Scientists Accidentally Discovered that Australian Marsupials Glow in the Dark

One of the most characterizing things about Australia is its abundance of unique (and often weird) animals. Due to its isolation, the flora and fauna on Australia was able to evolve into the dry, harsh environment. The result is a maelstrom of strange animals, including the kangaroo, koala, platypus, wallaby, bilby, wombat, echidna, Tasmanian Devil, bandicoot, and more. 

Most of these animals are marsupials (which means they carry their young in a pouch), and the platypus and echidna are monotreme animals (mammals that lay eggs but feed their young with milk). 

The king of weird Australian animals is undoubtedly the platypus. If you didn't think it could get weirder than a platypus, which looks like a combination of a beaver, duck and otter, swims in rivers, lays eggs and rears their young with milk, scientists just discovered that platypus glow in the dark. 

The amazing discovery that platypus glow in the dark was made by Dr Paula Anich, a North American squirrel researcher. After finding out that squirrels glow pink under UV light, Dr Anich decided to shine a UV light on the other specimens she had. And surely enough, platypus glow bright green under UV light. 

Inspired by this discovery, scientists in Australia began to experiment with UV lights on the Australian marsupial specimens they had access to. They confirmed again that platypus glow in the dark, as well as wombats, bilbies, echidnas, possums, and some bats. 

A common trait between all the marsupials that glow is that they are either herbivores or omnivores. The carnivorous marsupials that were tested did not glow in the dark. 

Experts aren't sure why certain animals glow while others don't, but one hypothesis is that the animals' ability to glow allows them to recognize others of their kind, while predators aren't able to see their glow in the dark features. 

One exception to the rule is the Tasmanian Devil, which was later found to glow in the dark too. Tasmanian Devils are mammals (not marsupials) and are carnivores, separating them from the other herbivorous and omnivorous marsupials. 

Right now, it's much too early to speculate why these animals glow under UV light. But one thing is certain: god definitely smoked something before she created the animals in Australia.