Did you know that new research has just revealed that many species of amphibian are fluorescent?

Scientists have just discovered that many species of amphibians have the ability to glow when they absorb a certain type of blue light and then are photographed with special lenses. However, while your pet frog, salamander or siren might possess the ability to glow, you likely won’t ever be able to witness this phenomenon unless you possess special equipment.

What exactly has the new research found?

According to biologists at St. Cloud University in Minnesota, Jennifer Lamb and Matt Davis, many, or maybe even all, amphibians including frogs, salamanders, toads and their distant cousins are fluorescent! Humans just are unable to see this glowing without special equipment.

It’s no secret that other species such as jellyfish, chameleons, scorpions, corals, penguins and even sea turtles are bioluminescent. (Bioluminescence, by the way, is different than fluorescence. Bioluminescence is when the animal emits its own light using chemical processes or the help of other creatures such as bacteria.) However, when it comes to land-based animals, scientists have mainly studied through the lens of UV lights.

Amphibians have been discovered to be fluorescent under blue light, which is more typically found in deep sea habitats. What this means is that you can only see the animal glowing after shining the light on it and allowing it to absorb the light and emit a responsive wavelength. This is likely why no one has really suspected that amphibians possessed this trait until now.

The scientist team at St. Cloud essentially ran around after dark in an aquarium testing various amphibian species. They found that all of them glowed, even in different life phases.

What does the discovery that amphibians glow mean for practical applications?

The bottom line is that research is usually not done just for the sake of gaining knowledge. Most intense studies are conducted with the hopes of learning something astounding that could lead to new developments in technology, particularly in the fields of medicine and conservation.

Thus far, it can be deduced that because fluorescence is such a wide-spread trait in amphibians, it must have developed early on in the evolution of the amphibians as a group. However, scientists have yet to figure out the cause or purpose of this interesting discovery.

Researchers are also thinking that the area that glows could be a good indicator as to its function or functions. For instance, certain species were rather dull when exposed to the light, but their cloaca (place where amphibians eliminate waste and mate) glowed strongly. This might serve as a cue in mating rituals. Salamanders tend to glow on their bellies but not their backs, which could be an indicator to potential predators to avoid eating them.

Scientists aren’t exactly sure if other animals that aren’t amphibians can see the fluorescence that is emitted. Different species have different adaptations and particularities in their vision that might enable or disable them from being able to see an amphibian’s glowing.

Previous examples like the development of a green fluorescent protein used in medicinal applications won the Nobel prize for chemistry in 2008. Therefore, the hope is that this discovery could lead to a similar application. Perhaps it might lead to a new type of experimental imaging.

Another practical application for this discovery is much simpler and easier to understand for those of us who are not Nobel scientists. Field researchers who conduct studies on amphibians and their place in the ecosystem could use the fluorescent trait to locate tricky-to-find amphibians at night when they are most active. Perhaps the days of collecting and surveying specimens using a flashlight and net are over?

Can I see my own pet amphibian glow at home?

Unfortunately, observing your pet frog glowing at home is not a very likely incident. You would need to possess the proper blue light emitter and the proper lens to see the filtration of that light after it’s been absorbed. It’s not as simple as shining a black light on your pet scorpion…which is another story and fun little experiment in and of itself!

So, while you can rest easy knowing that your pet frog, toad, salamander, siren or amphiuma is that much cooler because it fluoresces, you still won’t be able to reproduce the phenomena at home.

Conclusion

The discovery that amphibians can fluoresce is an exciting one for scientists. The potential applications are not only helpful but likely profitable in the right hands.

We’re all for anything that could potentially help conserve our planet’s precious amphibian friends, so hopefully scientists can delve deeper into this phenomenon and learn the why and how behind it.

Sources

Please note that all information and photographs of glowing amphibians are from the sources listed below.

https://www.wired.com/story/amphibians-glow