Platypuses Glow Under Blacklight For Some Unknown Reason

AmyBrown

Nov 19, 2020 9:00 AM EST

This is so cool and so incredibly random! It turns out, if you were to place a platypus under a blacklight, they would glow! What other amazing secrets are these creatures hiding from us?

Noted in the journal Mammalia, "shining an ultraviolet light on a platypus makes the animal's fur fluoresce with a greenish-blue tint. They're one of the few mammals known to exhibit this trait. And we're still in the dark about why they do it — if there is a reason at all."

Other animals that have exhibited this interesting trait are scorpions, lichens, puffin beaks, and believe it or not, North American flying squirrels glow bubble pink under UV light. Blue light, just a notch away from ultraviolet, turns our oceans into what looks like an indoor mini-golf course! It's also what causes multiple types of amphibians to glow green.

Nature is lit.

Story via The New York Times

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"This composite made from images supplied by the researcher shows a platypus under visible light, left, and under ultraviolet light and yellow-filtered UV light."

via Jonathan Martin/Northland College
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"A bucket full of scorpions under black light"

via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
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"A squirrel glowing under UV light"

via Jonathan Martin/Northland College
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via @nytimes
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via @nytimes
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via @nytimes
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via @nytimes