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Australian animals are illuminated.
Scientists in Australia have made the surprising discovery that wombats and other marsupials glow under ultraviolet light, following the accidental discovery by US scientists that another of the country’s native animals is biofluorescent.
Researchers at the Western Australian Museum uncovered the secret of the stocky marsupial after deciding to “check the facts” a paper published by Wisconsin researchers on biofluorescent platypuses, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported.
Paleontologist and mammal curator at the museum, Kenny Travouillon, borrowed a UV light from the arachnology department and illuminated it on their specimen collection after hearing about the article, published last month in the journal Mammalia.
“The first we checked was obviously the platypus. We turned on the light, and they were glowing too, the research confirmed, “Travouillon told the broadcaster.
He then shone UV light on wombats and marsupial moles – and they also lit up, the outlet said.
Dr Paula Anich, the US researcher at Northland College who made the discovery of the platypus, said the ability to glow could be a form of camouflage.
“It is possible that it is actually taking the ultraviolet light that is most prevalent at dusk and dawn, making it disappear so that the predators who are entering the ultraviolet light cannot see the platypus because it is a kind of concealment of itself. “He told ABC.
Dr Travouillon added that “probably the advantage is that they can see their species from a distance and they can get close because they know it’s safe to get close to that animal,” the outlet reported.
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