From glowing wombats to fluoro foxes, 125 mammal species glow under UV light

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2023-10-04 10:01

Australia; QLD; WA

Travouillon et al, All-a-glow: spectral characteristics confirm widespread fluorescence for mammals, Royal Society Open Science

Aussie researchers have found around 125 species of mammal which glow under UV light, a list which covers all 27 orders of mammal - suggesting it is widespread among mammal species. The researchers say it is unclear why animals have this fluorescence, but it is likely to be used to make the skin and fur appear brighter to enhance visual signalling, especially for nocturnal species.

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From: The Royal Society

All-a-glow: spectral characteristics confirm widespread fluorescence for mammals

Royal Society Open Science

Fluorescence has been reported in a number of mammals in the past few years. Our research shows that fluorescence is very common in mammals, found in all mammals tested here (125 species). It is unclear what the function of the fluorescence is but it is likely to be used as a brighter to enhance visual signaling.

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conference: Royal Society Open Science

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Western Australian Museum, Curtin University, Queensland University of Technology (QUT)

Funder: This work was supported by Curtin University and the Western Australian Museum. Curtin’s School of Molecular and Life Sciences and the Western Australian Museum provided some funding for specimen acquisition. Jemmy Bouzin was supported by a PhD Scholarship from the Government of Seychelles and Linette Umbrello by the Australian Biological Resources Study National Taxonomy Research Grant Program.

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