Fluorescencyjne zwierzęta

Experts at Chester Zoo have shared a series of ???incredible??? photos showing a selection of reptile, amphibian and invertebrate species ???glowing in the dark.??? The never-before-seen photos, which were taken at the zoo at night, show animals displaying vivid shades of red, blue and green under ultraviolet light. Biofluorescence, the technical term for this spectacle, occurs when higher energy wavelengths of light, like ultraviolet, is absorbed and sent out at a lower energy wavelength, making the area glow. While this phenomenon is widespread among animals and is caused by several different proteins, pigments and chemical reactions in the skin, little is currently known about why it occurs. Now, Dr Gerardo Garcia, Curator Lower Vertebrates and Invertebrates at the zoo, who has led efforts to conserve some of the world???s rarest reptiles, amphibians, fishes and invertebrates over many decades, has offered several theories on why it may happen. ??sI have worked closely with many these species for more than 30 years, but never before have I seen them in this way,??? said Garcia. ??sSeeing these different animals glow in a spectacular range of colours really is incredible, but the question remains ??" why do they glow? ??sCommunication is everything in the animal world, and how a species presents itself visually is a big part of how they speak to friends and foes. There are hundreds of frequencies of light and how animals see light, and therefore colours, is different to humans. We actually only see a small portion of the sunlight, so although we may see an animal glowing brilliantly, their own kind, and even other species, may see this completely differently as they read a wavelength that our eyes can???t perceive.??? Dr Garcia says another likely reason for the fluorescent glow is to attract a mate ??" by helping to catch attention of potential partners by highlight their impressive assets. ??sThe photos show that only some parts of the animals, such as