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The Australian animal and insect kingdom is not for the faint of heart. Well known for its deadly power to cleanse the world’s largest island of humans if it so desires, the country’s wildlife is mostly dangerous.
Not everything though. Scientists recently found that some of Australia’s furry friends glow under UV lighting, in fact they glow in the dark.
Last month, US scientists accidentally discovered that the Australian platypus glows in the dark, publishing their findings in the journal Mammalia, Deputy reported.
Now, Australian scientists at the Western Australia Museum have carried out more tests, checking the brilliant abilities of other mammals and marsupials and finding that they too glow, reports the ABC.
SEE ALSO: WHAT UV CAMERAS ARE AND HOW THEY WORK
“We borrowed it and turned off the lights in the collection and looked around to see what was glowing and not glowing, “said Kenny Travouillon, curator of Mammalogy at the Western Australian Museum. ABC.
Travouillon read the study published in Mammalia and his interest was piqued. He quickly borrowed ultraviolet (UV) light and checked himself.
“The first one we checked was obviously the platypus. We turned on the light and they were bright too, the research confirmed.”
After the platypus showed to glow under the UV light, I couldn’t resist trying the bilbies … their ears and tail shine bright like a diamond! #bilby #uv pic.twitter.com/wL82RDdFYb
– Kenny Travouillon (@TravouillonK) November 3, 2020
Taking it a step further, the team also checked out other specimens, such as marsupial moles, bilbies and wombats, all of which glowed under UV light. CNET reported.
Still not sure why they shine this way, some experts speculate it could be for communication reasons at night. “The advantage is probably 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,” Travouillon explained to ABC.
However, more research needs to be conducted before a conclusion can be reached.
Animals and insects have strange traits or ways of acting, and it is exciting to know that there is still so much to discover about these fantastic creatures.
Biofluorescent Australian Mammals and Marsupials Surprise Scientists in Accidental Discovery https://t.co/T6ACL5IaJg
– Kenny Travouillon (@TravouillonK) November 26, 2020
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