Definition of "noctiluca" [‖Noc•ti•lu•ca]

• Any of various bioluminescent dinoflagellates of the genus Noctiluca that when grouped in large numbers make the sea phosphorescent. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Infrared Moonset on Universe Today « luna noctiluca Says:"
• "The fish and other animals that swim in these waters at night aggitate the noctiluca and the waters glow with what look like the ghosts of fish."
• "There are these little single celled organisms called noctiluca."