“There it was, this UFO”, explained Marine biologist David Gruber to the National Geographic.
Advertisement
Scientists told the National Geographic that the glowing turtle emits red color which could be caused by algae on the shell but neon green color is without a doubt from the turtle.
He flicked on his camera, outfitted with a blue artificial light that matches the light in the ocean and a yellow filter that allowed him to capture biofluorescent creatures, the global Business Times added. It’s the first ever found that exhibits “biofluorescence”, which is the ability to reflect blue light hitting a surface and appearing as a different color.
In addition to whether the turtles can see the biofluorescence and what they use that ability for, Gruber says there are other interesting questions to answer, such as where the hawksbill sea turtle gets the ability to biofluoresce in the first place.
“I’ve been studying turtles for a long time and I don’t think anyone’s ever seen it”, said Alexander Gaos, director of the Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, who was not the part of the find. “This is really quite incredible”.
For 5 minutes, Gruber followed the reptile through the waters until he was forced to let it go back alone into the dark depths beyond his sight.
Usually, biofluorescence is employed by animals in an effort to attract prey, to communicate with each other or to defend themselves against predators. In this instance, it could be a kind of camouflage for the sea turtle.
He discovered that all the reptiles from the group displayed the same fluorescence, being capable of glowing red after absorbing light on their shells.
The same could be true for a habitat rife with biofluorescing animals-like a coral reef. The green is definitely from the turtle though, he says.
Watch video of Gruber’s groundbreaking find here. But he suggested that they might be able to study biofluorescence in the slightly more common, and closely related green sea turtle. He added that even the hawksbill sea turtle are considered for conservation, the marine reptile remains as a mystery. After following the sea turtle, Gruber said that they had to leave the hawksbill alone to avoid harassing the animal.
Advertisement
It has carved the fact in stone that this particular species of turtles have the ability to fluoresce. In 1970, they were listed as endangered in the Endangered Species Act, and in the last decades, their number has dwindled by nearly 90%.
