Oct 6, 2023 04:15 PM
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023...y-suggests
INTRO: A luminous property, fluorescence has been described in recent years in Australian marsupials including platypuses, wombats, Tasmanian devils and echidnas.
But scientists now believe the quality is widespread across mammals after researchers studied 125 species and found all of them showed some form of fluorescence. The researchers found 107 of the 125 species (86%) had fur that glowed under UV light.
The 125 species represent all 27 living mammalian orders and about half of all living mammal families.
Fluorescence was most common and most intense among nocturnal species, the researchers found, but it was also present in diurnal animals, which are active during the daytime, including the mountain zebra and the polar bear.
“We didn’t know that so many mammals had glowing skin or glowing fur,” said Dr Kenny Travouillon, curator of mammalogy at the Western Australian Museum and the study’s lead author... (MORE - details)
https://youtu.be/vDI-uiJjWwk
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/vDI-uiJjWwk
INTRO: A luminous property, fluorescence has been described in recent years in Australian marsupials including platypuses, wombats, Tasmanian devils and echidnas.
But scientists now believe the quality is widespread across mammals after researchers studied 125 species and found all of them showed some form of fluorescence. The researchers found 107 of the 125 species (86%) had fur that glowed under UV light.
The 125 species represent all 27 living mammalian orders and about half of all living mammal families.
Fluorescence was most common and most intense among nocturnal species, the researchers found, but it was also present in diurnal animals, which are active during the daytime, including the mountain zebra and the polar bear.
“We didn’t know that so many mammals had glowing skin or glowing fur,” said Dr Kenny Travouillon, curator of mammalogy at the Western Australian Museum and the study’s lead author... (MORE - details)
https://youtu.be/vDI-uiJjWwk