealand, said: “I felt like I was in the film Avatar capturing these images. I wanted to capture a phenomena called biofluorescence”. (Photo by Simon Pierce/Caters News Agency)





Photographer Simon Pierce, 39, took the images over several months after visiting both Nosy Sakatia in Madagascar and Mafia Island in Tanzania recently. (Photo by Simon Pierce/Caters News Agency)





He was thrilled to spot the biofluorescence creatures. (Photo by Simon Pierce/Caters News Agency)





Incredible neon sea creatures have been captured lighting up the ocean with their vibrant colors. (Photo by Simon Pierce/Caters News Agency)





He managed to capture, including fireflies and glow worms. (Photo by Simon Pierce/Caters News Agency)





Which produce their own light. (Photo by Simon Pierce/Caters News Agency)





Simon, who is also a marine biologist, from New Plymouth, New Zealand. (Photo by Simon Pierce/Caters News Agency)





“I wanted to capture a phenomena called biofluorescence”. (Photo by Simon Pierce/Caters News Agency)





“I felt like I was in the film Avatar capturing these images”. (Photo by Simon Pierce/Caters News Agency)





“In these photos, I was shining a blue light on the coral and various biofluorescent animals”. (Photo by Simon Pierce/Caters News Agency)





“Then filtering out the blue with a yellow filter on my camera so I only caught the reflection”. (Photo by Simon Pierce/Caters News Agency)





These amazing colors probably do serve a purpose in nature. (Photo by Simon Pierce/Caters News Agency)





Some fish have fluorescent lures to help attract prey. (Photo by Simon Pierce/Caters News Agency)





Some small shark species are thought to use their fluorescence to find mates. (Photo by Simon Pierce/Caters News Agency)





It’s a really interesting area of research, and very trippy to see first-hand. (Photo by Simon Pierce/Caters News Agency)