Noctiluca Scintillans, Gippsland Lakes, Vistoria, Australia

N. scintillans is a heterotrophic (non-photosynthetic) organism that engulfs its food (phagotrophic) which primarily consists of plankton, including diatoms and other dinoflagellates, as well as fish eggs and bacteria. Diatoms are often found in the vacuoles (internal membrane-bound storage compartments) within these single-celled creatures. The diatom Thalassiosira sp. has been noted in the literature as a favored food source of these organisms.
Distribution
N. scintillans can be found widely distributed throughout the world, often along the coast, in estuary, and shallow areas of the continental shelf that receive plenty of light which promotes the growth of the phytoplankton that make up a large portion of N. scintillans’s diet.