Noctiluca miliaris; Print; Noctiluca scintillans; commonly known as the sea sparkle; and also published as Noctiluca miliaris; is a free-living; marine-dwelling species of dinoflagellate that exhibits bioluminescence when disturbed (popularly known as mareel). Its bioluminescence is produced throughout the cytoplasm of this single-celled protist; by a luciferin-luciferase reaction in thousands of spherically shaped organelles; called scintillons.