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Here's how to see the prehistoric creatures lighting up Florida's water

You've probably heard of bioluminescence, but did you know you can take a kayak tour on the First Coast to see it?

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — A creature older than dinosaurs lives in Florida's waterways. And it glows.

You've probably heard of bioluminescence, but did you know you can take a kayak tour on the First Coast to see it? 

First Coast News went on the adventure.

As the sun set over Guana Lake, First Coast News set off in a kayaking group with North Guana Outpost Trip Leader Benjamin Brandao to see the bioluminescent comb jellies.

"The oldest known animal on the planet," Brandao explained. "It happens to glow, it is a hermaphrodite and cannibal."

Researchers say comb jellies evolved more than 500 million years ago.

"They look like sparkling spaceships," Brandao said. 

It's true; that's what they look like up close. Once it gets dark enough and the stars get bright enough to see them in the water, they look like electricity around your hand or paddle whenever you move them in the water. 

There's a magical moment where you look around and everything's sparkling.

"I swept my hand through the water and looked up and just saw the forest full of fireflies," said Taylor Kravtin. "I was like, 'that's a Disney moment.'"

"And you look up a little further and you see the stars," added another man.

"Everything was like fairy land," one woman said.

The catch for this story: good luck getting them on camera. After getting back on shore, Brandao put some in a bowl for First Coast News to film. Brandao pointed out several that he said looked like they were trying to eat each other.

"Bioluminescence, it's a chemical reaction," he said. "It's a pretty common chemical reaction in the world. It's two enzymes that mix together a lot like a glow stick. So whenever the comb jellies get bumped into or scared, they create this change in pressure and the two chemicals squirt together and boom, you get this pop of light."

You have to have special permit to be on Guana Lake after dark so kayaking tours may be the best way to go.

Learn more about the tours here.

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