ABOVE: Pseudobranchus striatus (left) and Icthyosaura alpestris (dorsal at center, ventral at right) as seen in natural light (top) and fluorescing under blue light (bottom)
© JENNIFER LAMB AND MATTHEW DAVIS
Dozens of salamanders and other amphibians are biofluorescent under blue light, according to a study published Thursday (February 27) in Scientific Reports. On land, blue light is common after the sun has set, which may explain why amphibians, particularly nocturnal ones, react to it.
Many land animals, such as penguins, some rodents, and some amphibians, are known to fluoresce under ultraviolet light (360–380 nm), but most species known to fluoresce under blue light (440–460 nm) are strictly aquatic animals such as fish and turtles, as that is the wavelength of light that cuts through water the most.
Two biologists from St. Cloud State University, Jennifer Lamb and Matthew Davis, had decided to expose salamanders they were studying to blue ...
