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| World's first fluorescent frog discovered in South America | World's first fluorescent frog discovered in South America |
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| The world’s first fluorescent frog has been discovered in the Amazon basin in South America. | |
| Scientists at the Bernardino Rivadavia Natural Sciences Museum in Buenos Aires made the discovery by accident while studying the pigment of polka-dot tree frogs, a species common across the continent. | |
| In normal light the frog appears to have a dull, mottled browny-green skin with red dots, but under UV light it glows a bright fluorescent green. | In normal light the frog appears to have a dull, mottled browny-green skin with red dots, but under UV light it glows a bright fluorescent green. |
| Fluorescence – the ability to absorb light at short wavelengths and re-emit it at longer wavelengths – is uncommon in creatures that live on land. | Fluorescence – the ability to absorb light at short wavelengths and re-emit it at longer wavelengths – is uncommon in creatures that live on land. |
| The translucent frog was found to use a combination of lymph and glandular emissions to fluoresce. | The translucent frog was found to use a combination of lymph and glandular emissions to fluoresce. |
| The researchers, who published their discovery on 13 March in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that the trait enhanced the brightness of the frog by 19-29% depending on the level of ambient light in its surroundings. | The researchers, who published their discovery on 13 March in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that the trait enhanced the brightness of the frog by 19-29% depending on the level of ambient light in its surroundings. |
| The compound causing the blue–green glow of the polka-dot tree frog was not previously thought to exist in vertebrates and its discovery has excited researchers. | The compound causing the blue–green glow of the polka-dot tree frog was not previously thought to exist in vertebrates and its discovery has excited researchers. |
| “This is very different from fluorophores found in other vertebrates, which are usually proteins or polyenic chains,” Maria Gabriella Lagoria, a photochemist at the University of Buenos Aires and study co-author, told Chemistry World. | “This is very different from fluorophores found in other vertebrates, which are usually proteins or polyenic chains,” Maria Gabriella Lagoria, a photochemist at the University of Buenos Aires and study co-author, told Chemistry World. |
| The discovery opens up the possibility that other amphibians may be able to fluoresce, particularly those with translucent skin similar to that of the tree frog. | The discovery opens up the possibility that other amphibians may be able to fluoresce, particularly those with translucent skin similar to that of the tree frog. |
| Speaking to the journal Nature, which first published news of the fluorescent frog, co-author Julián Faivovich expressed his hope that the discovery would inspire interest in the phenomenon, saying he hoped scientists would “start carrying a UV flashlight to the field”. | Speaking to the journal Nature, which first published news of the fluorescent frog, co-author Julián Faivovich expressed his hope that the discovery would inspire interest in the phenomenon, saying he hoped scientists would “start carrying a UV flashlight to the field”. |